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Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. Beyond the base, gas station attendants and restaurant servers, many of whom were veterans or had ties to the military, all seemed resigned to certain fates. There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. He seemed weird, Rodriguez said. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. 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. LULAC leaders said the soldier's parents stated their daughter had complained about repeated sexual harassment by other service members, including one of her superiors. New HBO Max series Love & Death anchors a Texas true crime story in the human condition. 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. The young couple, Georgia state prosecutors charged, was killed by Pvt. 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. 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.) For nothing.. I believe in Vanessa, and know how it feels to not be believed. As we speak, they are in prayer at the house, she said. A mural of slain Army Spc. The hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen spread across social media as service members shared stories of sexual violence and harassment in a #MeToo reckoning for the military, as the country also grapples with the wider indictments of systemic racial discrimination and injustice following the killing of George Floyd. On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. Several investigations sparked by Guilln's death led to the removal of 14 base leaders in December 2020. 27, 2023 at 2:33 PM PDT. Staff Sergeant Jessica Mitchell is seen in this undated photo. A criminal complaint notes that both Robinson and Aguilar had previously been questioned by the CID, but at first denied being involved with Guillens disappearance. Stump was going 82 mph in a 30-mph zone, the investigation report said, and had hit a tree on a mound. Miller was recently promoted to the position of drill sergeant assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MedCoE) at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, military officials said. Memorial that now stands at the site Vanessa Guillen's remains were found in Killen, Texas. The pursuit of happiness, or simply stability, will invariably lure people to the American military, which may be why the undocumented, the indigent, or those with a criminal record are overrepresented in its ranks. [4] Hasan was shot and as a result paralyzed from the waist down. FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. (WWBT) - What was once Fort Lee's Army base now bears the names of two Black military officers. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. Vanessa Guillen, addresses the crowd outside the gates of Fort Hood military base in Killeen, Texas on June 12, 2020. Sergeant Brad Reynolds, 37, killed himself on May 16. Guillens disappearance sparked protests and her family said she was sexually harassed before she went missing. 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.) 2023 Cond Nast. Jennifer Anthony Lovells sister, Temple Tx. And on June 19, skeletal remains were found in a field behind a cul-de-sac of a residential neighborhood in Killeen. Basaldua Ruiz, 20, who was from Long Beach, California, joined the Army in July 2021 and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division since December that year. April 26, 2023 4:40 PM. And military leaders have struggled to deal with the culture Jeong says is driving the violence. There was no immediate indication that foul play was involved. The plan, Wedel-Morales told anyone who would listen, was to use the G.I. Heather OsbourneAustin American-Statesman via AP, Inside the Utah National Guard DC Deployment. (The police opened an investigation on August 19.) The purported motto of the Army was family first, mission second, Gary Shafer, a noncommissioned officer who served at Fort Hood from 2012 to 2018 and who knew Wedel-Morales through the car-club scene, told me. 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. Just before noon, Guillen left her keys, Army ID, and bank cards in one arms room and entered another adjacent arms room, separated by a hallway. After 8 p.m., Guillens sister Mayra called the base. None of the messages added up, nor were they how he usually speaks to me, Rodriguez told me. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. Its just been a very sad, mourning weekend for us.. The police too told Ailina that Fernandes was an adult and that they would not report him as missing. The four were Michael's fellow soldiers. 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. Wedel-Morales was thrilled to become a father. Fort Hood was cast under intense scrutiny when Guilln, a 20-year-old soldier, disappeared from the military base in Bell County on April 22, 2020. "I hope it's going to be . Vanessa Guillen. These figures eclipse American casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same year. The 20-year-old small arms specialist, then a private first class, was supposed to be off that day, so she showed up in civilian clothesblack tee, purple leggings, and a fanny pack. Authorities determined that the soldier suspected of killing Guilln was Spc. That an overwhelming majority of the towns economy comes from Fort Hood makes Killeen a kind of rentier state, in that most of its revenue comes through a foreign entity, which historically has led to the collapse of domestic industries, leading to increased dependence on a single source of income. Robinson fled Fort Hood on June 30, and the complaint says he killed himself that evening after being confronted by police. 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. Vannessa Guilln at Fort Hood led to a reckoning within the Army about sexual assault and harassment. On August 11, a higher-up called Fernandess mother, Ailina, to tell her that her son had not shown up for work for two days. Toxic leadership is nothing new. Fernandes wouldnt share much, nothing about what had caused him to be hospitalized, and said that he was using an insecure base hospital line. Jeong says Fort Hood could be attracting individuals who are dealing with added pressures at home. Curiously, a few hours after the officers picked up Casteel, he went silent online. A body believed to be the missing 23-year-old soldier was discovered hanging from a tree Aug. 25 in Temple, about 30 miles from the base. That is the opposite of what hes been consistently saying.. The Fort Worth Lockheed Martin plant is adjacent to the military base, where the company assembles and tests the F-35. Inquiry into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and leadership response at Fort Hood in Texas. There have been calls for Congressional investigations and a social media campaign has been launched encouraging women in the military to share their stories of harassment and assault with the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen. It is also one of a number of US military bases named for leaders or generals of the Confederacy, which fought and lost the civil war between 1861 and 1865 in an attempt to maintain slavery. At CPAC In Dallas, Conservative Elites Urge Activists To Stay Motivated Against Democrats, Less Drilling Plus Millions Eager To Hit The Road Means Higher Gas Prices For Now, Houstonians Are Slowly Going Back Into The Office But Many Dont Want To, Texas Republicans push to end countywide voting. On June 30, Fort Hood officials announced that partial human remains were found close to Leon River in Bell County, Texas. Ad Choices. 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. On November 5, 2009, 13 people are killed and more than 30 others are wounded, nearly all of them unarmed soldiers, when a U.S. Army officer goes on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in central . According to the letter, the subcommittees will jointly investigate if recent deaths may be symptomatic of underlying leadership, discipline and morale deficiencies throughout the chain-of-command. The Pentagon, in a document attached to the suicide figures, cautioned against ranking them by risk, noting that the populations of the . The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillens staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. Ever since returning from a deployment to Iraq in February 2019shipped off two months after basic training for a nine-month tourRing had become withdrawn, developed a drinking problem, and had been arrested for drunk driving. Soldiers cannot sue the military for harm, and have little recourse aside from reporting up the chain of command. Failure to comply could incur fines of hundreds of dollars or other, more severe social censure. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Moraless body was found, Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died at Fort Hood after his repeated requests to see a doctor were denied, according to Carma Johnson, whose brother died at Fort Hood. She was talking about my parents wedding, Mayra Guillen said. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. She was assigned to the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade, also known as the Iron Eagle team. The base said the chain of command is in contact with Basaldua Ruizs family and providing support and resources to her family and those who worked with her. This memory now refreshed, Gloria began asking around for a name and soon learned it through Guillens friend: Aaron Robinson, the last person to have seen her daughter. Vanessa Guill, Pvt. Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. The then senator Claire McCaskill offered her own legislation proposing many of the same reforms, but kept power within the chain of command, deferring to tradition. (According to Killeen police, no such vests were found at the scene of the crash. Last year's murder of Pfc. (He was found a day later.) Speier leads the armed services subcommittee on military personnel. She was talking about college. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. Service members who report sexual harassment or assault risk ostracism and their career. 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.. Her family quickly organized rallies outside the base and launched a #FindVanessaGuilln hashtagsocial mediacampaign. The soldiers said that Guillens belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. 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. Sexual assault in the military has long been an issue. My entire deployment I was catcalled, and called names, wrote Crystal De Los Rios in a Facebook post as part of the #IAmVanessaGuillen campaign. Fort Hood said Thursday that "no foul play" was evident so far in an ongoing investigation into the March 13 death of Pvt. Fort Hood is a sprawling base of nearly 215,000 acres, or 340sq miles, founded in 1942 in mid-Texas, between Austin and Dallas. "Army CID will continue to conduct a thorough investigation and gather all evidence and facts to ensure they discover exactly what transpired. Guillens superior confirmed she was missing. Terrie Boley, whose daughter Candance became addicted to crack cocaine while serving at Fort Hood and was murdered in a motel room in 2011, told me not to drink the water. (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. Fort Hood announced that Stump had crashed his car while driving under the influence, though a toxicology report proved inconclusive. Those remains, it turned out, belonged to yet another soldier, Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, who had gone missing the previous summer. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. From here, wars are launched. At Fort Hood, its a combination of the toxic leadership, the culture there that was able to exist,she said. He had been happy enough there that in February he reenlisted for an additional four years. Courtesy: Fort Worth Star-Telegram archives File photo. Vanity Fair may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction.