The Importance of Thinking Critically and Creatively
Active shooting and violence in the workplace can happen anywhere and anytime and the employer takes critical and sometimes creative action to resolve the situation. According to the FBI report entitled “Workplace Violence-Issues in Response” employers are legally obligated to provide a safe work environment that protects the safety and security of all employees whether civilian or military. This obligation is currently reinforced by both OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) and the Department of Civil Rights. Many active shooters have behavioral and mental health issues that remain undiagnosed and untreated. The compelling argument is whether violence in the workplace is preventable.
Four people were killed and sixteen more were injured on April 2, 2014 when an active shooter opened fire at Fort Hood. The sprawling Army post in Texas was still on edge after a mass shooting there left 13 dead on November 5, 2009. Each time, the active shooters were diagnosed after the fact as having had prior mental conditions. A more proactive approach to recognizing and diagnosing PTSD could greatly minimize the number of active shootings on military installations.
Early detection of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) could dramatically minimize the number of active shooter incidents throughout military installations. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as a diagnosis that is fully accepted by the U.S. Veterans Administration, psychiatrists, and the American public. Unfortunately, PTSD does not meet the criteria for a real psychiatric-medical disease.
Protocols should be developed to provide immediate post-trauma intervention that addresses each individual’s symptoms. Treatment of concurrent depression, addiction, and other anxiety conditions may be far more valuable than targeting chronic symptoms and decades-later that lead to active shooter incidents. All of our veterans’ social conditions—poverty, homelessness, and marital and familial friction must be addressed in a proactive manner before these incidents occur.