US Army punishes 14 senior officers at Fort Hood citing “leadership failures”
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy directed 14 senior officers at the Army’s violence- and murder-plagued Fort Hood base in central Texas be punished by suspension or removal from their positions. McCarthy, announcing his decision this week, claimed the issues at the base are “directly related to leadership failures.”
Fort Hood (Credit: Fort Hood/U.S. Army)
The action comes in the wake of the independent review ordered after the bungling of the investigation into the death of 20-year-old Specialist Vanessa Guillen.
The disciplinary actions were one of the single largest taken by the Army in history, indicating that the Pentagon is well aware of deep disillusionment and anger within the ranks and is seeking to put the blame for a wave of deaths, sexual assaults and suicides solely on the local leadership in an effort to divert blame from the military itself. The Army investigation is reportedly still underway, with the possibility of more punishments.