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Blog Possibly Written by Gunman Surfaces; How Long Will it Take to Defeat ISIS; Chattanooga Attack Affects Servicemembers, Their Families Around Country; Girlfriend Describes Sgt. Skip Wells. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 17, 2015 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00] PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think they need to take a closer look at that and perhaps change that? And why does this have to happen after such a tragedy like this for security to be boosted at these, you know, military facilities?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think, Pamela, and here again, we have not had this experience in which we are seeing in this country today. This is a very different time. There was a time. I grew up in Pensacola, Florida. I remember being in high school going by the U.S. Marine Corps recruitment center deciding whether I want to go to college. It's something that is part of our communities. But we cannot -- and I would hope going forward -- we don't have our men and women servicing us in those facilities in that community not being able to protect themselves. We're just in a very, very different time today and I'm quite sure there's going to be some conversation going forward up on the hill as to how we better prepare these soft targets that are situated and we have so much domestic influence and of course we're being influenced internationally, too. We can no longer sit by and just think it's going to pass. We're in a very, very different place today.

BROWN: We are. We've been hearing for months that military facilities could be the target of a terrorist attack and it makes you wonder about boosting the security.

Harris, I saw in comments that you made that you made it clear that his faith is not what drove him to do this. What do you mean by that?

HARRIS ZAFAR, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY USA & VICE PRESIDENT, AHMADIYYA MUSLIM COMMUNITY, USA, YOUTH ASSOCIATION: Well, it's a combination of his own erratic behavior. His erratic behavior and the -- combined with what we understand to be the true teachings of Islam. We have to follow the guidance -- like I said, leadership matters, the world by spiritual leader of the largest body of Muslims, organized Muslims in the world has called us for understanding true Islam. When we do that, we understand that it calls us for a service of mankind, of peace and reconciliation. When you understand that, we work with Muslims around the country. We have servicemen in our community and within the youth association, we've had many that have served this nation honorably and they were honorably discharged. When we see that, we understand that it's not the faith and we have millions of us that are driven to become better and more civic-minded members of society because of our faith, not in spite of it. So this is not -- I would be very hard-pressed to ever say that Islam or any religion was truly at the core of what inspired them. It's always a political, social, psychological matter and that's what all of the experts in the field have said, such as the study of the Center of International Terrorism.

BROWN: Harris Zafar, Cedric Alexander, thank you very much.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

ZAFAR: Thank you. It's a pleasure.

BROWN: Up next in the CNN NEWSROOM, the Army chief of staff, Ray Odierno, revealing for the first time how long he thinks it will take for the U.S. to defeat ISIS.

We're also awaiting a news conference from Chattanooga, an update on the investigation of the shooting. We'll bring that to you live.

Keep it right here on CNN's special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:27] BROWN: As investigators try to find any link between the Chattanooga shooter and Islamic extremist groups, new information on efforts for degrading and destroying ISIS. Army chief of staff, Ray Odierno, saying that fight could take 10 to 20 years. The Obama administration said it could take nearly three years.

Let's get more details on this from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh, in Jordan.

Jomana, what can you tell us?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, as you mentioned, that's what General Odierno told reporters, that it's going to take 10 to 20 years, longer than what most have thought within the U.S. administration about how long it was going to take to defeat ISIS. And according to General Odierno, it's going to take more than military action. It's going to require economic and diplomatic measures, in his words.

Now, this is something that we have heard from experts and analysts over the past year. This is one year since that military campaign began and they have been saying all along that military action, that these air strikes are not enough to defeat ISIS. This is something that we have been seeing on the ground a year on and the group still controls major cities, whether it's in Iraq or in Syria, for example. The stronghold of Raqqa, Mosul, still under the control of ISIS where the group is very well entrenched there and they have not been fought in these strongholds as of yet. And we've also seen, while the group has lost some territory in some areas like parts of Raqqa Province, we saw these mostly Kurdish fighters backed by air strikes able to push back ISIS in some of these areas. We've also seen the group gain ground, for example, in major cities. The provincial capital of Anbar Province fell to ISIS. And there's been no real significant movements on the ground to try and push back the group. So it's going to take much more than military action, as we have seen,

to defeat ISIS, and actually to fight the ideology in this case. Experts would tell you that you need to fight the narrative here, could counter ISIS. Many are joining the ranks of ISIS -- Pamela?

[14:40:00] BROWN: Jomana, thank you very much.

We have new information coming in about the attack on the recruitment center in Chattanooga. A senior defense official telling CNN that several of the Marines at that facility were combat veterans and went into combat mode when the shooting began. They ordered everyone to drop to the floor and hustled them out the back. Everyone at that location survived.

The Chattanooga attacks have affected servicemembers and their families across the country, including retired Marine Staff Sergeant Joey Jones. He was wounded in combat and is now an advocate for veterans with a boot campaign.

Joey, thanks for coming on.

STAFF SGT. JOEY JONES, U.S. MARINE CORP, RETIRED: Thank you for having me.

BROWN: So you went through that very same recruitment center there in Chattanooga and you actually know the community pretty well. Is that right?

JONES: Yes. I'm from a small town in Georgia just across the state line and it's all the metropolis of Chattanooga. They worked together. We picked up the lion's share of those that went to boot camp together in Chattanooga and, more importantly, that Marine unit, 314 Marines, my battery that was serviced through the same installation there, I knew those Marines very well.

BROWN: We look at the pictures there of the scene and it's amazing that no one was killed at this location. You see the doors riddled with bullets. Two to three dozen bullet holes. Some of the people went into combat mode. Clearly there has been training for this. Have you ever been through that kind of training? Walk us through what that is like.

JONES: Absolutely. That's called an active shooter environment. That's something you would train for if you were on a college campus or anywhere that there would be a high-value target or prominent target, that history would repeat itself. The thing to remember is he shot up the recruiting office and moved over to an installation that probably wasn't properly secured and that's where he killed four Marines. Thank god the recruiters had the training and the observation to get those people to safety and perhaps if they could have acted against him, they could have stopped him from moving on.

BROWN: Joey, I just want to get your reaction to the fact that four Marines have lost their lives. We know at least one of them has served overseas. You served overseas. You lost friends in combat. And now they come home and they are killed on U.S. soil. What do you feel? What goes through your mind?

JONES: Well, the number one thing to remember is the American people are not an enemy. The American people and who we are, we serve and protect. In a recruiting situation, you're among the American people. You're trying to inviting, get people into your recruiting office, show them the value of serving your country and bring them into your fold. You know. This particular incident, you know, there was a force protection, the anti-terrorism put out on the 9th of July saying that due to social media and the activity of groups around the world, military and law enforcement personnel will be targeted. So you've got to look at the intelligence and information that we have at hand. You call it lone wolf, a lone shooter, call it what you may. Directly or indirectly, people are being inspired by the groups abroad doing horrible things. They are being inspired to do it themselves. What we need to do is get the information to the people that need it and prepare them for things like this because it's going to happen.

BROWN: Very tragic.

Thank you so much, Joey Jones, for coming on and sharing your perspective. JONES: Thank you.

BROWN: And coming up right here in the NEWSROOM, we're a few minutes away from a news conference in Chattanooga. Our first major update of the day on the investigation into the shooting. We're going to bring that back to you live.

Joining me next, a loved one of a fallen Marine, Skip Wells' girlfriend, tells us about him, his life, his service. You won't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:48:15] BROWN: As we await this press conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee, yesterday, we are now joined by the girlfriend of one of the victims, Marine Skip Wells. Her name is Caroline Dove and she joins us now by the phone.

Caroline, thank you so much for coming on to talk with us.

I can't imagine what you are going through and we appreciate you coming on to talk about Skip.

CAROLINE DOVE, GIRLFRIEND OF MARINE SKIP WELLS (voice-over): Thank you. It's not an issue at all. I'm just glad I can share his memory.

BROWN: You were a long-time girlfriend of Skip, for the last two and a half years. I first want to go back to yesterday. What happened?

DOVE: Yesterday, I didn't know what was going on. I got a text message from him saying "active shooter" and I said, OK, well, you're a weirdo and I just kind of -- and then I didn't hear from him. So my mom actually sent me an article saying four Marines were killed and that's when I realized, oh, that's what he meant when he said active shooter and I got really worried and I just -- I kept asking him questions, if he was there, if he could please call me back or text me and I kept saying I love you and it was devastating to hear that he was one of the victims. And I was so overwhelmed with emotions. I didn't know what to do.

BROWN: Wow. That just gives you chills hearing that. You read this article that there was an active shooter situation and then how did you find out that he was one of the four Marines killed and how long from reading that article to finding out that heartbreaking news?

[11:50:09] DOVE: I actually didn't find out until this morning, about 7:00, actually, when one of his good friends had told me. And I think that was probably the worst way was for me to find out, was through somebody else and not through -- I guess family or -- I understand that the family wanted to keep it from me and I totally respect that, family comes first and I'm not on the top priority list.

BROWN: Wow. So you didn't find out for sure until this morning. I just --

(CROSSTALK)

DOVE: Uh-huh.

BROWN: I can't imagine. You had read this article yesterday and I know you were probably so full of emotions waiting to hear.

DOVE: Uh-huh.

BROWN: How he was. He wasn't responding back. What was going through that like for you? How does one cope with that?

DOVE: I mean, I just -- I kept trying to research it on my phone to see if any of the victims' names would come up, I was waiting patiently by my phone to see if I would get any kind of answer. I talked to a couple of my friends to see if they had heard anything and it was just -- there was nothing I could really do at that moment to see if he was OK.

BROWN: How long has Skip been in Chattanooga for, Caroline?

DOVE: He's worked in Chattanooga for about a year now.

But he was a new Marine. He was very much still kind of getting into the hang of things.

BROWN: Well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about his time in service. When did he become a Marine and what sparked his interests in becoming one?

DOVE: Well, he graduated from boot camp on May 9th, 2014. And that was when he was actually a Marine, he graduated to become a Marine but he always had been interested, I guess, since he was a little boy. I know when we first met he was like, you know, I'm going to be a Marine. That's all I really want to do. That's all I know and that's all I love and I would -- it would really make my life if I could just be a United States Marine. That is my true passion. And he went out and he got it. I know he was talking to recruiters for a while and once he finally got through the process, he wanted to get to boot camp as soon as possible. So the turnaround time for him swearing in to him leaving for boot camp is two weeks and he was so excited and I know he did well in boot camp. He really enjoyed it. He really enjoyed doing what he wanted to do.

BROWN: I can just tell just hearing your story. He could not wait to serve his country.

DOVE: Uh-huh.

BROWN: You all had been dating for two and a half years. How did you first meet?

DOVE: We actually met at a Georgia Southern University. We met through a mutual friend of ours and he's actually a Marine now but we were both history majors and there was a connection right off the bat. He knew what he had to do to make me happy and I knew what I had to do to make him happy. He was so friendly towards me and very passionate about my feelings and about my work life and my school and he wanted good things for me as well. It was great. We worked out as long as we did.

BROWN: Because it was long distance, is that right? When was the last time you saw him?

DOVE: I actually -- the last time I saw him was in February and I was supposed to go see him next week.

BROWN: Next week. What did you all have planned?

DOVE: As far as I know, we had dinner plans but he liked to surprise me. So whatever he had going on, I did not know about.

BROWN: Wow. You know, we're looking at these pictures of Skip and you can just tell by looking at him and his smile he was friendly. He looks like a really friendly guy, sociable. Tell us a little bit more about his personality. What was Skip like?

DOVE: He was fun-loving, friendly. Everybody loved him. He had great leadership qualities and one of the on-campus groups that we were a part of, it was something that he loved, the zombies. I know it sounds strange, he was greatly loved by everybody he met and he was truly honest. He was smart, loyal, anything that you could imagine in a good Marine.

[14:55:11] BROWN: It's amazing, Caroline, that you can come on and hold this together. I know that you're also enlisted in the Marines and waiting to go to boot camp. Is that right?

DOVE: Yes, ma'am.

BROWN: How has this impacted you and your hopes for your future?

DOVE: It's actually made me a stronger individual. Since this has happened on our soil, it has encouraged me to want to -- I actually want to live out my life as a Marine and be able to do it for him because I know that's what he wanted me to do.

BROWN: Wow. That's incredible. What will you miss most about him, Caroline?

DOVE: I'm going to miss his funny little quirks. He had his moments where he could be weird, just like any other boyfriend, but he always knew how to make me laugh. He knew how to make me smile and feel better about anything.

BROWN: Wow. Caroline, is there anything else that you want to add while we have you here with us?

DOVE: I just want to say that I know that he really wanted to fight for this country and he really -- he wanted to be remembered fighting for his country.

BROWN: And that is certainly how he will be remembered.

Caroline Dove, our thoughts and prayers are you with and your loved ones.

DOVE: Thank you.

BROWN: Thank you for coming on and being so strong to share this story.

Back in just a moment.

DOVE: Thank you for having me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:59:28] BROWN: Top of the hour now. I'm Pamela Brown.

We are awaiting a news conference with investigators about the deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Investigators are still trying to figure out what motivated the 24-year-old gunman to kill four U.S. Marines. But already it's being called a possible ISIS-inspired attack.

Listen to the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE MCCAUL, (R-TX), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: We see too much of this traffic. There are too many of the warning signs. The targets are identical to the targets called by ISIS to attack. So my judgment, in my experience, is that this was an ISIS- inspired attack. And it has been opened as a terrorism investigation by the FBI, which is a very significant event.