{"id":2375,"date":"2020-12-15T18:05:47","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T18:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=139628"},"modified":"2020-12-15T18:05:47","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T18:05:47","slug":"fort-hood-soldiers-harbor-doubts-about-armys-accountability-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/15\/fort-hood-soldiers-harbor-doubts-about-armys-accountability-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Hood Soldiers Harbor Doubts About Army\u2019s Accountability Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An independent committee<\/u> appointed by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy released a scathing report<\/a> last week finding that Fort Hood leadership allowed a \u201ctoxic culture\u201d of sexual assault and harassment to flourish at the troubled Army base in Killeen, Texas.<\/p>\n

The committee, which was appointed after public outcry over a string of suicides and homicides, including the high-profile murder of 20-year-old Spc. Vanessa Guill\u00e9n, confirmed that Fort Hood led the entire Army formation in violent felonies and drug offenses.<\/p>\n

Noncommissioned officers who previously spoke<\/a> with The Intercept out of concern for the safety of soldiers under their command said this week that the committee\u2019s findings highlight what they see as an urgent need to clean up the base\u2019s leadership culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing in the report is a surprise,\u201d said one of the sergeants at Fort Hood, who has served in the Army for nearly a decade. \u201cThis has been going on for years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During a press conference at the Pentagon on December 8, McCarthy announced that 14 leaders at Fort Hood would be relieved from duty or suspended pending further investigations into Fort Hood\u2019s Sexual Harassment\/Assault Response and Prevention program, which the independent committee called \u201cstructurally flawed\u201d and \u201cchronically under-resourced,\u201d and the Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, which the committee found \u201cdeficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have determined that issues at Fort Hood are directly related to leadership failures. Leadership drives culture. They are responsible for everything that a unit does or does not do,\u201d McCarthy said<\/a>. \u201cI am gravely disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since January, there have been 28 deaths at Fort Hood, including five homicides and eight suicides. In April, Guill\u00e9n was bludgeoned to death in an armory room by Spc. Aaron Robinson, according to a criminal complaint<\/a>. Robinson later killed himself as police attempted to take him into custody. Guill\u00e9n\u2019s family alleges that the Army badly mishandled the investigation into her murder as well as reports that she was sexually harassed leading up to her death. The committee examined the CID\u2019s handling of Guill\u00e9n\u2019s case and dozens of others and found the investigators \u201cinexperienced\u201d and \u201cover assigned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The committee also determined that Fort Hood took an \u201cad hoc approach\u201d to the well-being of soldiers who fail to report to duty. Soldiers are often automatically listed as AWOL, with the Army making little attempt to locate them; noncommissioned officers told<\/a> The Intercept in October that they had few tools to help those under their command who disappeared from base. Guill\u00e9n was listed as AWOL even though she\u2019d left behind her keys and military ID, and her car was still parked at the barracks.<\/p>\n

Altogether, the committee made 70 recommendations. \u201cThis report, without a doubt, will cause the Army to change our culture,\u201d McCarthy said at the Pentagon briefing, where he announced that he would also appoint senior Army officials to lead a \u201cPeople First Task Force\u201d to further study and implement the recommendations Army-wide.<\/p>\n

McCarthy said that the Army would now investigate whether a soldier\u2019s absence was voluntary within the first 48 hours of their failure to appear for duty. If the absence was found to be suspicious, soldiers would be categorized as missing and an investigation would be opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe own the results,\u201d Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said of the independent review at the press conference. \u201cWe are holding leaders accountable and we will fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like putting a Band-Aid on a wound that you need to pack. It\u2019s still bleeding under the Band-Aid.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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But at the sprawling military installation in Central Texas, three noncommissioned officers said that while it was refreshing to hear McCarthy and senior officials take responsibility for the base\u2019s failures, they are skeptical that they can fix a deeply entrenched Army culture in which high-level commanders protect one another\u2019s transgressions and incidents are \u201ckicked under the rug.\u201d (The NCOs interviewed for this story requested that their names be withheld for fear of retribution.)<\/p>\n

One Fort Hood staff sergeant said that real accountability was still lacking. The disciplinary actions are administrative, meaning the officials could still retire or leave the Army with an honorable discharge. Some have also questioned why Lt. Gen. Robert \u201cPat\u201d White, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood, was not disciplined. When asked about White at the press conference, McCarthy said it was because the three-star general was overseas in Iraq when Guill\u00e9n was killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like at this point, people are being relieved of duty just to show the media and soldiers that heads will roll,\u201d the staff sergeant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like putting a Band-Aid on a wound that you need to pack,\u201d another sergeant said of the Army\u2019s disciplinary actions. \u201cIt\u2019s still bleeding under the Band-Aid.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

A supporter of Vanessa Guill\u00e9n is seen during a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on July 30, 2020.<\/p>\n

\nPhoto: Aurora Samperio\/NurPhoto\/AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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We Always Have to Watch Our Back<\/h3>\n

A female sergeant at Fort Hood told The Intercept that it was tragic that a female soldier had to die on post before Army commanders took notice of the frequent harassment and sexual assault. \u201cThings have not been safe here for years,\u201d she said. \u201cWe always have to watch our back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the report\u2019s most disturbing findings were regarding Fort Hood\u2019s Sexual Harassment\/Assault Response and Prevention program, known as SHARP, which was created so that soldiers could report sexual assault or harassment and receive legal and support services. The program is also supposed to provide sexual assault and harassment prevention training, none of which is happening at Fort Hood, the authors of the report said at the Pentagon briefing.<\/p>\n

The two women on the independent committee \u2014 Carrie Ricci, a retired Army Judge Advocate General\u2019s Corps officer, and Queta Rodriguez, a retired Marine Corps officer \u2014 said they interviewed 503 female soldiers individually on the base, including every female soldier in Guill\u00e9n\u2019s unit in the 3rd Calvary Regiment. \u201cOne of the really shocking elements were the number of unreported sexual harassment and sexual assault incidents,\u201d Ricci said.<\/p>\n

Ricci said the committee members discovered 93 credible accounts of sexual assault, only 59 of which had been reported. They also found 63 unreported accounts of sexual harassment. \u201cWhat many of the soldiers at Fort Hood needed was to be believed,\u201d Ricci said. \u201cIf any of them see this, I want them to know we believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat many of the soldiers at Fort Hood needed was to be believed.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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The committee found the Army\u2019s SHARP program at Fort Hood was sometimes staffed with abusive NCOs as victim advocates, because the position was considered a punishment for career advancement. SHARP personnel often had to use their own funds for training materials and their personal vehicles to drive victims to the hospital. Most soldiers, the committee found, feared retaliation if they reported assault or harassment to their superiors or SHARP program personnel. Worse, many soldiers were unaware that the program even existed.<\/p>\n

The female sergeant at Fort Hood, who previously told<\/a> The Intercept that she was drugged and raped by a more senior officer but never reported it, said the committee\u2019s findings highlight the everyday reality for female soldiers at the base. \u201cI would never go to my senior leadership and tell them how I feel or what happened to me because they would just look at me like I was crazy,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s no use in reporting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The committee said the SHARP program was largely treated as an administrative chore. After Guill\u00e9n\u2019s case became public, Maj. Gen Scott Efflandt, a two-star general who was in command of Fort Hood while White was overseas, started presiding over SHARP meetings. But his focus was not on prevention, according to the report, but almost solely on reducing a backlog of more than 1,000 active sexual assault cases.<\/p>\n

Efflandt was the highest-ranking official relieved from duty by McCarthy, followed by Col. Ralph Overland and Sgt. Maj. Bradley Knapp, who commanded the 3rd Calvary Regiment where Guill\u00e9n served.<\/p>\n

When asked whether the three men would be separated from service or allowed to remain in the military, an Army spokesperson told The Intercept that they had been officially removed from their \u201cassigned duty positions, which is not considered a punishment.\u201d The spokesperson added that \u201cany determination of subsequent actions will be made following the conclusion of the ongoing administrative investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to the committee\u2019s findings about Fort Hood\u2019s \u201cpermissive\u201d attitude toward sexual assault and harassment, two leaders of the 1st Cavalry Division, Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Broadwater and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Kenny, were suspended \u2014 but not relieved from duty \u2014 until an Army investigation into the unit\u2019s leadership and operation of its SHARP program is concluded.<\/p>\n

The two will be \u201ctemporarily reassigned to duties commensurate with their rank and experience pending the outcome of the additional investigation,\u201d the Army spokesperson said. \u201cTheir immediate chain of command will determine where they will work.\u201d The Army doesn\u2019t have an estimate yet on when the investigation will be completed.<\/p>\n

The names of the other nine officers, and the reasons for their administrative punishment, are being withheld due to the Army\u2019s privacy policy protecting lower-ranking officers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"HOUSTON,<\/p>\n

Military personnel carry the casket of Vanessa Guill\u00e9n to Cesar Chavez High School for her memorial service in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 14, 2020.<\/p>\n

\nPhoto: Go Nakamura\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Safer in Afghanistan<\/h3>\n

At the Pentagon briefing, Chris Swecker, former assistant director of the FBI\u2019s Criminal Investigation Division and chair of the independent committee, said that while crime in the city of Killeen was \u201crelatively low in comparison to other cities outside major Army installations,\u201d there were high-crime areas at Fort Hood. \u201cWhat we found was that there were no proactive efforts to suppress crime, to address the drug issues, to address violent crimes,\u201d Swecker said.<\/p>\n

NCOs at Fort Hood told<\/a> The Intercept in October that drug use on the base was pervasive and that higher-ranking officers found using drugs were often reassigned to other positions rather than punished, creating a climate of impunity. The committee found that failed drug tests at the base were the highest among all Army posts. \u201cSoldiers made it absolutely clear that illegal drugs are readily available on and off the post,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n

The committee also reported that \u201cFort Hood has high suicide attempt and suicide death rates relative to similar posts,\u201d despite the \u201cavailability of multiple mental health care venues.\u201d The NCOs who spoke to The Intercept said that soldiers are reluctant to seek help because they fear they\u2019ll be ostracized by their superior officers and unable to advance in their careers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigations averaged 115 to 214 days in duration \u2014 by which point many of the victims had already transferred from the base or left the Army entirely.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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Altogether, the committee reviewed 53 suicide cases between 2018 and 2020, which revealed that \u201coff-post suicides and deaths were not fully investigated\u201d and investigations into suicide cases on base were incomplete.<\/p>\n

While Fort Hood is used as a training ground for newly graduated CID investigators, understaffing, inadequate training, and a lack of forensic equipment means that many crimes are not identified or fully investigated, leaving soldiers and their families feeling unsafe. \u201cSeveral soldiers stated they felt \u2018safer in Afghanistan than at Fort Hood,\u2019\u201d Swecker and other committee members noted.<\/p>\n

Investigations took too long, and no one in command was tracking whether they were being done in a timely manner, the committee found. They reviewed CID cases from 2016 to 2020 and noted that investigations averaged 115 to 214 days in duration \u2014 by which point many of the victims had already transferred from the base or left the Army entirely.<\/p>\n

When Guill\u00e9n disappeared, Fort Hood had less than half its required allotment of CID investigators, and 92 percent of them were \u201capprentice agents\u201d with less than a year of experience. During the CID\u2019s investigation, inexperienced agents botched interviews, needed outside help in writing search warrants to obtain evidence, and in two instances supplied incorrect information that \u201cled to fruitless searches and expenditure of scarce manpower,\u201d according to the report. \u201cIt was only when outside help was secured from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the U.S. Marshals, and the FBI that the case was broken.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"FORT<\/p>\n

Press gather at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas on April 3, 2014.<\/p>\n

\nPhoto: Drew Anthony Smith\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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We Have a Huge Problem<\/h3>\n

After visiting the Pentagon, the five members of the independent committee testified<\/a> on December 9 before members of the House Subcommittee on Military Personnel, chaired by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who blamed<\/a> not just Army commanders but the broader military leadership for \u201cyears of inexcusable neglect and failure from the top in preventing a toxic culture of sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the scope of the report was restricted to recent events at Fort Hood, Speier questioned whether the findings were symptoms of deeper problems in Army leadership. \u201cWhile the Army is taking steps to address those who are presently in command at Fort Hood, your report suggests that this has gone on since 2014 or maybe before,\u201d she said. \u201cHow do we address those leaders who went on to other installations, bases, and commands that were part of the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think it is up to the Army to determine how far they want to go back with any type of other actions,\u201d said Jonathan Harmon, one of the independent committee members.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a hard time fixing accountability on any one person,\u201d Swecker added. \u201cBut what we did see is that there has been a lot of conflict, a lot of fighting going on over the last 20 years. We think the various commands\u2019 focus was on readiness. \u2026 They took their eye off the ball of something that was important and never made the connection between readiness and recruitment and the health and safety of their soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speier appeared unsatisfied, pointing out that Congress had spent the last decade and close to $1 billion trying to fix the problem. \u201cAt some point we have got to do something differently, because this is not working,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd there are lives lost because of it. When you have family members who are asking, \u2018I don\u2019t know if it makes sense for my son or daughter to go into the military because they fear for their lives, not overseas but here at home,\u2019 we have a huge problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Fort Hood, the NCOs said it\u2019s hard not to be skeptical after years of neglect. \u201cA lot of people are just kind of shrugging it off,\u201d one sergeant said. \u201cEvery correction is an overcorrection in the Army, then after a year, it goes back to the way it was. Nothing really changes \u2014 that\u2019s just how the Army works.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An independent committee appointed by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy released a scathing report last week finding that Fort Hood leadership allowed a \u201ctoxic culture\u201d of sexual assault and\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,383,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2376,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions\/2376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}