Palin Tour Rolling Into Fort Hood

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is taking her “Going Rogue” book tour to Fort Hood, Texas, site of a massacre that left 13 dead and 30 wounded on Nov. 5.

Palin said she intends to donate the royalties from sales of her books at Fort Hood to the families of those killed and injured when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly fired on fellow Soldiers.

"I'm especially looking forward to meeting our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Hood," the New York Daily News quotes Palin as saying on her Facebook page. The Fort Hood visit is planned for Dec. 4, according to the paper.

The former running mate of GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is on a cross-country tour to promote her book, "Going Rogue."

A spokesman for Palin’s publisher told the Daily News that the Fort Hood visit was planned before the shootings, and that the Army has since “reinforced their invitation, saying it would boost the troops’ morale.”

The paper quotes Fort Hood-area minister Dan Galanffy, 60, as saying the Palin visit “can probably provide some healing that is needed and some truth and honesty that is also needed."

But a neighbor of Hasan’s, Andrew Pierre-Auguste, 36, told the paper Palin’s visit is not a good idea. "It's poor judgment to come down here to promote a book,” the paper quotes him as saying.

Hasan is currently hospitalized and facing 13 counts of murder.

Meanwhile, Palin plans to stop Nov. 23 at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the Army has decided to limit media access to her while she is on post.

Fort Bragg officials initially intended to bar all media coverage of Palin’s visit to the post for a book signing, concerned it would turn into a politically charged event against President Barack Obama, the commander in chief, according to The Associated Press.

"The main reason is to stop this from turning into a political platform," Bragg spokesman Tom McCollum told the AP. "There are Army regulations that basically prohibit military reservations from becoming political platforms by politicians."

AP attorney Dave Tomlin called the proposed pools and restrictions on interviews "unlawful and unacceptable."

"If Army regulations forbid 'political events', the Army should have considered that before allowing Palin to hold a public autograph session for a political book on the base," Tomlin said in an AP story.

For her part, Palin agreed not to give a speech, McCollum told the wire service; she will sign copies of her book but will not stop to pose for photographs.