Army Fires, Suspends 14 Fort Hood Leaders Following Probe Into Vanessa Guillen's Death

Fourteen army leaders at Fort Hood, Texas were either relieved from duty or suspended following the disappearance and killing of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen earlier this year.

According to an independent review reported by the Army on Tuesday, the command climate at the Fort Hood base created a "permissive environment for sexual assault and sexual harassment."

Some of the relieved Fort Hood army leaders were Maj. Gen. Scott L. Efflandt, the acting commander at the time of Guillen's death, Col. Ralph Overland, and Command Sgt. Maj. Bradley Knapp, reported the NBC News.

Some army leaders who were suspended included Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Broadwater, and Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas C. Kenny, 1st Cavalry Division commanding general.

Several Army men from commander down to the squad level were issued suspension or fired, reported the Army Times. But the list of names in battalion level and below commander, who also received sanctions, were not released.

A review committee was dispatched to Fort Hood after a series of deaths inside the Army base and allegations of sexual harassment the Guillen's family put forward after her death.

Review Finds Fort Hood Command Under-experienced, Over-assigned

The review also found that the Army CID agents were under-experienced and over-assigned.

It raised concerns about how the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) programs were conducted inside the base and how the Army in Fort Hood tackles and investigates soldier deaths or disappearances. 

Read also: Congress Launches Investigation Into Recent Fort Hood Deaths

Jack White, who was an attorney on the committee, said their task was to investigate Fort Hood and what it did, as they did.

"But we are not oblivious to the fact that this is one Army and Fort Hood is potentially emblematic of other things going on in the Army," White noted.

He also suggested that the way SHARP gets conducted at Fort Hood could be similar to other Army branches since the program was Army-wide.

Leaders of the Army said they would look at the report's recommendations and make service-wide changes. While the committee was sent to the base following Guillen's case, the issues that come with it predate the incident.

The committee report noted that leadership at Fort Hood should have "known of the high risk of sexual assault and harassment."

In announcing the firings at a Pentagon press conference on Tuesday, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said they have determined that the issues at Fort Hood were directly related to leadership failures.

McCarthy commissioned a five-member civilian panel in July to conduct an independent review and assess problems at Fort Hood.

He said he was gravely disappointed that Fort Hood officers failed to create a climate that treated all soldiers with respect and dignity.

He added that the officers also failed to reinforce obligation to prevent and correctly respond to allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Read also: Two Fort Hood Soldiers Among Nine Arrested for Child Prostitution

Former FBI inspector Chris Swecker told the Army Times that the issues similar to Guillen's case had been raised "as early as 2014."

"If you look at it in terms of risk management, it became a known risk very early in the process," said Swecker, who served on the committee. 

Army Leaders Announce New Policy on Missing Soldiers

McCarthy and other leaders said that they would be establishing a new policy on missing soldiers, Texas Tribune reported.

A new task force, the People First Task Force, will also be responsible for analyzing the problems at the Fort Hood base and reviewing the Army's policy.

"We acknowledge our issues and we fix them," Gen. James McConville, chief of staff to the army, said at Tuesday's press conference.

McConville also said he talked to Guillen's mother and told her that the culture that led to her daughter's death and the issues that come with it would be fixed.

"I told her we must and will provide a safe and secure environment for American sons and daughters that serve in the Army," he said.

As for policy on missing soldiers, there will be a new status "absent-unknown," labeling soldiers in their first 48 hours of going missing.

No soldier will be considered on absence without official leave or AWOL unless their commanders find that their absence was voluntary.