BECKLEY -- Events in Fort Hood are sending waves of emotion across the county and some have washed up right here in southern West Virginia.

The shootings sent a lot of people talking about the pressures facing the men and women who serve in the military.

The biggest question everybody was asking is why.

People have examined what would lead anyone, much less, a mental health professional in the Army, to go on such a murderous rampage.

The body count in Texas seemed as high as any ambush in Afghanistan or Iraq but this not only happened on American soil, it occurred behind the guarded gates of the largest military base in the United States.

First Sergeant, Skee Barley, a retired soldier, said he's not sure anyone could have foreseen what happened but he says that he knows that there are more mental health services available to troops than there used to be.

"The military has realized a need for this type of counseling, reunification counseling. That's great because for the great veterans we have from our past conflicts, this wasn't available like it is now. So we're making great strides in our military to take care of our people, not only on the battlefield but afterward," said Lt. Skee Barley with the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department.

Mental health professionals with the VA Medical Center in Beckley said there are usually warning signs that when people are not able to cope, mentally, with their situation. The people closest to those people nearing a breakdown are usually the first to see these signs.