Young Fort Hood Soldier Reacts: 'I Wanted To Cry, But I Couldn't'

2 years ago

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Glen Jolivette, 19, of Coshocton, Ohio, had the day off from his job as an Army signal support systems specialist at Ft. Hood last Thursday when the accused gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, started shooting.

"I found out about everything going on over a public announcement system," Jolivette said. "It said word for word, 'Seek shelter immediately, close all doors and windows, make sure all ventilation is closed.'"

Looking out the window of his room, he saw about a dozen civilian helicopters in the sky. He got on the Internet and found out what had happened. As he refreshed the page, the death toll continued to rise.

Out his window, he saw "the creepiest thing in the world. The busiest post in the world was totally dead, no one in sight. I felt a rock just build up in my chest and I wanted to cry, but I couldn't."

About 30 minutes after the shootings, Jolivette received a call from a superior who was accounting for everyone in his unit. After that, it was a waiting game. The post was listed as closed until about 9 p.m., when traffic poured in and out.

Jolivette describes the environment since Thursday as tense, though conversations and interactions have been more normal than you might think.

"Everyone is just in disbelief that an officer of his rank" stands accused.

Hasan, 39, is suspected of killing 13 and wounding 42. He was taken off of a ventilator Monday and was talking to hospital staff.

Jolivette said that on the surface, things on Fort Hood are not much different than they were before. There is an armed military presence at high-traffic areas like the entrances to on-post housing complexes, though, and cars are stopped and searched more often.

For as long as he can remember, he's wanted to serve in the Army, as his father, grandfather, uncle, brother and two sisters did. After he retires from the military, Jolivette hopes to get an IT job.

Jolivette is not due to be rotated out of Fort Hood until his first re-enlistment, which won't come around for another two and a half years. For now, he says of the shootings, "We try not to think about it.''

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