The Lovell case was ruled an accident despite the fact that a rival clubs biker vest, or kutte, was found hanging neatly from a tree near the crash site, while his motorcyclemirror, taillightswas found intact. We are Vanessa Guilln, thats our story too, it could have easily been any one of us, said Tristeza Ordex, a retired marine corps staff sergeant who helped start the letter along with Pam Campos-Palma, a former intelligence analyst and community organizer. Two days after Staff Sergeant Anthony Lovell, 40, disappeared in 2017, his body was found, eyes pecked clean, face split in half, in a creek off Killeens seedy main corridor called Rancier, the same street where Specialist Freddy Delacruz, 23, was shot and killed last March. From the age of 18, the only thing I knew how to do was kill people, Ring wrote on the website of his fathers veterans rights organization. (Fort Hood does not count Moore in its official casualty list, as he was a member of the National Guard.). The U.S. Army has fired or suspended 14 officers and soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, following an investigation into sexual assaults and murders at the base, including the bludgeoning to . Military police arrested Noah Edwin Anthony, 23, on March 3, 2022, court documents show. Sexual assault in the military has long been an issue. Darlene Krashoc Sexually Assaulted, Murdered, and Dumped in Parking Lot in Colorado Springs; DNA Match Leads to Arrest of Michael Whyte (March 17, 1987) Captain Gordon Hess, U.S. Army Army Captain Gordon Hess Found Stabbed to Death at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Military Investigators Ruled Suicide Despite the 26 Stab Wounds to Neck & Chest Area (1998) Inquiry into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and leadership response at Fort Hood in Texas. There, Wedel-Moraless remains had been found, long ago decomposed in the Texas heat. (According to Killeen police, no such vests were found at the scene of the crash. Vanessa Guillen is painted on 14th Street NW in Washington July 13. However, efforts to pass legislation reforming military justice faltered over a debate about commanders roles in prosecuting sexual assault. Toxic leadership is nothing new. And being mission-ready, the perpetual vigilance it requires, ensures a kind of endless possibility of war, which in turn justifies the $740 billion annual defense budget. 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. [2] [3] It was the deadliest mass shooting on an American military base. Writer May Jeong told Texas Standard that at least 30 soldiers went missing or killed themselves last year. Lynch chairs the oversight subcommittee on national security. Aguilar faces 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, and a hearing is expected to take place early next week. Asia M. Graham, according to military officials. 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. Because what the military asks of its men and women is so antisocial, it must co-opt the rhetoric of the family. The F-35B, operated by the Marine Corps, can take off in a short. 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. Two months later, partial human remains were found along the Leon River in Belton and were identified as those of Guilln. 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. 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 family began posting online about Guillens disappearance and distributing Missing fliers. 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. She did not enter a plea. 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. He had also gotten married without telling his family, been evicted from his apartment, and stopped showing up to work. We are focused on supporting Drill Sergeant Mitchells family as well as her soldiers during this extremely difficult time," Maj. Gen. Dennis LeMaster, the MEDCoE Commanding General, said in a statement. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two. Fort Hood has had over 50 deaths in the last 5 years." Three years after the murder of Fort Hood Army Spc. Robinson fled Fort Hood on June 30, and the complaint says he killed himself that evening after being confronted by police. Guillns family say they learned what allegedly happened to Vanessa as the public did. Almost 90 lawmakers have signed a letter spearheaded by the Texas representative Sylvia Garcia calling for the defense departments inspector general to investigate Guillns disappearance at Fort Hood. But then certain details start illuminating the mystery: that one out of three women soldiers have experienced sexual harassment, according to a recent survey. Two more who had separated from the. This negates civic participation, as the state no longer needs to collect taxes and thus stops serving the people, who in turn have no need to pressure the government for anythingthe very dynamic that continues to play out in oil-rich Gulf states. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandess death a suicide. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. Authorities determined that the soldier suspected of killing Guilln was Spc. A small minority, which bikers call one percent groups, and which the Department of Justice calls by the regrettable acronym OMG, or outlaw motorcycle gangs, were the people Wedel-Morales had been hanging around with. The wave of pain went away as suddenly as it had come on but returned again, and again, and again, over the next hour. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. Guillen's family said the. "Her loss is felt not just in our formations but across the Army. Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. 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. I am still fighting this to this day., There are way too many stories like this where abusers are being protected, reports are not being taken seriously and nothing is being done, De Los Rios adds. When Ailina offered the Fort Hood authorities the contents of her sons car, including a laptop, iPad, and external hard drive, they declined to investigate further. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. Dont they care as to what happened to Elder Fernandes? He refused to send a selfie or get on a video chat and began using a strange and unfamiliar speech pattern. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. And military leaders have struggled to deal with the culture Jeong says is driving the violence. The Dallas Police Department has identified two suspects who are wanted in a shooting in June 2022 . It did make me wary of going out at night, for example, Jeong said. We are deeply saddened by the loss of PV2 Ana Basaldua Ruiz, and we extend our sympathies to her father, mother, and her sister, said Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan, commander of the 91st Engineer Battalion. Fort Hood hurriedly put up a $25,000 reward for Wedel-Morales as well. He died the evening of September 2. "I hope it's going to be . Linda Schweers, whose specialist son, Justin, died in a car crash in June while suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, wanted me to be careful of cartels, which she said ran the area. 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. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. 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.. They are part of Killeens population of 151,000, many transient and very young, two thirds of whom have military ties. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. 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. 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. What has long been under scrutiny is the reporting process for service members who experience sexual assault and harassment. They lied to us since day one, Mayra Guilln, Vanessas sister, said in an anguished press conference last week. (modern). 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. 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. Greg Abbott Is Apparently Perfectly Fine With the Murder of a Black Lives Matter Protester, The Texas governor is angling to pardon a man convicted of killing a demonstrator in the George Floyd protests. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. 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. On July 2, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jackie Speier called for an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General. Site Gregory Wedel-Morales' remains were found in Killeen, Texas. Aaron Robinson, who fatally shot himself as police moved to arrest him. Ive lost brothers and sisters in arms, a marriage, Ive lost family, Ive lost friendships that were supposed to be forever. Fort Hood is a sprawling base of nearly 215,000 acres, or 340sq miles, founded in 1942 in mid-Texas, between Austin and Dallas. So much of reporting is opening yourself up to chance, and there I was, compulsively locking and relocking the rental car door. The Fort Worth Lockheed Martin plant is adjacent to the military base, where the company assembles and tests the F-35. [The families] felt like they were very available to recruit these men. They also fell short in supporting grieving family members. He wondered if it was something he had eaten and carried on with his shift. I will continue spreading her name until she is found and justice is served., Nathalie Ocampo Meda, a member of the Marines, shared that she was sexually harassed and threatened on multiple occasions. 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. The Army charged a fellow soldier with Guillns murder, though that soldier killed himself before charges were announced. Four days later, an anonymous tip directed investigators to an urban prairie at the end of a residential street where Penny Morales used to live. She doesnt belong to the Army anymore, AnaLuisa Tapia, a local organizer, told me. He told his sister there were three white soldiers who did not like him. On August 28, Chee was called into a training run. Information related to any possible harassment will be addressed and investigated fully," the base said in the statement. By then, the Army, it seemed, had stopped providing Wedel-Morales with a sense of purpose, and he had turned to alternate sources of meaning, namely car and motorcycle clubs, and life beyond the base. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. She was taken to University Hospital San Antonio, where she was pronounced dead around 3 a.m., police said. The military, Rodriguez said, had known about this but had refused to treat him. At least 159 Fort Hood soldiers died out of combat between 2016 and last year, including seven homicides and 71 suicides, according to an analysis by The New York Times. Thats the stage that the family needs, Ordex said. An independent group of investigators from the U.S. Army will be probing the rise of serious crimes at Fort Hood, Texas, involving the military base's soldiers.