Letter to the Editor:
Recent deaths on Ft. Hood have pushed me to write this letter. The first is SPC Vanessa Guillén, who was sexually harassed and then murdered by a fellow soldier — he bashed her head in with a hammer, then dismembered her body, burned it, and buried it. He then killed himself to escape justice. The second is SGT Elder Fernandes, whose body has just recently been found hanging from a tree. It is believed he killed himself after members of his unit subjected him to bullying after he reported a sexual assault by a superior. Two young soldiers, dead not because of “the enemy” but because of their own fellow service members.
This is not just Ft. Hood. This is a problem on every base, in all branches of the military. I have heard these same stories, over and over. And so, I’m asking what is being done? How are we changing the military culture that allows, and even encourages, this kind of behavior? What protections are being put in place and how are we holding not only those who commit these atrocities accountable, but also the leadership that allows them? How are we to make meaningful change?
