President Donald Trump’s floating of a firing-squad execution for the Fort Hood shooter is unravelling amid a convergence of grim logistics, stark military regulations, and optics that insiders say bear little resemblance to a cinematic strongman finale.
The Reality of a Wheelchair-Bound Inmate and Army Protocol
Appearing on The Bulwark’s “Command Post” podcast, retired General Mark Hertling and former prosecutor Margaret Donovan broke down why the execution fantasy is running into immediate roadblocks. At the center of the case is Nidal Malik Hasan, a 60-year-old inmate paralyzed from the chest down who cannot walk or stand. If carried out, an execution by firing squad would require seating Hasan in a wheelchair.
According to CBS News reporting highlighted on the podcast, Trump has begun to understand that these physical optics fail to match the defiant posture he originally envisioned. Hertling warned that executing a disabled inmate risks handing extremists a propaganda victory, playing directly into Hasan’s desire to paint himself as a martyr for his religion.
The discussion also turned to the specific mechanics outlined in Army Regulation 190-55, which governs the execution of military prisoners. Donovan pointed out a significant logistical hurdle: Fort Hood lacks the certified infrastructure required to carry out a military execution. Such actions are traditionally handled at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, raising immediate questions about whether mounting an expensive logistical operation is justified for what amounts to political theater.
Weighing Moral Injury and Battlefield Gore
Hertling raised severe concerns regarding the psychological and physical toll on military personnel. The last firing squad execution in the U.S. military involved Private Eddie Slovik in 1945. Under standard military regulations, such details utilize a rack of twelve rifles—with one in four loaded with blank rounds—allowing participating soldiers to claim deniability regarding who fired the fatal shot.
The physical reality of utilizing standard M-16 or M-4 rifles firing 5.56mm rounds at close range presents a level of catastrophic trauma that Hertling argued is entirely antithetical to national values, especially if broadcast or captured on video. Donovan echoed these concerns, emphasizing that creating a violent spectacle only serves to elevate Hasan to celebrity status among extremist networks.
The Broader World War II Fixation
The conversation widened to examine a recurring motif in the administration’s policy decisions: an idealized, cinematic framing of World War II. Donovan pointed to parallel efforts, such as the proposed “Golden Fleet” of naval ships designed to mimic World War II aesthetics rather than adhering to modern military engineering standards developed over decades.
Ben Parker chimed in to note that this selective nostalgia routinely overlooks the foundational realities of the conflict, most notably the mandatory draft that required the participation of the broader American populace rather than a tiny fraction of it.
