Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

US Army fires Fort Hood officers and orders policy shift following 25 deaths
The Guardian ^ | Dec 9, 2020 | Guardian staff and agency

Posted on 12/09/2020 6:49:55 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?

The US Army has fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at its Fort Hood, Texas, base and ordered policy changes to address chronic failures of leadership that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence, including murder, sexual assault and harassment....

The actions come after a year that saw at least 25 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Vanessa Guillen. The young soldier was missing for about two months before her remains were found.....

The firings include Army Maj Gen Scott Efflandt, who was left in charge of the base earlier this year when Guillen was killed, as well as Col Ralph Overland, the third cavalry regiment commander and his CSgt Major Bradley Knapp.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: army; fthood; military
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last
25 Deaths is definitely unacceptable. But have to wonder if a lot of the root cause is mixing the sexes in a stressful and close quartered environment, but that is no the PC question.
1 posted on 12/09/2020 6:49:55 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

Wasn’t this where that one nut shot up a bunch of people a number of years back?


2 posted on 12/09/2020 6:51:22 AM PST by OttawaFreeper ("The Gardens was founded by men-sportsmen-who fought for their country" Conn Smythe, 1966 )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

They should fire the recruiters, not the officers at the base................


3 posted on 12/09/2020 6:53:18 AM PST by Red Badger ( “The goal of socialism is communism.”... Vladimir Lenin)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

T post. BUMP!


4 posted on 12/09/2020 6:53:37 AM PST by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

I did not know an officer or an enlisted man for that matter could be fired.


5 posted on 12/09/2020 6:53:53 AM PST by Jolla
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

I would agree with “mixing the sexes” comment. Could also be the LGBTQ bunch. I wouldn’t want my cot next to Rupaul either.


6 posted on 12/09/2020 6:53:59 AM PST by albie
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

I cannot see how an offsetting rotating group of officers and enlisted can somehow be responsible for a culture like this. They are all sacrificial lambs.
It’s the soldiers themselves at fault. Either getting into shady crap, or their direct leadership allowing weirdo scumbags to continue on then they kill and rape fellow soldiers. Then it’s the decades long jacked-up culture surrounding the outside of Ft. Hood.
But a rotating set of leaders? No.


7 posted on 12/09/2020 6:55:42 AM PST by vpintheak (Live free, or die!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

They’ll never do any analysis of serial integration and its possible role in the violence or harassment. That’s baked into the cake.

I forget who said it, but combining 18 - 25 year olds of both sexes in a high stress environment with frequent, lengthy separation from their families is like mixing gasoline with high-explosives and declaring “we have a policy against matches.” It just doesn’t work.


8 posted on 12/09/2020 6:58:07 AM PST by Tallguy (Facts be d@mned! The narrative must be protected at all costs!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jolla

The military term is “relieved”. Often said he was relieved of command.

Provided they’re not awaiting courts martial this means retirement. But if they don’t have 3 year time in grade they will retire at the previous lower grade.


9 posted on 12/09/2020 6:59:27 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage? (Drain the Swamp. Build the Wall.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: albie

Putting women, sexual perverts and Muslims in the service.

Probably none of the important policies are open to review.


10 posted on 12/09/2020 7:01:16 AM PST by Empire_of_Liberty
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Jolla

I did not know an officer or an enlisted man for that matter could be fired.


They are fired from their organizational position, not the service.


11 posted on 12/09/2020 7:03:24 AM PST by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Jolla

You are correct. Relieved of duty or command is the appropriate term. What follows that is up to the Commanding General. Article 32 Investigation maybe? Courts-Martial? Early retirement? Last assignment 1 year unaccompanied in in Korea? Many options.


12 posted on 12/09/2020 7:03:56 AM PST by mosaicwolf
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

As a retired officer, one can only wonder if unit commanders were encouraged not to report sexual harassment allegations.

Back in the 70s, my battalion commander would not allow a company commander to report anyone awol without his personal approval. He had an upper limit on how awols in the battalion. The man saw his battalion command as a stepping stone to general officer and felt too many awols would reflect on his leadership.


13 posted on 12/09/2020 7:04:03 AM PST by DugwayDuke (Biden - Not My President!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jolla

They don’t get fired in the sense of losing their job and being unemployed. They get shuffled off to some other non-glamorous duty where they have no responsibilities until they either resign or their enlistment runs out...their careers are over.


14 posted on 12/09/2020 7:13:22 AM PST by 4mer Liberal (Insurgent conservative)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

Step one for “fixing” a bad command climate in the military is for the command to preemptively punish everyone who hasn’t done anything wrong yet through extra taskers and paperwork, and briefings about how not to screw up.

Step two, particularly when suicides are a concern, is to establish a streamlined system for quickly moving troopers of concern out of the unit so they won’t become further statistics for that unit. It won’t change the numbers, but it will change where they record the numbers.

Step three is the “command climate survey” where the lower enlisted are encouraged to be candid with their opinions, which are supposedly anonymous. Those candid opinions will later be used against the unit collectively by the unit leadership ahead of step four.

Step four is where a bunch of people who didn’t get shitcanned at the beginning of this process are stort of quietly moved to other units on post or sent off for schooling. Whatever the original issue was that caused this process will be deemed resolved by this point because nobody who needed to answer for the issue on their OER or NCOER have already done so throughout the personnel shifts.


15 posted on 12/09/2020 7:23:39 AM PST by jz638
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jolla

Relieved of command or duties.
Prosecuted under the UCMJ and given a punishment (pay, confinement, reduction of grade and/or discharge).


16 posted on 12/09/2020 7:26:39 AM PST by SJSAMPLE
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Empire_of_Liberty

......Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day was a couple of days ago...if we had another Pearl Harbor-type event today, how would our military respond...?? .....LGBTQs, Muslims, perverts, openly homosexuals.....I just have to wonder....


17 posted on 12/09/2020 7:32:39 AM PST by TokarevM57
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: jz638

Isn’t what you posted call :Modern American Management”?

Its the same set of procedures be it government or civilian (commercial) bureaucracy.


18 posted on 12/09/2020 7:32:44 AM PST by Reily
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

Discipline is the problem. There is none. The Army is a free for all party.


19 posted on 12/09/2020 7:36:39 AM PST by Cottonpatch
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: where's_the_Outrage?

China views this as a weakness of our culture, society and military readiness. And don’t think for a minute that they are not studying ways to exploit this in the future.


20 posted on 12/09/2020 7:36:55 AM PST by CodeJockey (Dum Spiro, Pugno)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-31 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson