14 axed at Fort Hood

Hit for deaths, abuse

The Army on Tuesday said it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment.

In a sweeping condemnation of Fort Hood’s command, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation.

He also ordered a separate probe into staffing and procedures at the base’s Criminal Investigation Command unit, responsible for probing criminal activity.

The actions come after a year that saw at least 25 Fort Hood soldiers die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Guillen, 20, who told relatives she had been sexually harassed, was missing for more than two months before her body was found.

According to investigators, Guillen was beaten to death by Spc. Aaron Robinson, who killed himself on July 1 as police were trying to take him into custody.

Also in July, the body of

Pvt. Mejhor Morta was found near a reservoir by Fort Hood. And in June, officials discovered the remains of another missing soldier, Gregory Morales, about 10 miles from that site.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, McCarthy said that based on an independent panel’s review, he concluded that the issues at Fort Hood, including major flaws in the response to sexual assault and harassment, “are directly related to leadership failures.” He said he was gravely disappointed in the commanders there, adding, “Without leadership, systems don’t matter.”

Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, told reporters that he spoke to Guillen’s mother on Tuesday morning and told her, “We are holding leaders accountable, and we will fix this.”

McCarthy also ordered a new Army policy that changes how commanders deal with missing soldiers.

The new policy requires leaders to list service members as absent-unknown for up to 48 hours and to do everything they can to locate the soldier to determine if the absence is voluntary before declaring anyone AWOL.

The review was based on more than 2,500 interviews, the Army said.