It was a humid August
evening on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I sat on the edge of an old trailer that
was parked outside of our company area because we had just come out of the
field. I was accompanied by my friend Tyler. And we were doing what E-4’s do
best when being forced to anything at all. We were chain-smoking cigarettes,
profusely complaining about the unit we were assigned to, and re-evaluating
every decision we had ever made up to this point. It was a Friday evening,
there were beers to be drank, but we were not going home anytime soon. Word had
come down that we had lost a set of PVS-14’s (NVG’s or night vision goggles). And
as it goes when certain pieces of equipment perform a vanishing act, we were on
a lockdown until the equipment was found. Lockdowns related to missing
equipment in the 82nd Airborne Division happen more often than any
of its soldiers are proud to admit. But those incidents are par for the course
when paratroopers are consistently being hurdled out of aircrafts with
thousands of dollars’ worth of sensitive equipment strapped to their person. As
a paratrooper you become proficient in a couple of things: falling out of the
sky and finding the things you lost while falling out of the sky. We spent
hours upon hours, scouring every nook and cranny of the entire 2nd
Brigade Combat Team footprint in an attempt to find our equipment. We would
join hands in a pseudo-sort-of kumbaya fashion, as we walked across enormous
training areas and drop zones. Unified only by the harmonious complaints of
junior-enlisted paratroopers. Eventually the PVS-14’s were found and we were
released to conduct our “getting the hell out of the field” ritual. This
consisted of seeing just how many Miller Lites the human body could contain in
one evening, while simultaneously trying to erase the memory of spending days
looking for NVG’s that were inside of some other soldier’s ruck sack the entire
time…
In the Army there are
certain items that must be under a constant state of positive control. These
items include, but are not limited to, rifles, communication equipment, night
vision devices, and even privates. Even though it does not always feel like it,
the military centers around the idea of accountability. There are several
formations that take place on a daily basis. There are countless, and I mean literally
countless equipment layouts and inspections happening on a daily basis throughout
the entire military. In fact, there are so many inspections, it is a leading
reason as to why many soldiers do not reenlist. When I think back on the
numerous hours of my life spent accounting for different pieces of Army issued
equipment, I cannot even begin fathom what the fuck is happening on Fort Hood,
right now. Not once, but twice in one-year Fort Hood has lost two of their own
due to negligence.
On August 19, 2019 PV2
Gregory Wedel-Morales was days away from being discharged from the Army for
reasons that are still undisclosed. He was last seen driving his vehicle
outside of post in Killeen, Texas. From there he seemingly fell off the face of
the earth for nearly ten months. This story was originally reported at a level
no higher than a slight whisper by his chain of command. PV2 Wedel-Morales was
labeled as AWOL and life on Fort Hood went back to normal.
Fast forward to April 22,
2020. Another junior-enlisted soldier is reported missing on Fort Hood. This
time is was PFC Vanessa Guillen. She was reported missing after a check of her
barracks room was conducted and she was nowhere to be found. Furthermore, her
car keys and military ID were found in the arms room that she was assigned to.
Her disappearance was once again met with nothing more than a soft murmur.
Her family was displeased
with the Army’s investigation, or lack thereof. They wanted more than just the
publication of a missing person’s poster. The Guillen family was afraid for
Vanessa’s safety because she had allegedly told her mother that she had been
sexually assaulted by her leadership. They took to social media and made
enough noise to cause this case to eventually gain some traction.
The Army’s CID (Criminal
Investigation Division) got involved soon after and began searching for this
young soldier. That is where this story becomes even more twisted.
On June 19, 2020 Army CID
found human remains that have since been confirmed to be that of PV2
Wedel-Morales in a field in Killeen, Texas. Foul play is suspected but nothing
else has been determined at this time.
Three days later on June
22, 2020 more human remains were found in the local area surrounding Fort Hood.
These have yet to be positively identified but many are speculating that these
may be the remains of PFC Guillen.
July 1, 2020 the story
takes a malicious turn for the worst. A soldier that was suspected to be
connected to the PFC Guillen disappearance had gone missing from his appointed place of duty on
Fort Hood. The soldier has been identified as, Aaron Robinson. Local
authorities tracked this man down and positively identified him as he was
walking down the streets of Killeen. As the officers tried to communicate with
Robinson, he pulled out a firearm and committed suicide right in the middle of
the street.
PFC Guillen’s family is
now requesting a congressional investigation into Vanessa’s disappearance.
I cannot lean on the side
of speculation and claim that these two soldiers’ disappearances are in any way
linked. I cannot speak on the alleged instances of sexual assault that may have
occurred against PFC Guillen at the hands of her leadership. But I can, we all
can, request that the leadership on Fort Hood, along with those belonging to
the 3rd Cavalry Regiment begin to keep the same accountability of
their soldiers as they do their equipment.
The beginning of this
article was humorous and anecdotal to educate those that never served about how
seriously certain parts of the Army take accountability. For those reading that
have served, the introduction probably just served as a frustrating reminder of
time wasted looking for inanimate objects. But it needs to be noted that entire
posts have been shut down for days on end while looking for sensitive items.
And the way that Fort Hood has handled these disappearances proves that some
soldiers and leaders alike, must have forgotten that these missing soldiers are
worth the same kind of meticulous and aggressive search methods as the
sensitive items you entrust them with.
Fort Hood, at one point
you had three missing soldiers. Two that are now confirmed to be dead. One
still missing. Your motto is, “The Great Place”. Those words are the first
thing you see upon entering your post, but there is nothing great about an
installation that chose to remain silent and seemingly uninterested with the
losses being accumulated among its own ranks.
Sources
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