Aguilar advised the female soldier never made it out of the Army alive, the complaint states. Thanks for donating today. Published: Apr. I am astounded nobody is interested, the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. That is the opposite of what hes been consistently saying.. If he killed himself, dont they want to know why?. She is one of six children in her family. The small Texas frontier town was also a hotbed of Klan activity, according to Texas historian Gene Preuss of the University of Houston, so much so that when trains stopped in Killeen, Black passengersrelegated to colored carsknew to pull down their window shades to avoid a pelting with rocks by locals. The F-35B, operated by the Marine Corps, can take off in a short. The defense department was able to substantiate only one of the 129 retaliation cases it investigated in 2018, and 64% of service members surveyed said they experienced retaliation for reporting assault. A few days later, they spoke again, for the last time. When his parents rushed to the hospital, they saw that Chee, lying unconscious, had bruises and scrapes on his chin and on both sides of his face. Her ID, car key, room key and wallet were all found in the army barrack where she had been working earlier in the day. Guillen was last seen on April 22 in the parking lot of her Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, at the Fort Hood military base wearing a black shirt and purple fitness pants, according to a public statement by Fort Hood. Sixty-six per cent of retaliation reports allege that retaliators were in the soldiers chain of command. Pvt Carlton L Chee, 25 and a member of the Navajo Nation, collapsed following a training exercise. Boots and hat at Vanessa Guillens memorial, Killeen TX, Jeffrey Epsteins Decades-Long Relationship. Our soldiers and their families deserve the truth, she said. Fernandes wouldnt share much, nothing about what had caused him to be hospitalized, and said that he was using an insecure base hospital line. Guillens youngest sister, Lupe, made me promise to stay at the Marriott, a hotel she considered safer than the rest. Hazel Buck Blackwell, whose family lost their farm, homestead, barns, orchards, and adjoining land when the base took over, said the closest thing might be the unexpected death of someone you loved very much. It was a heartrending, searing experience, central Texas historian GraDelle Duncan said, leaving lifetime marks on all, and actually killing some from the psychic devastation that followed. Lynch chairs the oversight subcommittee on national security. Heather OsbourneAustin American-Statesman via AP, Inside the Utah National Guard DC Deployment. A mural of slain Army Spc. Natalie Khawam, who represents the Guilln family, said she is thankful Congress has agreed to their demands to investigate. On July 1, Fort Hood officials announced that the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and other law enforcement were attempting to locate a junior soldier from Fort Hood who fled the post late on June 30. The study also notes that the prevalence of sexual assault is high and has increased since 2016. Why hadnt the arms room been treated like the crime scene it was? Within days of arriving at Fort Hood, Chees clothes were stolen. The 28th death at Fort Hood this year occurred last week. [1] Nidal Hasan, a U.S. Army major and psychiatrist, fatally shot 13 people and injured more than 30 others. Inside the Rash of Unexplained Deaths at Fort Hood | Vanity Fair Specialist Guillen's family has raised. As we speak, they are in prayer at the house, she said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 2023 Texas Standard. Writer May Jeong told Texas Standard that at least 30 soldiers went missing or killed themselves last year. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. Vannessa Guilln at Fort Hood led to a reckoning within the Army about sexual assault and harassment. Vanessa Guillens family has been informed that she is dead after the Army identified human remains discovered last week as the missing soldier, her family lawyer said Sunday. After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. A History of Shootings at Military Installations in the U.S. I asked him directly if he wasnt willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, Id rather tell you in person. , Several days later, Rodriguez learned that Casteel had been committed to a hospital on base. She told family and friends that she was being sexual harassed by two different soldiers who outranked her, including Robinson, but never formally reported the allegations, fearing retaliation. According to the criminal complaint, two witnesses interviewed on May 18 told CID that they saw Robinson on April 22 pulling a large tough box, with wheels, that appeared very heavy in weight, coming out the arms room where he worked. "I hope it's going to be . A few hours later, Robinson, who had mostly been playing video games, escaped Fort Hood by car. Fort Hood, which is situated in Killeen, Texas, is one of the largest military bases in the country, housing 36,500 soldiers and another 30,000 family members. Her remains were found in late June 2020. All this has been true since the founding of the American military, but a sense of disorientation has increased in recent years, as wars that were never good to begin with began to lose moral shine. He also wanted an education, and joining the Army he knew he could take care of all of that, his sister Carma Johnson says. While law enforcement agencies, minus Army CID Special Agents, attempted to make contact with the suspect, the suspect reportedly displayed a weapon and took his own life, Fort Hood said in a public statement. Lockheed F-35B crashes on runway of Fort Worth military base | Fort Military's base-by-base suicide numbers reveal startling statistics at In 2013, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Military Justice Improvement Act, which would give independent military prosecutors outside the chain of command control over sexual assault cases. Though Congress criminalized retaliation, among a number of reforms, it remains a significant barrier to reporting in the fraternal world of the military. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. The body of Gregory Morales, another soldier who went missing in 2019, was discovered on June 19 in Killeen. The day after Guillen disappeared, Private Gavin Chambers, 21, died on base. Updated: 5:56 PM CDT November 2, 2021. We are deeply disturbed by the string of deaths at Fort Hood, and if there is any malfeasance or negligence involved, the Navajo Nation calls on our national leaders to pursue every available avenue to protect the lives of our Navajo warriors and those serving in the US armed forces, the Navajo speaker of the council, Seth Damon, said. (Fort Hood contributed nearly $30 billion to the Texas economy in 2019, according to the Texas comptrollers office.). Lynch and Speier said they would report the conditions and circumstances that could have contributed to the soldiers deaths and seek justice on behalf of soldiers and families who may have been failed by a military system and culture that was ultimately responsible for their care and protection. According to a criminal complaint, Aguilar was Robinsons girlfriend, and on April 22 he called her to say he struck a female soldier in the head with a hammer multiple times, killing her, on Fort Hood. Ana Basaldua Ruiz died Monday at the base, Fort Hood said in a news release. (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. Analysis of phone records and location data place Robinson near Leon River, where human remains were found on June 30, for approximately two hours in the early morning of April 23. A second suspect, Cecily Aguilar, 22, was charged on July 2 with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. He had been happy enough there that in February he reenlisted for an additional four years. There had been a few people, then it was a group run of 11. Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. At 9:30 p.m., Mayra, Cruz, Guillens other sister Yovana, and Yovanas boyfriend set out for Fort Hood. What to Know About the Death of Vanessa Guillen In the course of the search for Guilln, investigators also found the remains of another missing Fort Hood soldier, Private Gregory Morales, who disappeared last August, one of several unsolved deaths and disappearances at the base. Specialist Justen Ogdens death in July 2017 was ruled a suicide, but the suicide note Fort Hood produced as evidence did not match his handwriting, according to his mother, Toni. Casteel had been stationed at Fort Hood since the end of June, where hed been bullied for a spinal injury that consigned him to desk duties. Vannessa Guilln at Fort Hood led to a reckoning within the Army about sexual assault and harassment. A lawyer for the Guilln family told the Houston Chronicle that they provided Robinsons name to authorities. The TMPC continues to advocate for Texas' military personnel and installations, while . [5] Aguilars cell phone location data was also analyzed and revealed she and Robinson were together near Leon River on April 23 and April 26, the complaint states. T. Cullen Davis - Wikipedia Fort Hood hurriedly put up a $25,000 reward for Wedel-Morales as well. Officers searched Anthony's car as he was going through a gate to enter Fort . Mitchell, a drill sergeant assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center for Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, was shot to death around 2:30 a.m. on New Year's Day while driving on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Awareness and outrage over sexual violence in the military grew after the 2012 documentary Invisible War. She was taken to University Hospital San Antonio, where she was pronounced dead around 3 a.m., police said. I want her alive because she entered [Fort Hood] alive, Gloria Guillen, Vanessa Guillens mother, said in Spanish at an emotional press conference outside of the base on June 23. Vanessa Guillen enlisted shortly after she graduated high school and had expressed interest in joining the military when she was as young as 10, said her mother, Gloria Guillen, at a press conference in June. How had he managed to escapeand where had he gotten his gun? If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. On July 2, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jackie Speier called for an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General. The military, Rodriguez said, had known about this but had refused to treat him. After the public remonstrations began, Fort Hood launched something it called Operation Phantom Action, a weeklong retreat of sorts that was meant to rebuild trust between soldiers and the leadership. In this photo released by the U.S. Army, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the 1st Attack Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, fly over a mountain range near Fort Wainwright, Alaska, on . There was a deep cut above his left eye, and cuts all over his legs. This is an epidemic in our military system, in our culture. The sense of dehumanizing alienation soldiers complained about was not a symptom of a malfunctioning system, it was its original design. Vanessa Guillen. The base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Elthams Landing in Virginia and who, by todays standards, likely suffered from PTSD. I guess my point is, Rodriguez told me, if everything was fine, the way Fort Hood officials would lead us to believe, then why would this soldier, out of character, leave base without permission, and [why] did he not feel comfortable enough to call his captain or anyone on that base once he was arrested for speeding? This increase is very troubling and shows that the Armys sexual assault prevention strategies have not achieved their intended results, the report says. Military police arrested Noah Edwin Anthony, 23, on March 3, 2022, court documents show. Why had it taken forensics 72 days to conduct a search of the arms room? Graham enlisted Army in July 2019 and in her short career received the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon, military officials said. The 20-year-old soldier said she was being sexually harassed by superiors before her dismembered body was found in Texas. And what ended up happening is that this amazing and beautiful family gave this beautiful girl to this country, and they chewed her up and spit her out like she was garbage., Military sexual assaults jump by 37%, anonymous survey shows, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) The death was ruled a suicide despite the fact that the blanket stuffed around the window to hold the pipe in place had been doused in Schuettes own blood, and Schuette was found with nine stab wounds across his body, including his forearm and his left hand. Specialist Vanessa Guillens father, Rogelio, wondered if I shouldnt carry a gun. Asia M. Graham, 19. In the same week, Private Edward Casteel, who had been missing from Fort Hood since October 6, was found in a parish jail in Louisiana, arrested after a high-speed chase.