Fort Hood questions
A congressional probe can give soldiers and their families the answers they deserve.
Two months after U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén’s remains were discovered outside Fort Hood, another missing soldier was found dead.
Sgt. Elder Fernandes, whose body was found Aug. 25, eight days after the 23year-old was reported missing, became the latest service member stationed at the sprawling U.S. Army post near Killeen to die under murky circumstances.
So far this year, nine Fort Hood soldiers have been found dead, including five suspected homicides between March and June. In addition to Guillén, the remains of Pvt. Gregory Wedel-Morales, a soldier missing since August 2019, were found in a field outside Killeen in June and three soldiers — Pfc. Brandon Rosecrans, Spc. Freddy Delacruz and Spc. Shelby Jones — were killed in separate shooting incidents. In the previous four years, only two deaths were considered homicides.
“The numbers are high here,” Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said on a visit to Fort Hood in early August, according to Stars and Stripes. “They are the highest in most cases for sexual assault, harassment, murders, for our entire formation in the U.S. Army.”
Guillén, who told family members that she had been sexually harassed, was killed on Fort Hood by a fellow soldier who buried her remains in a shallow grave and later killed himself when police closed in, according to authorities. A preliminary autopsy report showed Fernandes, who reported in May that he had been inappropriately touched by a male superior, died of suicide by hanging. An Army investigation concluded that the charges against the supervisor were unsubstantiated, but family attorney Natalie Khawam told the editorial board Fernandes was belittled and bullied after word spread of his report.
Service members such as Guillén, who was raised in Houston, Fernandes, who was from Brockton, Mass., and the thousands of others still stationed at Fort Hood deserve better. Those who serve and protect our country are prepared to put their lives on the line abroad, but they should feel safe here at home, on a U.S. military post. They should not have to fear sexual harassment or reprisals for reporting abuse.
We support the call by a group of 12 Texas lawmakers and Guillén’s family for a congressional investigation.
“Anything other than a thorough transparent investigation into the processes, discipline, and the United States Army’s handling of the matters in their aftermath would be a disservice” to the families of Guillén and the other service members who have died , wrote Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus members in a letter to Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, members of the Texas congressional delegation, the liaison to
McCarthy, Scott Mras and Gov. Greg Abbott.
“We have seen, since Vanessa, other cases of missing soldiers from Fort Hood,” state Sen. Carol Alvarado told the editorial board. “The response given to her family from the very beginning was inadequate, inappropriate and undeserving.”
We agree.
The Army has taken some steps in the right direction, including removing Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who oversaw the post when Guillén vanished, as Fort Hood's senior commander. He remains at Fort Hood in a deputy role after being denied a command position at Fort Bliss.
The Army also named an independent panel to review the post’s command climate. On Tuesday, officials announced the appointment of Gen. John Murray “to lead an in-depth investigation into the chain of command actions” related to Guillén’s case.
Such investigations could help determine why Fort Hood officials have seemed slow to investigate cases of missing soldiers — a charge made by some of the families — and what is creating a culture of sexual harassment. In one survey of Fort Hood personnel, for example, 18 of 53 women said they had been sexually harassed this year.
But merely changing command is not enough. Neither is letting the Army investigate itself.
“This does not and will not address the issue of accountability, sexual harassment, sexual assault, retaliation and other issues that still plague our military,” said Khawam, who represents both the Guillén and Fernandes families. In addition to calling for a congressional probe, Khawam and the Guillén family are pushing for passage of the #IamVanessaGuillén bill, which would let active duty service members file sexual harassment and sexual assault claims to a third party outside of their chain of command.
A recent Pentagon report found 7,825 sexual assault reports involving service members as victims or subjects of sexual harassment in fiscal year 2019, a increase of 3 percent over the previous year. The report also notes that survey participants felt “offensive behaviors are not always confronted or addressed,” something they attributed to “not wanting to jeopardize the career of a higher ranking or better performing Service member.”
True accountability requires a thorough, independent probe free of conflicting loyalties. A congressional investigation can provide that.
That is the least we can do for these service members who were willing to sacrifice so much for our country and for their families who are now needlessly left to mourn.