Despite 10,000 hours of investigation and 300 interviews, much about Guillens death remained a mystery. She enlisted for her country, to defend us, and now that she needs us we need to support her and look for her and catch that miserable personwho knows who he is of all of them.. [Vanessa] was supposed to be safe while working and protecting the country we live in, Lupe Guillen told reporters at a June 23 press conference. He got home around 2 p.m. and told his wife, Gloria, about the unusual aches. Several other investigations into conduct at Food Hood are also under way, including one examining the allegations that Guilln was sexually harassed, and another on the support given to those who report sexual harassment and sexual assault. 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. Vanessa Guillen is painted on 14th Street NW in Washington July 13. Had anyone helped Robinson clean up Guillens murder in those 40 minutes? Lupe Guillen, younger sister to missing Pfc. They lied to us since day one, Mayra Guilln, Vanessas sister, said in an anguished press conference last week. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? The Army charged a fellow soldier with Guillns murder, though that soldier killed himself before charges were announced. McCaskill, a former sex crimes prosecutor, found herself labeled as the roadblock to the most significant piece of congressional legislation challenging rape culture in the military. Asia M. Graham, 19. However, efforts to pass legislation reforming military justice faltered over a debate about commanders roles in prosecuting sexual assault. Give me the name and I will report the bastard, Gloria told her daughter, who refused to tell her mother more for fear of worrying her, and also, Gloria later suspected, for fear of reprisal. Frantic, she called around, to no avail. When the family exhumed his body in November 2020 for want of a second opinion, the independent autopsy revealed that the bone had in fact gone missing.) Who were the soldiers who had testified to seeing Guillen leave the arms room the day she disappeared? On June 18, 3rd Cavalry Regiment Commander Col. Ralph Overland announced the start of an investigation into claims that Guillen was sexually harassed before she disappeared. But the problem is you could always have punished for retaliation.. Aug 6, 2020. The military is necessarily an institution of state-sanctioned violence, where we teach our young to kill on our behalf in the name of ideologies such as patriotism or democracy. It is situated on 340 square. Unless NWS Fort Worth were to get special permission, the likely intense tornado that just occurred over rural Fort Hood, Texas in Coryell County will *probably* only receive a rating of EFU as it occurred over a military base. . But when Kim called the police, they dismissed her, telling Kim that her son probably just took off. (Killeen Police stated they have no knowledge of anyone declining to investigate.) Guilln was not the only soldier to disappear or die at Fort Hood in 2020. 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. The 2020 murder of Spc. She did not enter a plea. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. Authorities determined that the soldier suspected of killing Guilln was Spc. His body was found nearly a month later, two miles from the barracks. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) Two witnesses had seen Robinson roll a black cargo box out of the arms room and through the parking lot, where he loaded it into his car and drove away, contradicting an earlier affidavit from three soldiers who falsely claimed they had seen Guillen departing the arms room earlier. A mural of slain Army Spc. She wanted to be a part of something that was bigger than herself. Jeong says Fort Hood could be attracting individuals who are dealing with added pressures at home. Is it possible Elder was murdered? So much for Abbott's obsession with law and order., Secretary of State Blinken Says Detention of WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich Is Unacceptable, President Biden also demanded release of journalist from Russian custody on Saturday: let him go., Republicans Border Policy Has Apparently Escalated From Build the Wall to Invade Mexico. On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. Anthony Peden, Pvt. 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. 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. As publication approached, it stopped responding to emails pertaining to both specific questions about individual cases as well as broader queries about the base.). Even then, it was she who had to scare up the $3,500 in bail money, and after Fort Hood sent two officers to pick up Casteel, officials refused to share information with Rodriguez. The Armys own investigation found major flaws at Fort Hood, leading to the firing or suspending of 14 officials. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital The ancient Greeks wrote epic poems on the subject, the most famous of which is the Iliad. 2023 Cond Nast. So much of reporting is opening yourself up to chance, and there I was, compulsively locking and relocking the rental car door. For the Army to say no foul play would also indicate a tone deafness to the concerns of the father and the mother of Ana Fernanda Basaldua Ruiz who stated that she had been the target of alleged sexual harassment repeated and consistent sexual harassment by other service members up to and including an immediate superior to who she reported, David Cruz, the Communications Director of LULAC, said. She was assigned to the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade, also known as the Iron Eagle team. Guillens disappearance sparked protests and her family said she was sexually harassed before she went missing. #TXwx . That American imperialism is imploding, and the blast force radiates inward. Robinson fled Fort Hood on June 30, and the complaint says he killed himself that evening after being confronted by police. After the discovery, Vanessa Guillens sister, Mayra Guillen told TIME, I feel empty I feel like they took everything from me.. The man behind Mattress Mack: salesman, gambler introvert? The soldiers were identified as 30-year-old Staff Sgt. By Kristen Cabrera, Shelly Brisbin & Caroline CovingtonJuly 12, 20216:54 amCrime & Justice, Military and Veterans' Affairs. Service members who report sexual harassment or assault risk ostracism and their career. About one in three service members report sexual assault, according to the defense departments sexual assault prevention and response office, which was established in 2005. Guillen's case sparked national attention after she was allegedly murdered by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood in Texas in April, then dismembered and her remains dumped. Her story, what happened to her, really resonates for me because, shes a Mexican American woman that lost her life, and that could have easily been me with the things that I went through, the sexual harassment, the attempts of assault, and dealing with the chain of command where you try to report things.. Homicides occurred at a rate of nearly one a day over the past three years, while arrests for those crimes dropped. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. The letter also demands the immediate relief and replacement of Guillns chain of command, up to and including the commanding general of Fort Hood, and a boycott on enlistment until systemic rape culture is addressed. Club Fuego where Gregory Wedel-Morales was last seen, Killeen Tx. Many questions remain unanswered about the events leading up to Guillns death. First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. Yet instead of being taken into custody, Robinson was placed in a conference room on base, initially, it was said, for committing adultery, which is against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Last year's murder of Pfc. Protesters gather at a march and vigil for Vanessa Guillen on 12 July in Austin, Texas. But once they become disposable, they werent really interested in following up, which really kind of goes against the ethos and the branding of the American military, you know: we take care of our own and when our own dies, were going to take care of their families, Jeong said. Two Coast Guard Yards in the two most dangerous military towns are located in Baltimore, which saw a murder rate ten times the national average in 2017. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. (Penny says they met online.) Around the Guillen murals in Killeen and in Houston, I met people who had lost loved ones to the military, who felt harm done, who saw in Guillen a savior. Khawam plans to present womens testimony to Congress to encourage legislation while the family visits Washington D.C. this week. One of the first times she stepped onto the base, a rosary she had been carrying in the palm of her hand tore apart, its beads scattering over the concrete ground. None of the grunts I spoke to was surprised by the number of casualties. At present, the reporting system is designed so that service members report to an internal entity or their superiors in the case of the Army its the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention, known as SHARP, which the family believes is ineffective. When Kim called Fort Hood inquiring after her son, she was told the case was the remit of the Killeen Police Department as Wedel-Morales had gone missing off base. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. Our soldiers and their families deserve the truth, she said. Combat engineer Pvt. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Three weeks before her disappearance, Vanessa Guillen told her mother that she was being sexually harassed and followed by an Army sergeant, but was afraid to report him, according to the Guillen family who made a website to coordinate their search. 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. Before Fort Hood was built, the land was used for grazing by some 3,000 farmers and ranchers, according to Gerald D. Skidmore, a Killeen historian. Khawam told CNN on July 5 that the Guillen family is devoutly Catholic and that a priest was present when family members were informed that Guillens remains had been identified. First came the British and Germans. The 20-year-old soldier said she was being sexually harassed by superiors before her dismembered body was found in Texas. Military police arrested Noah Edwin Anthony, 23, on March 3, 2022, court documents show. In 2015, a sergeant with the bases sexual assault reporting unit which Guilln would have reported to had she lodged a complaint pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring with vulnerable young soldiers. On May 18, Brandon Rosecranss burning Jeep was discovered in a hilly suburb east of Fort Hood. A spokesman for the Army, Matthew Leonard, confirmed that no other base has ever. And the mix of suicides and interpersonal violence on base points to a troubling culture among leadership there that Jeong says has trickled down into the lower ranks. We need a neutral agency, to oversee claims of sexual harassment and assault, Khawam says, one with no stake in the game., I joined the Navy at 19. The vast emptiness that is most of the state can make you feel inconsequential, as if you could disappear and no one would know you ever lived. On most nights, I had nightmares. Isaac Aguigui, Sgt. The letter said that according to army data there were an average of 129 felonies committed annually at Fort Hood between 2014 and 2019, including cases of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault. A lawyer for the Guilln family told the Houston Chronicle that they provided Robinsons name to authorities. "I hope it's going to be . And necessarily there are additional pressures on these people with economic, or if theyre soldiers of color, then obviously race is a component as well. First . The family began posting online about Guillens disappearance and distributing Missing fliers. Mejhor Morta, 26, and Specialist Francisco Gilberto Hernandez-Vargas, 24 died two weeks apart in what appeared to be drowning accidents in the same lake. Now the family is calling on Congress to pass a bill in Vanessa Guillens name that would change the way sexual harassment and assault is reported in the military. The body of Gregory Morales, another soldier who went missing in 2019, was discovered on June 19 in Killeen. Fort Hood is a sprawling base of nearly 215,000 acres, or 340sq miles, founded in 1942 in mid-Texas, between Austin and Dallas. At the time of his first trial, Davis was believed to be the wealthiest man to have stood trial for murder in the United States. No woman should be seen as a sexual objecttheyre just like my sister, they just want to fight for us.. A mural in Austin in remembrance of Fort Hood Army Spc. Lynch chairs the oversight subcommittee on national security. LM Otero/AP. Far from itthe military was operating as it had been intended. Agamemnon demonstrates disrespect, vanity, and other lapses in judgment, the result of which is what clinical psychiatrist Jonathan Shay describes as moral injurya (i) betrayal of whats right, (ii) by someone who holds legitimate authority, (iii) in a high stakes situation. Such moral injury deteriorates social trust, which is then replaced by the settled expectancy of harm, exploitation, and humiliation from others, resulting in despair and violence to self and to others. They pointed glumly to past cases, some of which there were public records for and others I could find no traces of in the official files. Investigation underway into female soldier's death at Fort Hood, Vanessa Guilln was murdered three years ago, partial human remains were found along the Leon River, criminalizing sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. All Rights Reserved. Graham, of Cherryville, North Carolina, was found unresponsive in her barracks room at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and pronounced dead by emergency personnel, officials said. "Her loss is felt not just in our formations but across the Army. The apparently unrelated deaths of two female Army soldiers in Texas are under investigation after officials said one died after being shot in her car on a freeway on New Year's Day and the other was discovered dead in her military barracks on New Year's Eve. She had also missed her standing noon call with her fianc, Juan Cruz. On June 30, Fort Hood officials announced that partial human remains were found close to Leon River in Bell County, Texas. Inquiry into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and leadership response at Fort Hood in Texas. Memorial that now stands at the site Vanessa Guillen's remains were found in Killen, Texas. Thomas Cullen Davis (born September 22, 1933) is an American former oil tycoon who is best known for being acquitted of murder and attempted murder in two high-profile trials during the 1970s. Aguilar faces 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, and a hearing is expected to take place early next week. Guillen was last seen on April 22. Ana Basaldua Ruiz no foul play is evident, and will remain under investigation.. Staff Sergeant Jessica Mitchell is seen in this undated photo. The Army is investigating Graham's death. Foul play is also suspected at this point in the investigation of Moraless death, Fort Hood officials said in a public statement, but there is no credible information linking his death to Guillens disappearance. Her story led to another social media campaign with survivors of sexual abuse and harassment in the military sharing their stories online using the #IAmVanessaGuilln hashtag and demanding change. Information related to any possible harassment will be addressed and investigated fully," the base said in the statement. I could lose everything: Dallas drag performers say Texas bills could impact their jobs, Facebook users can now apply for a portion of a $725 million settlement. Driving into Killeen last fall, what greeted me was a deer, roadkill, that had been severed in half. Vannessa Guilln at Fort Hood led to a reckoning within the Army about sexual assault and harassment. This is an epidemic in our military system, in our culture. November 2009: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan carried out the largest mass murder at a military installation in American history, opening fire on dozens of unarmed soldiers at a medical deployment. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. 28 Apr 2023 21:06:24 Fernandes transferred to another unit where he was called a snitch and worse. Fernandess family told me they have never been interviewed. 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. Fort Hood has had over 50 deaths in the last 5 years." Three years after the murder of Fort Hood Army Spc. In death, Guillen has become a kind of patron saint for all those who feel wronged by the U.S. military. Last year, 6,236 reports of sexual assault were filed by active duty service members. His mother, Kim, only heard from her son when he needed money. It was also an ancient Comanche Native American burial ground, discovered when construction workers unearthed more than 2,200 grave sites in 1998. When Ailina contacted the military police at Fort Hood, they told her that Fernandes was an adult, and that if he was missing, he likely didnt want to be found. The Department of Justice released a criminal complaint alleging that Robinson had murdered Guilln at the base, then dismembered and buried her body near the Leon River, with Aguilars help. She was taken to University Hospital San Antonio, where she was pronounced dead around 3 a.m., police said. Later, on June 30, contractors working near the river discovered body parts. They were identified as Sgt. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Guillen confessed that she was being harassed by another soldier. There are currently four inmates awaiting execution at Leavenworth, but these four will not face the gallows. Instead, a Bunch of Republicans Endorsed Trump. Nearly 200 miles away in Houston, Rogelio Guillen was entering his fourth hour of work at a nickel-plating factory when he felt a sharp spasm in his chest. Fort Hood has the highest cases of soldier murders and sexual assaults among all Army installments, officials said Thursday, as they planned to investigate the military base. The Guilln family plans to lead a peaceful protest in Washington DC, on 30 July, when they will present their proposed bill to lawmakers. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. Key parts of theI Am Vanessa Guillen Actbecame lawin December 2021, includingcriminalizing sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, improving how certain officials respond to sex-related offenses through independent investigations, and removing the decision to prosecute sexual misconduct cases from service members chains of command. They saw him load the box into his vehicle and drive away. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. And so his disappearance was no surprise, his father told me. (modern). He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. And I think its just the confluence of these factors that is intersecting in this spectacularly terrible way.. Many complained specifically of being made to cut grass to ready for such official visits.
