before the armed services committee, we had the army chief of staff as well the army secretary, john mccue. and they point out that the suspected shooter is an experienced soldier, and he spent nine years in the national guard in puerto rico and the army where he served as a truck driver. and he was treated for anxiety and sleep disorders that he had prescribed, he was prescribed ambien, and he was seen by a psychiatrist a month ago, but according to secretary mchugh and the general, there was no indication on the record that there was any sign of violence to himself and to others, and in addition, they have been doing a background check, and they found nothing in his background to tie him to terrorists or extremist organizations, and he had a very good record and no signs of trouble, no warning that this would have happened. >> . >> the gunman, identified by a congressman, 34-year-old ivan lopez, and the gun that he concealed, what kind of questions are you being asked about security on the country's largest army base. >> it's the same question that's being raised around the country. keep

. >> reporter: army secretary john mccue are expected to participate in a routine hearing looking intoy's budget. that has changed significantly overnight. expect questions about fort hood. some they won't be able to answer because they won't want to prejudge this investigation. but fort hood takes on a whole new meaning to this hearing. texas senator ted cruz sits on this panel. we'll hear what he has to say hours after fort hood was attacked. bill: what will be the debate? >> reporter: what can be done to protect our war heroes when they are actually at home in war zones. michael mccaul says he supports allowing our troops to carry concealed weapons on military posts. our troops at fort hood are not able to carry a concealed weapon and he makes the case that perhaps he could have stopped the incident earlier if there were concealed weapons on the bodies of our soldiers. there will be more said about what can be done to make sure fort hood specifically is never attacked again. bill: thank you. headlines back to you when they happen. martha: there is a lot of questions about the mental

previously scheduled hearing this one with top army officials including the secretary of the army john mccue, who told senators clearly we missed something yesterday, we need to work very hard to understand what that was. michael. >> mike, the shooting isn't just about texas or fort hood, doesn't it call into question the curl questions on all military bases in. >> it certainly does. and one inning we are hearing today, is the military has a policy where our soldiers and other military personnel have to give over their weapons while they are on base. the logic among some here is that if that ban were -- if that were repealed then tragedies like this could be nipped in the bud much quicker. in other words, if everybody were armed on the base, then the shooter could be confronted. genere is the chief of staff to the army, he also testified alongside john mccure, and one issues here, is the mental health after ten years of war, many of the soldiers and marines and navy who come back from the theaters in iraq and afghanistan, here is what he had to say. >> we do quite significant screening today

. >> john mccue, the army secretary said the suspected gunmen served four months in iraq, but didn't see combat or suffer wounds. the psychotherapy was recent. >> he was undergoing a variety of treatment and diagnosis for meptal health ranging from depression to anxiety and was prescribed a number of drugs to address those. >> other military officials say lopez had self-reported a brain injury. lopez started in 2008 as an infantryman and switched to specialty, to truck driver, a job he had in iraq. lopez arrived two months ago after serving at another military situation. officials said he had no record of disciplinary problems or insubordination. he had a clean record in terms of his behavioural, no outstanding bad marks for major misbehaviours. >> the suspect and his wife were from portio ricco. >> this was an experienced soldier, spending in my opinion years in peorto rico before coming on to duty. >> officials soldiers say they the couple's wife is cooperating. they moved to this complex in texas. a neighbour telling a television station that they seemed normal and nice. >> you ne

. >> in the testimony john mccue the u.s. army secretary said the suspected gunman served four months of duty in iraq three years ago, but didn't see combat or suffer any apparent wounds. the psycho therapy was more recent. >> ranging from depression to anxiety, to some sleep disturbance. he was prescribed a number of drugs to address those, including ambien. according to army, and later switches his specialty to truck driver the job he had in iraq. he arrived in february 2 months ago after serving at another incitylation. >> he had a clean record in materials of his behave no outstanding bad marks for any kinds of major misbehaviors. >> the suspect and his wife were from puerto rico, where his service began. >> he spent nine years in the puerto rico national guard before coming on active duty, so he is very experienced. >> the suspect's wife is cooperating with the fbi and is trying to help him understand his state of mind. according to neighbors they moved to this apartment complex three weeks ago. you never know who you li

. >> in testimony before the committee, john mccue the army secretary said the suspected gunman served four months of duty in iraq, three years ago, but didn't see combat or suffer any apparent wounds. the psycho therapy was more recent. >> he was undergoing a variety of treatment and diagnosis for mental health conditions. ranging from depression to anxiety. to some sleep disturbance. he was prescribe add number of drugs to address those. including ambien. >> other officials say he had self-reported a frau plattic brain injury. lopez arrived just two months ago after searching at another installation. officials say he had no record of disciplinary action. >> he had a clean record in terms of his behavior, no outstanding bad marks for any kinds of mayor misbehavior. >> according to military leaders the suspect and his wife are from puerto rico, where his military service began. >> this was an experienced soldier, he spent actually nine years in the puerto rico national guard. before coming on active duty, so he is very experienced. >> they say the suspects wife is cooperating and is fr

. >> just getting word, jennifer, from our capitol hill producer, saying that the army sectaev, john mccue capitol hill for a reception and left to head back to the pentagon to be briefed on the incident at ft. hood, although he said he couldn't get into numbers because, quote, it's coming in, all second, third, fourth hand, but it's a tragedy no matter where it's happened. he said it's an emotional moment. the army secretary leaving capitol hill immediately, driven back to the pentagon to get more information. again, he couldn't confirm the numbers nor the extent of casualties. but he was getting information by the second. we now just to review, this is the same post that had the shooter in 2009 with major nidal hasan, so this ft. hood area is very familiar with this situation. if, as the initial reports are being confirmed, it is a multiple shooter -- a multiple shooting situation where there may be multiple casualties. >> remember, this is a very large army base. in fact, there are units who have just returned from afghanistan who would be in processing right now at ft. hood. it is a pl

army secretary john mccue says lopez was being treated for depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances. he was being evaluated to determine whether he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder but had not been diagnosed. lopez served four months in iraq back in 2011 and had just arrived at ft. hood, texas, from another base in february. a neighbor says lopez and his wife looked like a normal couple and they would smile whenever they'd see someone. right now investigators are looking for anything in his military record that might explain his deadly rampage. the army secretary says so far they haven't seen any red flags. >> he was seen just last month by a psychiatrist. he was fully examined. and as of this morning we had no indication on the record of that examination that there was any sign of likely violence either to himself or others. no suicidal ideation. so the plan forward was to just continue to monitor and to treat him as deemed appropriate. >> our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, has more now on lopez's military history. our george howell is in killeen, texas, that's

the honorable john m. mccue. >> good afternoon. mr. president, mrs. obama, sir, ma'am, thank you so much for being here. it means so much to these soldiers to this army that their commander in chief and the first lady would be here to share in this great sorrow. deputy secretary of defense fox, chairman and mrs. dempsey, chief and mrs. odinari o, distinguished members of congress, lieutenant duhurst and lieutenant and mrs. milli, and most of all, to the men and women of fort hood, soldiers, family members, civilians, our army family, we are here again far too soon to mourn more loss all too great. as an army, we accept this is a dangerous profession. all who wear this wonderful uniform and pledge to defend our nation and its way of life understand they may one day be called to make that ultimate sacrifice. but inside these gate, behind these walls, we expect a much different order of things. a special of safety and security, of brotherhood, simply a sense of home. and yet, for a second time, horrible violence and unspeakable tragedy have breached thes

the secretary of the army, the honorable john m. mccue. >> good afternoon. mr. president, mrs. obama, sir, ma'am, thank you so much for being here. it means so much to these soldiers, to this army that their commander in chief and the first lady would be here to share in this great sorrow. deputy secretary of defense fox, chairman and mrs. dempsey, chief, and mrs. odierno, distinguished members of congress, lieutenant governor duhurst, lieutenant general and mrs. milly and most of all to the men and women of ft. hood, soldiers, family members, civilians, our army family, we are here again, far too soon, to mourn more loss all too great as an army, we accept this is a dangerous profession. and all who wear this wonderful uniform and pledge to defend our nation and its way of life understand they may one day be called to make that ultimate sacrifice. but inside these gates, behind these walls, we expect a much different order of things. a special sense of safety and security, of brotherhood, simply a sense of home. and yet, for a second time, horrible violence and unspeakable tra

the honorable john m. mccue.