Fort Hood , Texas ( CNN ) -- On the fifth day of every month , the loved ones of soldiers killed and wounded in the Fort Hood shootings last year make sure to think positive thoughts instead of dwelling on the carnage of last November 5 . `` We call ourselves a family ; that 's how we cope , '' Jessica Hansen , the fiance of wounded Staff Sgt . Patrick Zeigler , told CNN on Monday . `` We mark the fifth of every month . All of us do . Instead of using that to mark something tragic , we try to use that day to mark our accomplishments and our feats . '' On Tuesday , Hansen and the others will finally learn more about what happened last November when the alleged gunman , Army Maj. Nidal Hasan , is wheeled into a military courtroom for the start of a hearing to determine if he 'll be court-martialed . Hasan , 40 , is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in the shooting spree at this sprawling Army post . He 's paralyzed from the upper chest down after civilian police shot him four times . The Article 32 hearing , like a civilian grand jury , will consider the evidence against Hasan and decide whether the case will move forward to a court-martial that could bring the death penalty . Unlike a grand jury , the hearing is open to the public , and both the defense and prosecution can present witnesses and evidence . Army prosecutors have refused to speak publicly about the case or release a witness list . They are expected to call every person wounded in the shootings , as well as others , to provide a second-by-second account of what happened on November 5 , 2009 . John Galligan , Hasan 's civilian attorney , had wanted the hearing closed to the public , but his motion was denied . Hasan , a U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent , faces 13 counts of first-degree murder for allegedly opening fire at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood , killing 12 soldiers and a civilian . He also is charged with 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder for the 30 military personnel and two civilians wounded at the center , where soldiers prepare to deploy for Afghanistan and Iraq . The shootings at the nation 's largest Army post , in central Texas between Dallas and San Antonio , shocked the nation and raised questions about whether a so-called homegrown terrorist had operated within the military system without detection . The Article 32 hearing is not expected to provide answers to why Hasan , who had communicated with a known Islamic extremist and made anti-U.S. comments , was promoted nonetheless . At the time of the shootings , Hasan was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan , military officials said . The FBI has said it was aware of communication between Hasan and Anwar al-Awlaki , a Yemeni-American cleric who has promoted jihad against the United States and other Western countries . But investigators had determined those contacts were `` consistent with research being conducted by Maj . Hasan . '' Clerics at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church , Virginia -- which Hasan attended when he lived in the area -- described him as a loner . Shaikh Shaker Elsayed said they were not successful in finding him a wife , and Imam Johari Abdul-Malik said some people believed Hasan changed after his mother 's death in 2001 . Galligan , a longtime military lawyer who now defends accused soldiers , said Hasan spends his days on base in bed . He has a Quran and can watch television , and a pail in his cell serves as his bathroom , the attorney said . Legal jockeying so far indicates the Article 32 hearing will be contentious . Last week , Galligan said he instructed Hasan not to cooperate with a government-ordered psychiatric evaluation . Col. Morgan Lamb , the officer overseeing the case , had indicated in January that the military would not `` meet with , test or examine '' Hasan until after the Article 32 hearing . But in a recent memo obtained by CNN , Lamb said he reversed his decision after the defense said in court last month that it may introduce mental capacity evidence for consideration in the case . Galligan denied the defense had made such a statement . The hearing could stretch into November , with the prosecution set to present its case through October 29 , followed by a one-week recess when Fort Hood will mark the first anniversary of the shootings , referred to by some as `` 5/11 . '' On Monday , a federal holiday with the base closed to journalists , there was little attention being paid to the upcoming hearing . A front-page story in the Killeen Daily Herald with the headline `` Hasan 's Article 32 Hearing Begins Tuesday '' was dwarfed by stories on frozen Social Security benefits and delays in federal aid involving Tropical Storm Hermine . Soldiers showed little interest in talking about the shootings or the suspect , refusing to give their names and offering only brief responses that indicated they want the whole thing to be over . For Hansen , the hearing is the first step of what she believes will be a long process to bring justice to the victims , including Zeigler , who was hospitalized for 10 months in Texas and Minnesota . With all the attention on Hasan as the hearing approached , she said she `` cringed '' at how some of those wounded in the shootings struggled alone and unnoticed . CNN 's Tom Cohen contributed to this report .
NEW : Fiance of wounded soldier says families of victims band together . Nidal Hasan is charged with 13 murder counts . The Article 32 hearing starting Tuesday could last a month . The hearing will determine if Hasan gets court-martialed .