Fort Hood victims waiting for injuries to be classified combat related

The Obama administration is doing everything it can to keep this classified as a case of work place violence versus a terrorist attack by a radical Islamist.

From Fox News:

Six years after the Fort Hood massacre killed 13 and injured more than 30 others, at least one of the survivors says he is still fighting to have his gunshot wounds officially classified as "combat-related injuries," despite a pledge from the Army secretary to provide all possible benefits to the families.

"I hope that this can be fixed. I mean it isn't even necessarily about the benefits anymore, it's just, getting this fixed so I can put this behind me," Shawn Manning told Fox News.

Manning was a staff sergeant when he was shot six times by then Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan on Nov. 5, 2009. Two bullets remain lodged in his back and leg. Yet he's still seeking the "combat-related" classification for his injuries from a military physical evaluation board.

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Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said on Thursday that the Fort Hood victims "should have received all the benefits to which they are legally entitled to receive from the Army at this time; additionally some individual cases may still have pending actions that are currently undergoing the necessary review processes."

"Other potential authorizations and entitlements are also still currently under review at the Department of the Army level and are pending," Smith said.

Former Army Secretary John McHugh pledged to speed up the process to get the much needed benefits to the victims, but nothing as moved forward since his remarks.

"After making the determination that the victims of the Fort Hood attack are now eligible for the Purple Heart, it seems only right and fair that these Soldiers also receive the benefits it traditionally entails. That's why I directed an expedited process to make certain that happens," McHugh said at the time.