Army: Independent probe coming in Fort Hood killing
AUSTIN, TEXAS — U.S. Army officials announced Friday they will begin an independent review of the command climate at Fort Hood following calls from members of Congress and community activists for a more thorough investigation into the killing of a soldier from the Texas base.
Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy said he was directing the review and that it will be conducted by an independent panel of congressional representatives selected in collaboration with League of United Latin American Citizens. The panel will examine claims and historical data of discrimination, harassment and assault.
The review comes in the wake of the death of 20-yearold Spc. Vanessa Guillen, who investigators say was bludgeoned to death at Fort Hood by a fellow soldier. She was last seen in April and was listed as missing for six weeks before the Army released details. The soldier suspected in Guillen’s slaying, Spc. Aaron Robinson, died by suicide on July 1 as police were trying to take him into custody.
“The Army is deeply saddened and troubled by the loss of one of our own,” McCarthy said Friday during a news conference.
In a separate news conference Friday, U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said McCarthy also had agreed to back calls for the Department of Defense to conduct an inspector general’s investigation into the death of Guillen. She said the independent review of Fort Hood’s climate showed military officials were listening.
The Texas congresswoman and others met with McCarthy after dozens of lawmakers joined a letter demanding a full accounting of the circumstances surrounding Guillen’s death.
“This is the military ‘me too’ movement,” Garcia said.
President Donald Trump acknowledged Guillen’s death in an interview with Noticias Telemundo on Friday. He said he had heard of the sexual harassment and assault allegations in the Army and was expecting a report by Monday, when he said he would say more.
“I thought it was absolutely horrible,” Trump said.
Natalie Khawam, who is representing the Guillen family, said Friday she hopes to find support in members of Congress and President Trump for the I Am Vanessa Guillen bill that she will be presenting this month. If passed, the bill would allow for active duty service members to file sexual assault and harassment claims to a third party agency, instead of their line of command.
“Vanessa Guillen dedicated her life to serving our country,” Khawam said. “America looks forward to Congress passing our bill and the President signing it into law so this injustice never happens to another soldier ever again.”
Questions over Guillen’s disappearance still loom.
Guillen’s family has said Robinson, the soldier accused of killing her, sexually harassed Guillen at Fort Hood, but they have not given specifics of what they were told.
Phone records helped lead investigators to Cecily Aguilar, a civilian now charged with one federal count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Investigators believe she helped Robinson hide Guillen’s body. Aguilar, 22, of Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, is currently in custody at the Bell County Jail.
The Army said a contractor not involved with the investigation found human remains June 30 in the woods near the Leon River. The remains were later identified as Guillen’s.
Later that day, July 1, Robinson, who had been confined at Fort Hood for reasons unrelated to the Guillen investigation, ran away unnoticed from the barracks, according to the Army. After being confronted by police later that night, Robinson died by taking his own life.