MacDill affected by Ft. Hood shootings

Tampa, Florida - The shootings at Ft. Hood are top of mind for almost everyone on and around MacDill Air Force Base. While the base tried to carry on business as usual Friday, it wasn't easy.

Sgt. Tom Little says everyone in the military is taking the incident hard. According to Little as bad as it is around the base, it is worse for service men and women overseas. Little says those who are deployed hate to hear about bad news in the states, because it takes their minds off the mission they have to carry out over there.

On the base Friday there was a ribbon cutting for a new facility for the 6th Medical Group, but before the opening of the $74 million facility was celebrated, Chaplin John VanderKaay asked for a moment of silence. VanderKaay says the moment of silence is more powerful that any words. He acknowledged everyone is thinking about the tragedy and the silence gives them permission to reflect and say a prayer for the victims.

Meantime, service people are still shaken by the Ft. Hood shootings. Sgt. Little says it is something those in the military never expect to happen on a base, where they feel secure.

The Military didn't want to say anything official about the shootings that could possibly contradict what the Pentagon is saying. They told reporters the ground rules before the ceremony was that no questions could be asked about Ft. Hood and that everything was to focus on what was going on at MacDill on Friday.