Washington- Fourteen senior officials will be punished following an investigation that was carried out after the murder of a soldier and various other cases at the Army’s Fort base in Texas as announced by the Army on Tuesday.
Ryan McCarthy, the Army Secretary, said, “The problems at Fort Hood are directly connected to leadership failures, and the murder of Vanessa Guillen shocked us and brought attention to deeper issues.”
“I conducted the suspension of commanders and other higher officials from the unit to the squad level,” the Secretary said, saying fourteen senior officials “have been relieved from their positions.”
On Tuesday an Army official said that this decision marks one of the most significant disciplinary actions even taken by the Army. He also talked about the broader concerns connected to how the Army as a whole is coping with the problems of harassment, violence and sexual assaults within its ranks.
The decision of suspension was taken following the death of a 20-year-old soldier, Vanessa Guillen, whose corpse was found in a shallow grave in June, after her disappearance in April. It was later resolved she had been thrashed to death with a hammer and her corpse was moved by the murderer who then killed himself.
Army officers named the prime suspect in Vanessa’s disappearance as Aaron David Robinson. As stated by US Army Criminal Investigation Command, Aaron, the 21-year-old suspect killed himself after police approached him on July 1.
There are deep concerns about the issues at the base, which has a population of over 37,000 service members. The independent external review revealed that the top military officials and generals are not paying enough notice to the welfare of the squad, highlighting particular concerns about how searches for soldiers who have disappeared as well as sexual harassment and sexual assault cases have been handled.
