San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Missing soldier’s family seeks congressional probe
The family of Houston soldier Vanessa Guillén said they requested U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz open a congressional investigation into her disappearance from Fort Hood after accusing military leaders of a cover-up.
Natalie Khawam, the lawyer for Guillén’s family, said she spoke with Cruz on Thursday to formally request a Senate inquiry after a “disconcerting” meeting Tuesday with leaders of the Army post, where Pfc. Guillén was assigned.
The family said they had high expectations that the meeting, arranged with U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, DHouston, would answer at least some of their questions about their daughter’s disappearance. Instead, they say it only reinforced their distrust of the post’s leadership.
“The base command did not provide us with the information that they promised as the current situation demands,” Holliday said.
A recruit from Kentucky became Lackland’s first confirmed case after showing COVID-19 symptoms March 22. Prior to a May 12 Pentagon order to screen all recruits, only those showing symptoms were tested.
A study published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report early this month examined the first seven weeks of what it called “nonpharmaceutical interventions” and praised the work of the 59th Medical Wing. Out of 10,579 trainees, it said, the incidence of COVID-19 was limited to five cases.
The report noted that about 40,000 fledgling airmen are trained each year at Lackland, with about 800 of them arriving on the base every week — a number that has been cut by about a third since March to allow social distancing of bunks and separation of groups of trainees. The recruits now us. They were not forthcoming, they were not transparent, they said things that didn’t occur,” Khawam said. “We didn’t get anything from them, we sleep 9 feet apart.
A sixth case was reported April 20. By mid-June, the AETC had updated the total to 35, coinciding with the increase in testing that began May 19. One week later, by June 22, the total had increased to 48 cases.
The news about the uptick in coronavirus cases at Lackland was shared with Defense Secretary Mark Esper during a recent visit here. News media in San Antonio were not told of the visit by the Pentagon and AETC or invited to cover the event.
As it stands, coronavirus may not impact the bottom line at basic training: the number of graduates. The Air Force last year graduated 39,000 recruits at Lackland, and the plan now is to produce 40,000.
“As we continue to navigate this ever-evolving environment, we remain vigilant with our safety precautions and evaluate our protocols to adjust as required,” Holliday said. have been played and now we need a congressional investigation.”
Cruz, R-Texas, did not respond to requests for comment on whether he would pursue a congressional investigation. A representative of his office attended the Tuesday meeting.
A spokesman for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command insists that the agency is investigating all leads.
“We are doing everything possible to find Pfc. Vanessa Guillén and are aggressively investigating all leads, as we have been doing consistently since April 22 when she disappeared,” said Chris Grey, CID’s chief of public affairs.
Grey said investigators have information about the case that they cannot share with the public, to protect the integrity of the investigation.
During a news conference after the meeting Tuesday, the soldier’s mother, Gloria Guillén, gave an emotional speech, vigorously criticizing how the post handled the investigation. She blamed the post leadership for not closing the compound and doing a thorough search as soon as it was clear that Guillén was missing.
“I demand justice, and I demand a thorough investigation,” the mother said, adding that she has given post leaders information about a soldier who was sexually harassing her daughter.
Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt was among the officers who attended the Tuesday meeting.
Khawam said she hopes the congressional inquiry also will uncover what the family perceives as a military cover-up. She said the Fort Hood leadership has been untruthful with the family.
“The goal is to find out what really happened to Vanessa … and get evidence (of ) who’s covering up and lying and distorting the facts to the families and to the people” at the meeting, Khawam said.
She explained that, for example, the military leaders said that they informed the family when Guillén went missing. The family said they learned about her disappearance when they called the post after her boyfriend and one of her sisters had not heard from the soldier after trying to reach her.
Khawam rejected assertions from post leaders who said they didn’t know that Guillén was missing until around 8 p.m. April 22. “If the base said from the beginning that the last whereabouts of Vanessa was between 11:30 and 1 p.m. that day, how is it that she wasn’t reported as absent during the afternoon check-ins at 3 and 4 p.m.?”
According to the attorney, officers said all soldiers were accounted for that day during the afternoon checks.
“How do you check somebody in who’s not there?,” said Khawam, adding that officers at the meeting characterized it as “a mistake.”
Guillén was last seen at the parking lot of her 3rd Cavalry Regiment’s barracks. Her car keys, wallet, ID card and barracks key were found in an armory room where she went to work that day.
Her disappearance has gained national attention, including from celebrities such as actress and filmmaker Salma Hayek and Houston rapper Baby Bash, who each posted about the case on social media.
Rewards totaling $50,000 are being offered for information that leads to finding the soldier. Anyone with information about the case should call (254) 495-7767.
“We need every person in San Antonio and Bexar County to take this crisis seriously and behave accordingly to slow the exponential growth of the virus.”