WASHINGTON — The Army on Tuesday said it has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment.
In a sweeping condemnation of Fort Hood’s command hierarchy, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation. He also ordered a separate probe into staffing and procedures at the base’s Criminal Investigation Command unit, which is responsible for investigating crimes on Fort Hood.
The actions come after a year that saw at least 25 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Guillen was missing for about two months before her remains were found.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, McCarthy said based on an independent panel’s review, he concluded that the issues at Fort Hood, including major flaws in the response to sexual assault and harassment, “are directly related to leadership failures.” He said he was gravely disappointed in the commanders there, adding, “without leadership, systems don’t matter.”
Gen. James McConville, the chief of staff of the Army, told reporters that he spoke to Guillen’s mother on Tuesday morning and told her, “We are holding leaders accountable, and we will fix this.”
Gloria Guillen, Vanessa’s mother, said during an emotional press conference in Houston that she spoke with McCarthy and told him the administrative actions were a step in the right direction, but she wanted to see those who had failed her daughter serve jail time.
“Nothing is going to take away the pain I feel as her mother all day and all night,” Guillen said in Spanish through tears.
Natalie Khawam, the Guillens’ attorney, said Criminal Investigation Command (known as CID) officers were among those fired or suspended Tuesday.
The panel found that Fort Hood was used as a training ground for new CID officers, and there was a lot of turnover and many of the officers were inexperienced and overassigned.
McCarthy also ordered a new Army policy that changes how commanders deal with missing soldiers. The panel found there were no detailed procedures for what commanders of small units should do if a soldier is missing, but not necessarily AWOL, or absent without leave.