Fort Hood Independent Review Committee presents findings on Armyâs CID during hearing
Members of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee presented their findings and recommendations to change the Armyâs Criminal Investigative Division (CID) at a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
and last updated 2021-03-17 02:47:09-04
FORT HOOD, TX â Members of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee presented their findings and recommendations to change the Armyâs Criminal Investigative Division (CID) at a House Armed Services Subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
The committee shed light on a number of issues, including problems with criminal investigations on post.
Investigators said the agents who worked Spc. Vanessa Guillenâs case, as well as several others at Fort Hood, were under-staffed, under-trained and under-resourced.
Culture of sexual assault and inadequate investigations at Fort Hood explored in House hearing
Rep. Veronica Escobar called the investigation following Vanessa Guillén’s death the ‘tip of the iceberg.’
People look at the mural in honor of Spc. Vanessa Guillén that was painted over the weekend by artist Juan Velasquez on a wall located at the corner of W Ripy St and Hemphill St in Fort Worth, TX July 6 2020.(Omar Vega)
A culture of sexual assault and understaffed, inexperienced investigators who failed to connect the dots were prevalent at Fort Hood around the time of Vanessa Guillén’s death, investigators revealed Tuesday at a hearing of the House subcommittee on military personnel.
Investigators point to leadership and investigative failures at Fort Hood in wake of service member deaths
The commander of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command told lawmakers on Tuesday that it is “not normal” that Fort Hood service members and families feel unsafe because of the level of crime there.
“No, that is not normal for a family to feel unsafe on our military base,” Maj. Gen. Donna Martin told Rep. Sylvia Garcia, under questioning from the Texas Democratic congresswoman and other members of the House Armed Services subcommittee on military personnel.
“We’re going to work really hard to ensure that our families feel safe on the installation,” Martin committed later.
By ROSE L. THAYER | STARS AND STRIPES Published: March 16, 2021 Officials for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command offered few examples to Congress on Tuesday about improvements to their operations more than three months after a report focused on Fort Hood, Texas, found the agency to be understaffed, under-resourced and unable to pursue some cases properly. Maj. Gen. Donna Martin, the Army’s provost marshal general and commander of CID, described an ongoing “bottom up review” of the agency following the December release of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee’s report. The civilian committee, many of whom had investigative or military experience, provided 70 recommendations to improve conditions at the base, with about a dozen of those related specifically to CID. Proposals included improving staffing and resources at the base, leveling the ratio of new and experienced agents, and building better relationships with the surrounding civilian communities.
A mural in Washington depicts slain soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen on July 13, 2020. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Army Criminal Investigation Command’s ongoing problems may justify an overhaul of its command structure, similar to what the Naval Criminal Investigative Service went through following a major sexual assault scandal in the 1990s. How NCIS changed in the wake of that scandal was discussed during congressional testimony Tuesday. The hearing was held one week after proposals to redesign CID were outlined in briefing documents obtained by Army Times. One proposal suggested recasting CID as an independent organization with civilian leadership, similar to what NCIS looks like today. A second proposal, which was labeled “recommended” in the documents, would retain the current military police leadership while hiring more civilian agents.