The Vanessa Guillen Tragedy

The Vanessa Guillen Tragedy

Fort Hood, Texas was a place that many people in the Army have heard about, largely due to the fact that it is one of the Army’s largest bases. However, outside of that, Killeen is a smallish Texas town that wouldn’t hold much interest for anyone outside of its city limits. The relatively recent news that has exposed the disturbingly unconscionable behavior (to say the least) of some of the soldiers stationed there sent shockwaves through the ranks of the entire Army. The murder of SPC Vanessa Guillen was an unimaginable incident that the Army Public Affairs Office was exceedingly unprepared for. The nature of the incident is somewhat different than some other business related public affairs crises in that it is of a criminal nature. This fact largely restricted the amount of information that was authorized for release. At the outset of the incident what was known was that a soldier was missing and that further investigation into the background of the soldier led to a disturbing realization. At the time, there were no known suspects or motive. However, there was the knowledge that the young soldier was missing from the place she was last seen and her personal effects were still there. This all painted a bleak picture but we waited for the investigation to be fully conducted. It turned out that Vanessa Guillen was sexually harassed by a Noncommissioned Officer in her unit. This was determined to be a separate incident not connected to her murder at the hands of SPC Aaron Robinson but the actual motive was yet to be officially discovered. Although not found to be the official motive, the case shines a light on the culture of sexual misconduct within the organization. For an organization that recruits young men and women every day, to be associated with sexual misconduct is terrible.

                                                


SHARP Program

In the Army we have something called the Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program (SHARP). This program assigns individuals to act in a capacity outside of their normal duty position in the event of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Complete discretion and professionalism is expected and required. Soldiers’ backgrounds are checked and records are scrubbed before they are allowed to serve in any of these vital positions. If a Soldier is a victim of sexual misconduct they can bring their grievance to their Unit Victim Advocate, Sexual Assault Response Coordinator, or Chaplain. They have the right to report the incident formally which makes the incident public, relatively speaking, or informally, which keeps the incident private but the victim’s claim is annotated and the offender is warned. Sexual misconduct is an unfortunate reality that occurs in many different organizations throughout the world. This makes it no less repulsive or acceptable in any way. It only states the fact that it’s something that good people and organizations must actively combat and change the environments that breathe life into these situations. In the wake of the discovery, the Army leadership should have immediately assessed the nature of Vanessa’s involvement with the SHARP program representatives and determine what went wrong. They should have publicly stated that there would be changes to the program to enhance it. The Army should have taken a proactive approach and suggested change before the family or legislators. “Guillen’s family has called for legislation that would allow service members to report sexual harassment and assault to third parties and classify sexual harassment as a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice. A bipartisan bill was introduced Thursday, an effort by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to change military protocols on sexual assault”. (Powell, 2021)


Working Capital

I had a few different ways to look at this incident. The first was through the eyes of a fellow soldier. I was upset and frustrated at the thought of losing one of my team in such a manner. Another was from the viewpoint of a father. I was infuriated at the thought of this young woman, someone’s child, in an organization that all but swore to protect her when they approved of her enlisting. The last and most appropriate to this blog, was as an Army recruiter. The overwhelming negative impact of the Vanessa Guillen murder was highly detrimental to recruiting efforts, particularly with Hispanic families. Recruiters were instructed to refer any serious inquiries the Public Affairs Office and to keep themselves in line with the Army Values; leadership, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. In the immediate days following the story, recruiting offices were closed across America. Recruiters have made their own adjustments in how they discuss the Army and its programs. When speaking with potential applicants and their parents, recruiters must employ empathy, candor, and tact. We separate ourselves from the offender and discuss the programs set in place to prevent these events. It’s a difficult task in light of these events but recruiters have to continue to recruit. The Army has kept their position under lock and key for the most part they have moved to discipline 21 soldiers. Some of the moves have been made public but the majority have been kept quiet. “Friday's disciplinary action comes in addition to the previously announced relief of duty of members of Guillen’s chain of command from junior through senior ranks. The actions to date are against Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, former Deputy Commanding General of III Corps, and Col. Ralph Overland and Command Sgt. Maj. Bradley Knapp, the former commander and command sergeant major of 3rd Cavalry Regiment. The Army says a total of 21 people have either been disciplined or recommended for potential discipline”. (Starr and Kelly, 2021) They have also named a gate after the fallen soldier at Fort Hood, the Vanessa Guillen Gate. The nation can see the attempts to try to atone but I feel that there should be more coverage of these events. “The Vanessa Guillen Gate at Fort Hood is a reminder to soldiers passing through to look out for one another, said Lupe Guillen, the younger sister of the Army specialist who was killed at the base one year ago this week”. (Thayer, 2021) The events were unfortunate and would be difficult for even the most seasoned public affairs office to mitigate but policy should be in place to help protect the brand. It is a necessity in this day of immediate access to information.

 

References

Powell, Tori B. (2021). Vanessa Guillen Reported Sexual Harassment Before Her Death, Army Report Finds. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vanessa-guillen-army-releases-details-investigation-death/   

Starr, Barbara and Kelly, Caroline. (2021). Army Disciplines Officers and Soldiers for Handling of Vanessa Guillen’s murder at Fort Hood. CNN Politics. https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/30/politics/vanessa-guillen-army-disciplines-officers-soldiers-fort-hood/index.html  

Thayer, Rose L. (2021). Fort Hood Names Gate after Slain SPC Vanessa Guillen. Stars and Stripes. https://www.stripes.com/news/us/fort-hood-names-gate-after-slain-spc-vanessa-guillen-1.670392

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