Kimberly Munley: A hero at Ft. Hood

Sgt Kimberly Munley, a civilian police officer and firearms expert, is being credited for her aggressive efforts to stop Major Nidal Hasan’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood. Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire, wounding Hasan four times and bringing his alleged murderous spree to an end despite being shot herself. In her day-to-day life, neighbors say Munley keeps a watchful eye for suspicious activity or reports of break-ins on their block. Her Twitter biography says “I live a good life” and she tries to make “a difference in someone's life.” What can we learn from Munley’s heroism? (Watch a report about Kimberly Munley's heroism at Fort Hood)

The word "Hero" should be used sparingly--but Munley qualifies: Society uses the term "hero" too loosely for those "just doing the decent, ethical thing in a moment of crisis," says Hillary Fields at Beliefnet. Munley, however, deserves the honor. Her courage was "extraordinary" even if "technically, it's all part of the job." Not many officers would have acted so quickly. "She, in my opinion, is the real deal."

"Kimberly Munley: One brave police office, and the hero of Fort Hood"

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Women should be allowed in combat: Buried beneath Munley’s heroics is a sad reminder that had Munley enlisted to fight on the front lines, “she would have been turned down," says Azaria Jagger at Gawker. While the U.S. military has a male-only policy in combat units, "if a woman can storm into that place and save all those people" then why not let her "serve alongside them in a war zone, too?"

"Ft. Hood shoot-out proves women should be allowed in combat, already"

There's a delicious irony to her heroism: With the way the Muslim world treats its women, it’s that much sweeter that "the jihadi mass slaughterer was taken down by a ... woman!" says Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs. Stick it to them by promoting that fact "through the caves of Tora Bora." The world needs to know about Kimberly Munley.

"American woman took down Jihadi Hasan at Fort Hood"

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SEE THE WEEK'S FULL COVERAGE OF FORT HOOD:

• Fort Hood: The Al-Qaeda question

• Fort Hood: What the world is saying

• Red flags at Fort Hood

• Sunday Talk Show Briefing: Religion's role in Fort Hood (Video)

• Fort Hood: Obama's "flippant" speech

• Fort Hood: Crime or terrorism?

• Who is Nidal Hasan: A timeline of the suspect's life

• Fort Hood: The combat stress debate

• Fort Hood: Breaking opinion