Dmv Ft Hood - FILE - In this July 9, 2013 photo, traffic moves from the welcome sign through the main gate at Fort Hood, Texas. According to US officials, the Army is planning…
FILE - In this July 9, 2013 photo, traffic moves from the welcome sign through the main gate at Fort Hood, Texas. U.S. officials said that the Army plans to put a civilian in charge of its criminal investigation command, responding to widespread criticism that the unit is understaffed, overburdened and full of inexperienced investigators (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army is putting a civilian in charge of its criminal investigations, adding staff and freeing up more agents to handle cases to deal with the widespread breakdown that emerged last year after a series of -serial murders and other crimes. Fort Hood, Texas.
Army officials announced the plan Thursday but gave few details about how much the restructuring will cost or how long it will take, other than to say some changes will take months. The changes were intended to address complaints that Army investigators were overworked and inexperienced.
The plan reflects recommendations made by an independent review panel following the violence at Fort Hood, including the death of Vanessa Guillén, whose remains were found about two months after she was killed.
The major change separates the Army's Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, from the Office of the Provost Marshall, and instead of being headed by a general officer, it will be overseen by an as-yet-unnamed civilian director. The goal is to improve the command's capabilities and address the findings of the Fort Hood Commission.
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"We are very confident that the organizational changes will meet the committee's recommendations regarding CID and move us forward," Acting Secretary of the Army John Whitley said in a prepared statement.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, CID chief Maj. Gen. Donna Martin said three major Army bases -- Fort Hood, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Carson in Colorado -- will be the first to see some improvements and personnel changes. Some aim to free agents from other duties so they can focus on criminal cases.
He said this would include the addition of additional support staff, placement of a new officer in charge of logistics and administrative duties, and protection information and military police escort, which is currently being done by CID agents. He declined to give an estimated amount but said the money would be disbursed over the next five years.
The decision comes amid increased attention in the Pentagon on ways to handle sexual assault and other military discipline problems. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's first executive order since taking office in January directed senior leaders to review their sexual assault prevention programs, and he later created a panel to - investigate.
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As of 2020, more than two dozen Fort Hood soldiers have died, including multiple homicides and suicides. Guillén's death and other incidents prompted an independent review that found military leaders did not adequately respond to high levels of sexual assault, harassment, drug use and other base problem. The review commission, which released its findings in December, also concluded that the Army's CID was understaffed, poorly organized and had too few experienced investigators.
Panel members told members of Congress in March that CID investigators lacked the intelligence to identify key clues and connect the dots.
Oversight Commission Chairman Christopher Swecker said the agents were "victims of a system" that he said failed to train them and often forced them to perform administrative duties. And he said base management focused on military readiness and "completely and completely neglected" the sexual assault prevention program. As a result, lower-level unit commanders encouraged soldiers to report attacks and in many cases shamed the victims or blamed themselves, he said.
Since then, Army leaders have taken disciplinary action against 21 officers and NCOs in connection with Guillén's disappearance and death at Fort Hood. They included senior base managers and a CID battalion officer.
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The Army report also blamed the military for killing Guillén, Spc. Aaron Robinson to escape custody and later killed himself during the pursuit.
Martin said Thursday that he did not know if any of the new changes would affect the outcome of Guillen's case.
At a congressional hearing in March, lawmakers chastised Martin, who told them he was using the moment to fix his agency's staffing and resource problems that had led to widespread failures to track and solve cases. Martin left work on a routine round.
The Army's change mirrors a similar change by the Navy in 1992, after the Tailhook scandal, when Navy and Marine officers sexually assaulted dozens of women at a Las Vegas hotel. As a result of widespread condemnation of the Navy's investigation, leaders transformed the military-run Naval Investigative Service into the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and appointed a civilian director.
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