John Gaffaney, 56, of Serra Mesa, was among those killed Thursday in the deadly shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, the county announced Friday.

"We all admired and respected John so very much for his commitment to do what he could to help during the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq," Ellen Schmeding, with the county's Health and Human Services Agency, said in an e-mail to county workers. "He was an inspiration to all of us in so many ways."

Gaffaney, 56, worked for San Diego County for more than two decades, most recently as a supervisor with the county's Adult Protective Services, where he helped elderly victims of abuse and neglect. He previously served in the Army, earning the rank of major. He later joined the Army Reserve, and had just traveled to Fort Hood this week in preparation for an overseas deployment.

Among other people going through deployment processing at Fort Hood this week were Camp Pendleton-based U.S. Army reservists with the 478th Transportation Company who were featured in a news story last week in the North County Times.

The 478th, which is based at Roark Army Reserve Center on Camp Pendleton, left Oceanside for Fort Hood on Sunday. Their departure came two days after the unit hosted a traditional deployment ceremony at the base.

Capt. Richard Flores, the unit's commanding officer, said briefly by telephone Friday that the group was safe.