At the Dollhouse, he got to know Penny Morales, a dancer and mother of two. Fernandess family told me they have never been interviewed. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. On August 28, Chee was called into a training run. In other battles, having lost the use of his arm and later a leg, Hood had to be strapped to a horse for combat. On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood abusive sexual contact from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. (Penny says they met online.) Amid all those other deaths, on June 21, 2020, a search party found the charred lid of a cargo box along the Leon River 20 miles east of Fort Hood. In the same week, Private Edward Casteel, who had been missing from Fort Hood since October 6, was found in a parish jail in Louisiana, arrested after a high-speed chase. Last December, an internal investigation found that Fort Hoods culture, environment, and leadership resulted in women feeling vulnerable and preyed upon, with no reliable recourse for their very real sense of duress. CID and Homeland security believe the NVGs were stolen from shipping . Fort Hood is one of 800 United States military bases around the world, the third largest in the country. Most of the groups were aboveboard, even as they were ruled by certain strictures for meeting attendance, dress code, and how to appropriately signal respect. From the age of 18, the only thing I knew how to do was kill people, Ring wrote on the website of his fathers veterans rights organization. Atop these sedimentary layers of desecration, displacement, and disorientation, the War Department set out to build a base that would go on to serve as a footnote to nearly every war in modern memoryKorea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but also Grenada, Panama, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. Maxwell Hockin. Texas Obituaries - Online Obituaries, Funeral Notices and Death Records So much of reporting is opening yourself up to chance, and there I was, compulsively locking and relocking the rental car door. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen. On most nights, I had nightmares. Casteel had been stationed at Fort Hood since the end of June, where hed been bullied for a spinal injury that consigned him to desk duties. I will tell you everything, he told his mother. Inside Jeffrey Epsteins Decades-Long Relationship With Leslie Wexner Trumps Deranged Replacement Theory Mightve Lost Him the Election Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk Want to Burn Their Cash in Space Three Texans Bust Myths About the Alamos Famous Last Stand The Guy Who Could Send Trump to Prison May Soon Cooperate With the Feds Bill and Melinda Gatess Epic Divorce Saga Enters Its Next Phase Juneteenth, Critical Race Theory, and the Winding Road Toward Reckoning Trump Is Now Urging People Not to Vaccinate Their Kids Against COVID From the Archive: Microsofts Odd Couple, in the Words of Paul Allen Not a subscriber? He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. 'He did not deserve to die:' Fort Hood soldier's mother wants answers 26-year-old Fort Hood soldier found dead on post identified, but no Death Notices | kdhnews.com - The Killeen Daily Herald Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. Back in Houston, Gloria recalled a conversation with her daughter not long before, when Guillen had been home for the weekend. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. Nelda Lee Edwards. (Fort Hood) A soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division was found dead Saturday in his company area, according to a statement from. All rights reserved. Robinson gave Guillen the serial number for a .50 caliber machine gun that needed servicing. But with each encounter, it was becoming clear that the military had not failed its soldiers at all. It was unclear, in 2020, what American soldiers were fighting for. They checked into a nearby hotel and returned at 8 a.m. the next day. That American imperialism is imploding, and the blast force radiates inward. FORT HOOD, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - U.S. Army officials at Fort Hood have identified the soldier who was found dead Saturday, Oct. 13 behind his company barracks. Yes, simply click Add a photo located underneath the main photo of the obituary then upload the photos/videos you wish to share. Their minds both turned to Vanessa, whose hourly texts to family members had gone silent. Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. Home :: U.S Army Fort Hood - United States Army Many complained specifically of being made to cut grass to ready for such official visits. Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. The very next day, a Fort Hood investigation concluded that Fernandess charges of sexual assault were unsubstantiated. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. Search Fort Hood obituaries and condolences, hosted by Echovita.com. Alvis Franklin Bentley. They pointed glumly to past cases, some of which there were public records for and others I could find no traces of in the official files. Those remains, it turned out, belonged to yet another soldier, Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, who had gone missing the previous summer. After a chase along Rancier Avenue, the same street near which Lovell was found dead, Robinson shot himself and died. Later Fort Hood confirmed it was for violating quarantine. Soon after, the Temple police, who led the investigation, ruled Fernandess death a suicide. If he killed himself, don't they want to know why?". fort hood training calendar 2023 Ozempic (semaglutide) is a once-weekly injection that is FDA approved for use by adults with type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels. The shakeup comes after after a series of suspicious deaths and disappearances that have plagued Fort Hood. After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. Had one of them stood in for Guillen during roll call? Here's what we know about 8 of the soldiers who died this year at Fort The 2020 numbers add to ongoing mysteries, including a 2016 case . The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. Around the Guillen murals in Killeen and in Houston, I met people who had lost loved ones to the military, who felt harm done, who saw in Guillen a savior. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims' families. Who were the soldiers who had testified to seeing Guillen leave the arms room the day she disappeared? Deaths of two female soldiers in Texas under investigation Is it possible Elder killed himself? Yet instead of being taken into custody, Robinson was placed in a conference room on base, initially, it was said, for committing adultery, which is against the Uniform Code of Military Justice. On May 19, military investigators went through Robinsons phone and learned that he had called his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, multiple times on the night of April 22, as late as 3:30 a.m., from a town 20 miles east of Fort Hooddespite his claim he had been with Aguilar that night. At first blush, such violence at a base that calls itself "the Great Place" may seem extraordinary, inexplicable even. Two witnesses had seen Robinson roll a black cargo box out of the arms room and through the parking lot, where he loaded it into his car and drove away, contradicting an earlier affidavit from three soldiers who falsely claimed they had seen Guillen departing the arms room earlier. The search party arrived at Fort Hood at 3 a.m. Guillens staff sergeant told the group to come back in the morning. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. The U.S. Army identified a soldier found dead behind his company barracks at Fort Hood last week as 26-year-old Spc. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. Guilln's death triggered a social media movement of former and current military service people speaking out about sexual assault and harassment on the base. Later the same day, at 8:30 p.m., Aaron Robinsons girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, changed her story and told Army investigators that Robinson had confessed to her that he killed Guillen in the arms room, beating her to death with a hammer. Around the Guillen murals in Killeen and in Houston, I met people who had lost loved ones to the military, who felt harm done, who saw in Guillen a savior. Killeen itself sits on an especially brutal stretch of central Texas, along the Balcones Fault, which separates the high plains of the Hill Country to the west from the grand prairies and limestone plains of the east, and along which runs Interstate 35. He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. A small minority, which bikers call "one percent" groups, and which the Department of Justice calls by the regrettable acronym OMG, or outlaw motorcycle gangs, were the people Wedel-Morales had been hanging around with. Mayra wept during the journey, already fearing the worst. "I felt a bad vibe there," Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. After the public remonstrations began, Fort Hood launched something it called Operation Phantom Action, a weeklong retreat of sorts that was meant to rebuild trust between soldiers and the leadership. From this inauspicious start, Killeen grew into a proper military town and is now home to six strip clubs, 18 pawn shops, 35 dollar stores, and 38 tattoo parlors. Later the same day, at 8:30 p.m., Aaron Robinson's girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, changed her story and told Army investigators that Robinson had confessed to her that he killed Guillen in the arms room, beating her to death with a hammer. The tributaries that run through Fort Hood flow into the Leon River, where Guillen's remains were later found. October 13, 2021 04:48 PM. She pleaded not guilty. 60.2 (births per 1,000 women 15-44 years of age) Teen Birth Rate. Had one of them stood in for Guillen during roll call? Reformers would say that the military had failed its men and women. I felt a bad vibe there, Lupe says, referring to Fort Hood. A small minority, which bikers call one percent groups, and which the Department of Justice calls by the regrettable acronym OMG, or outlaw motorcycle gangs, were the people Wedel-Morales had been hanging around with. Without any sense of purpose, the suffering at Fort Hood had started to lose its meaning. Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. I am astounded nobody is interested, the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. US Army Since then, Vanessa's family and their attorney Natalie Khawam have tried to shine a spotlight on a string of deaths at the central Texas installation. Eric Christopher Hogan and Pfc. Yes, flower arrangements are fulfilled and delivered by local florists from Fort Hood. That psychological trauma among veterans vastly exceeds physical wounds. Far from itthe military was operating as it had been intended. (He was found a day later.) The wave of pain went away as suddenly as it had come on but returned again, and again, and again, over the next hour. And how well will that look on your rsum?, Im 21 now, and let me tell you. Hockin was found dead behind his company barracks. In a press statement, Fort Hood officials said Hockin, 26, was initially found unresponsive outside of the barracks and was subsequently pronounced dead. There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. Later that year, Private Dakota Lee Stump left his barracks to report for work less than a mile away but never arrived for formation. Spc. ), Wedel-Morales's death was not the first from the base that may have involved bike gangs. Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, . It was also an ancient Comanche Native American burial ground, discovered when construction workers unearthed more than 2,200 grave sites in 1998. Most of the groups were aboveboard, even as they were ruled by certain strictures for meeting attendance, dress code, and how to appropriately signal respect. The dollhouse, strip club Gregory Wedel Morales frequented, Killeen Tx. U.S. ARMY INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND Lenz's mother, Margie Taylor, said her son loved children and looked forward to having a family of his own one day. Fifty six . I asked him directly if he wasnt willing to speak because of position and he signaled yes, and he said, Id rather tell you in person. , Several days later, Rodriguez learned that Casteel had been committed to a hospital on base. Fort Bragg; which has nearly double the soldier population as Fort Hood, is reporting 24 deaths so far this year, with five of them happening in accidents, one homicide, seven from illness,. Guillen's youngest sister, Lupe, says. Fort Hood informed Rodriguez that he had asked for this. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. (Among 1.29 million members of the U.S. military, 65,000 are immigrants, according to The Washington Post.) Rodriguez disputes this claim. The vast emptiness that is most of the state can make you feel inconsequential, as if you could disappear and no one would know you ever lived. Army Investigating How Fort Hood Soldier Found Unresponsive Behind III Corps Policies and Regulations . Thomas Berg, whose son Private Brandon Rosecrans's Jeep was found burning in May, told me not to go out after dark. (The Boley case remains unsolved.) It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. She has become that complicated, indelible thing: a hero. A few days later, so did 21-year-old Specialist Trey Ring. Give me the name and I will report the bastard, Gloria told her daughter, who refused to tell her mother more for fear of worrying her, and also, Gloria later suspected, for fear of reprisal. The brutal murders of four Idaho college students shocked millions. Before Fort Hood was built, the land was used for grazing by some 3,000 farmers and ranchers, according to Gerald D. Skidmore, a Killeen historian. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. The military is necessarily an institution of state-sanctioned violence, where we teach our young to kill on our behalf in the name of ideologies such as patriotism or democracy. That most soldiers enlist when they are still teenagers, their yet-unformed minds taught to kill. Chee, like Yazzie, was a member of the Ramah Navajo Indian Reservation community, and was new to the base. He had also gotten married without telling his family, been evicted from his apartment, and stopped showing up to work. Army report finds Fort Hood soldier Vanessa - The Texas Tribune The numbers are distressing. He had messaged his sister beforehand to tell her something felt off. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. Green Beret NCO dies during physical fitness training at Fort Bragg Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. Fort Hood has been the center of a bizarre and horrific set of tragedies in 2020. By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. When Ailina offered the Fort Hood authorities the contents of her son's car, including a laptop, iPad, and external hard drive, they declined to investigate further. Vanessa Guillen. Two witnesses had seen Robinson roll a black cargo box out of the arms room and through the parking lot, where he loaded it into his car and drove away, contradicting an earlier affidavit from three soldiers who falsely claimed they had seen Guillen departing the arms room earlier. Fort Hood also stated that it had completed an exhaustive search for Fernandes, and that it had interviewed all relevant parties, including the family. A group of soldiers, including Robinson, greeted them. He joined the U.S. Army in March of 2017 as a combat engineer and had been assigned to . What to Know About the Death of Vanessa Guillen Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. His killers were never looked for properly and thus never found. That gun safety is a distant concern in a community where the Second Amendment tops the Maslow charts. The ancient Greeks wrote epic poems on the subject, the most famous of which is the Iliad. What is behind the violence and tragedy at Fort Hood? Texan sentenced to 20 years following drug-related death of Fort Hood soldier. I will tell you everything." On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood "abusive sexual contact" from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. As distressing as the remains in shallow graves or the missing hyoid bone is the fatalism from soldiers and locals alike. Five were murdered. Army investigating after soldier, 26, found dead in latest in string of unexplained deaths at Fort Hood barracks Fort Hood officials have not released the cause of death for Maxwell. Four days later, an anonymous tip directed investigators to an urban prairie at the end of a residential street where Penny Morales used to live. Army disciplines 21 at Fort Hood in probe of soldier's death - Yahoo News Had anyone helped Robinson clean up Guillens murder in those 40 minutes? Fort Hood officials confirmed Monday that Martinez and Mosley were assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division.