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Category: U.S. Army
Fort Hood shows higher crime rates than similar Army installations
When the Army’s top civilian leader said Fort Hood has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army, he was using statistics from the Army’s three largest populated installations, which includes the local post.
“The numbers are high here. They are the highest, the most cases for sexual assault and harassment murders for our entire formation of the U.S. Army,” Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy said during an Aug. 6 news conference at Fort Hood. “So we are getting an outside look to help us to get to those root causes and understand so that we can make those changes with the point of emphasis being that we are going to put every resource and all of the energy we can to this entire institution behind fixing these problems.”
McCarthy visited Fort Hood and Killeen earlier this month to speak with Army leaders, soldiers, local government leaders and nonprofit leaders from groups such as the local NAACP and League of United Latin American Citizens chapters. The visit was in response to the death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen, a 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier.
The secretary mentioned higher numbers of criminal acts committed on Fort Hood was a comparison with two other large Army installations: Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), in Washington state, said Col. Catherine Wilkinson, spokeswoman for the secretary, by email. The data set he was referring to shows that from 2015 to 2019, Fort Hood had, on average, more violent and non-violent felonies potentially committed (some cases are ongoing) by soldiers when compared to the other two Army posts.
Between 2015 and 2019, Fort Hood averaged 129 violent felonies a year, which included homicides, violent sex crimes, kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault, Wilkinson said. Fort Bragg averaged 90 per year and JBLM averaged 109 per year.
Non-violent felonies — such as drug crimes, failure to obey general order, desertion, larceny, other sex crimes and drunk driving with personal injury, among others — averaged 940 per year for Fort Hood. Bragg averaged 822 and JBLM 720.
Former Army nurse, 100, recalls World War II experiences
WASHINGTON — World War II was raging in 1944. American troops were instrumental in the effort to take back France, including the beach landings in Normandy that caught the Germans off guard. American forces took possession of Rome, and a Soviet counterattack pushed Germany back into Poland.
In the Pacific, Japan had gained more Chinese territory, but the communists’ presence limited Japan’s success. The Allies fought back by taking Saipan and invading the Philippines.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, 24-year-old nurse Regina Benson and three of her nursing school classmates joined the Army Nurse Corps right after graduation to serve their country. They were assigned overseas and remained lifelong friends.
Benson’s three brothers were also serving, so for her, joining the Army as a patriotic duty was not unusual.
“She was kind of fearless,” her daughter, Phyllis Benson, said in a recent interview.
Five years ago today, the first women graduated from U.S. Army Ranger School
Five years ago today, the first women graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning.
It marked a significant moment in the gender integration of the Army.
Ranger School is arguably the toughest course the U.S. Army offers. It tests mental and physical toughness — in a challenging environment that deprives soldiers of food and sleep.
On August 21, 2015. Capt. Kristen Griest and Capt. Shaye Haver were the first women to graduate from Ranger School.
Five years later, Griest and Haver are still in the Army, assigned to units in the Washington D.C. area.
This week they did exclusive interviews with News 3 and reflected on the Ranger School experience.
“I wanted to go to Ranger School since I heard about it when I was 18 at West Point,” Griest said. “It was an eight-year process for me to get into that school. I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity, I tried to enjoy it while I was in it. I think after about eight hours I was ready to get out. It was definitely not the fun experience I thought it was going to be.”
She says it was worth it.
Missing Fort Hood soldier was victim in ‘abusive sexual contact’ investigation, Army says
A Fort Hood soldier who has been missing since Monday had been transferred to a different unit because he was the victim in an “abusive sexual contact” investigation, the Army said.
Lt. Col. Chris Brautigam, a 1st Cavalry Division public affairs officer, told CNN in a statement that there is an “open investigation of abusive sexual contact” involving Sgt. Elder Fernandes and confirmed that Fernandes was the victim in the investigation.
“The unit sexual assault response coordinator has been working closely with Sgt. Fernandes, ensuring he was aware of all his reporting, care, and victim advocacy options,” Brautigam said. “The unit also facilitated his transfer from a unit who has recently deployed to a different unit within the brigade to ensure he received the proper care and ensure there were no opportunities for reprisals.”
Fernandes, 23, is assigned to a unit in the 1st Cavalry Division. He was last seen Monday afternoon by his staff sergeant when he was dropped off at his home in Killeen, Texas, the soldier’s family told police.