IF SOMEONE BEGINS SHOOTING - - - ?

Greetings and Salutations: In light of what happened at Fort Hood, Texas on Thursday 05 November 2009, I'm wondering about our safety here at the Old Soldiers' Home? Is there any sort of REALISTICALLY PRACTICAL contingency plan for a similar event here? It's rather obvious to any casual observer that the Soldiers' Home is both a high profile target politically, and an exceptionally soft target, due to our unarmed security force. So, what happens when, at noon on a holiday weekend, an Islamic terrorist or a psychotic individual walks into the crowded mess hall and opens fire with semi-automatic weapons? What if it's a coordinated attack by an organized TEAM of suicidal Islamic terrorists? Or, what happens if they decide to attack our medical clinic at 0900 Hours on a week day, when the clinic is most crowded with Soldiers' Home members on sick call, and even the doctors are present, so they can also be included among potential victims? Remember, an Islamic terrorist, or a deranged psychotic individual will probably not be concerned with their own survival, so they won't be intimidated by police response. Furthermore, I know from personal experience that armed Metropolitan Police Department response to the Soldiers' Home may take well over half an hour. Are the regular United States Army personnel on duty here armed? If not, why not? Shall we just bury our heads in the sand and pretend something like that could never happen? If we truly are on our own, then what sort of individual or small unit unconventional warfare tactics can be employed by Soldiers' Home residents? What sort of improvised weapons, munitions, and ordnance can be rapidly assembled? Maybe, with Sergeant Major Al Mori's background, he could give Soldiers' Home residents some practical instruction in this area. Does anybody else on the staff here at the Old Soldiers' Home possess comparable Special Forces or Special Operations training and experience? Thank you. John Robert Mallernee Official Bard of Clan Henderson Armed Forces Retirement Home Washington, D.C.  20011-8400 NOTE: "My unpopular and controversial personal opinions are independent of my Scottish clan."