The Pentagon punishes 14 Fort Hood commanders for the death of Vanessa Guillén and other soldiers

The Secretary of the Army, Ryan D. McCarthy, announced this Tuesday

as a result of the independent investigation into the failures in the procedures to deal with complaints of sexual harassment, murders and suicides at the Texas base. that came to light after the murder of the Latin soldier Vanessa Guillén, as well as other soldiers.

"The problems at Fort Hood have to do with a lack of leadership, I am deeply disappointed by that lack of leadership, they did not act when allegations of assault and sexual abuse were reported," McCarthy lamented.

The command climate at the Fort Hood military base in Texas created a "permissive environment for sexual assault and sexual harassment," the report details.

Members of the Army visit Vanessa Guillen's family to report on the progress of the investigation

Oct. 27, 202000: 27

The firings or suspensions include Army Major General Scott Efflandt, in charge of the base when Guillén was killed, as well as Jeffery Broadwater, commander of the First Cavalry Division.

An altar for the death of Vanessa Guillén.Getty Images

These administrative actions can trigger another series of investigations and more sanctions, from a simple warning letter to a military discharge.

[They identify the soldier linked to the case of Vanessa Guillén who committed suicide: the Army insists that it is not related to her disappearance]

The base commander, Lt. Gen. Pat White, will not face any administrative action.

The Pentagon argued that he was "sent" to Iraq for much of the year, although the independent report looks at crimes dating back to 2014.

The secretary of the Navy made self-criticism of the military disappearance protocol that was applied until a few weeks ago.

In some cases, the soldiers were considered deserters (AWOL, in its military acronym in English) and were not wanted by the Armed Forces.

That is what happened to the 23-year-old soldier Gregory Wedel Morales, who disappeared in August 2019. His remains were found in Killeen, Texas, outside the base, 10 months later and while Vanessa Guillén was being searched. .

The family complained about the lack of support from the Army when Wedel Morales did not return to the base.

McCarthy said at a press conference that the new missing soldiers protocol will be activated in the first 48 hours without news from the military and will coordinate with the family, something that often did not happen until now.

["I'm not going to stop until I know what happened to my daughter," says Vanessa Guillén's mother]

In recent months, the Pentagon has questioned whether there is a toxic environment at the base and has pledged to purge responsibilities.

Major General John B. Richardson, who has overseen Fort Hood since September, shared some of the findings of that report in advance in an interview with Noticias Telemundo Investiga.

Richardson admitted problems at the largest military base in the country.

"Soldiers

, because they did not trust that their superiors would take any action or hold other leaders accountable," said the senior.

At least 26 Fort Hood soldiers died in the first eight months of the year, according to military statistics.

The Army recognizes that Fort Hood has one of the highest murder and sexual assault rates in the nation.

Richardson avoided providing answers on the dozens of violent deaths, suicides and disappearances in recent years, but linked crime and sexual harassment to "a lack of trust between soldiers and leaders."

The distrust of the soldiers, he indicated,

, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington DC In his opinion, the high ranks forgot the care of their subordinates because they had more pressing priorities.

A crime that started louder complaints

Suspicion of sexual harassment hovers over the crime against Vanessa Guillén, who at only 20 years of age was murdered, dismembered, burned and buried near a river in the area.

Her family says the soldier was honest with her mother and her friends.

The young woman believed that she was only going to complicate her existence at the base, her mother, Gloria Guillén, told Noticias Telemundo.

"The Fort Hood base is hellish," says Vanessa Guillén's mother, who continues to demand justice for her daughter

Sept.

17, 202000: 50

After initially denying it, the Army neither confirms nor denies that Guillén was being harassed.

He alleges that he is part of the criminal investigation.

But much of the action he has taken after the crime is aimed at curbing sexual harassment and abuse.

A bill with his name seeks to pass in Congress to better protect victims within the Army.

And the mailboxes of the Guillén family have received hundreds of messages that assure that this is not an isolated and individual problem suffered by the older sister of the house.

The family of Vanessa Guillén, the murdered Latina soldier, visits the Fort Hood military base in Texas

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