There was a Commander in khaki uniform down the bar when I walked in. We occasionally have uniforms in the place, but I don’t abuse my former status and intrude on their privacy- Willow is not the VFW, after all.
I said “Hi” to Old Jim and John-with-an-H leaned over and told me the CDR had been in Building 197 at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters that day.
I nodded and walked down to thank him for his service, and introduced myself as a Navy retiree. He was animated, and I thought he might still be in shock. “I was there in the building,” he said in wonder. “It was not a good day at the office.”
“I heard,” I said. Then I thanked him again and walked back to sit between Jim and John-With. Brenna was working the bar. She had a sort of glitter eyeliner on, which made her sparkle a bit.
“So what have you heard?” I asked. “If you are out of hearing of a radio for more than a few minutes there is something new.”
“Aaron Alexis had been working as an IT geek for computer giant Hewlett Packard,” said John-with.
“HP management was quick to point out that the shooter was actually employed by a subcontractor,” I said, that having been one of the key elements of information after they identified the shooter.
We went on to discuss that, and some other matters, but it was clear the events of the day had everyone down. I drank a little faster than usual, and the little group broke up quietly.
This morning has more information, but no synthesis. We have the latest angry male mass killer, and I will just leave all that alone for now.
The public response is what I can take measure of, and the coverage thus far seems to be fading as there is no apparent connection to The Long War- or at least, not one that we can comprehend.
There have been stories that Mr. Alexis had mental problems- duh- but these were apparently sufficient to have required treatment by the VA since at least August.
So this may be another public health issue, just as the Sandy Hook slaughter was.
That impact may not be limited to these shooters.
We are not immune to a mild sort of Post Traumatic Event about these things. From a personal perspective in the Washington DC area, I was closer than I would like to the seminal 9/11 attack at the Pentagon. I was there that morning, a few hours before Flight 77 plowed into the building, had dozens of colleagues and friends in the flight path, and was at a very surreal meeting there the next day, while parts of the building were still burning.
Then there was the Lee Boyd Malvo and John Allen Muhammed sniper spree, and now this.
(The last group of victims in the DC area. Photos of the Navy Yard victims have not yet been released.)
There is a possible link between the snipers and the Pentagon attack- Islamic extremism- but no such connection to Aaron Alexis, who is said to have been dabbling in Buddhism and studying the Thai language.
They are clearly linked in my mind to the public response to mass violence. You have to experience it to realize how corrosive it is.
Of the three events, the snipers may have been the most insidious, since the attacks were spread across three weeks, and all across the metro region, so that any time you were filling up the gas tank at the Navy Exchange or visiting the Home Depot you might find yourself in the cross hairs.
But the adrenaline is familiar enough, the reports on the radio, the mounting mass of bad news and the realization that any of us could have had business at the Yard, and I have done business with Building 197 before.
Troubling morning. I think it is getting near time to get the hell out of Washington. There is nothing good happening here.
Nothing whatsoever, though I must say that yesterday featured a worse day at the office than anyone should ever have to bear.
Copyright 2013 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303