WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News: Fort Hood Commander has Strong Local Ties

Fort Hood Commander has Strong Local Ties

By Matt Smith

For days he has been the voice for information.

"Hello, I'm General Cone, commanding general of Fort Hood."

The commander of Fort Hood, Texas, Lieutenant General Robert Cone, has been front and center since the deadly shootings at the U.S. military post.

"I think we're entering a new phase here, and this is where I'm most concerned as the commander of Fort Hood and that has to do with this healing phase we're in," he said at a recent news conference.

With responsibility and accountability ahead, those who know the commander say he's rooted in humility.

Roots that reach to small-town Wisconsin.

At the Shawano VFW, all eyes have been on Texas.

"It's just unbelievable shock that he's in this situation at this moment," Shawano VFW commander Richelle Klapste said.

Cone is a lifetime member of the Shawano VFW.

Cone and his wife have a home on Shawano Lake.

He's presented a certificate to the VFW from Afghanistan, and he was in Shawano a few months ago, before taking over his position at Fort Hood.

"He comes in here when he's in Shawano. Very courageous man," Betty Booras of the VFW says.

And with so much grief and investigation left, the folks here at the Shawano VFW say one of their own is the perfect fit for Fort Hood's commanding general.

"He is a wonderful man and he will take care of his troops. We know that," Klapste said.

It's a long journey ahead.

"We had to look across our entire formation -- not just our medical community but really look hard right and left, and that's the responsibility of everybody from the top to the bottom," Cone told the media.

A journey that will be led by General Cone.

"He may have only been down there a few months. He fell into place. He'll do his job," Klapste said.