Death of Private Basaldua: call for independent investigation at Fort Hood amid crisis in military recruiting

Almost three weeks after the death of Private Ana Fernanda Basaldua at a U.S. Army base, a leading human rights group that advocates for victims of sexual abuse is calling for an independent investigation into “the command climate and culture” at Fort Hood, Texas.

Basaldua’s body was found on March 13 and the Army quickly announced that it was treating the case as a suspected suicide, a theory rejected by the soldier’s family.

The investigation comes amid growing concern in the Pentagon over falling recruitment and increased dissatisfaction with military service living conditions, especially among Hispanic and Black women.

Although the group, Protect Our Defenders (POD) said it was not directly questioning the handling of the investigation into Basaldua’s death, it said the history of abuse at the base was a concern, especially in the wake of the murder of another Hispanic soldier, Vanessa Guillen, in 2020.

A spokesman for the group, Protect Our Defenders (POD) said it suspected that “the toxic culture […] that was present during Vanessa Guillen's death persists, and may have contributed to this latest tragedy at Fort Hood.

“Fort Hood leadership has had more than enough time and resources to implement the recommendations made following Vanessa Guillén’s murder to improve base culture and better support servicemembers facing sexual violence,” said Josh Connolly, POD’s Vice-Chair and a former congressional staffer who worked on reforms to toughen sexual abuse laws within the U.S military justice system.

The Army has not released new details of the "ongoing" investigation

Military investigators at Fort Hood said there was no foul play in the death of Basaldua, although her family has raised allegations that she was being sexually harassed.

A memorial service was held at Fort Hood on Thursday for the 20-year-old combat engineer with the 1st Cavalry Division who was born in Mexico.

The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) told Univision that the investigation into the death of Basaldua “is ongoing” but that no further information was currently available.

“Army CID is examining any and all potential circumstances that could have contributed to the death of Pvt Basaldua,” said a spokesman. Officials say that includes allegations of sexual harassment.

Basaldua family want to know what was going on in the days leading up to her death

“It’s still early days in the investigation,” Connolly told Univision in a phone interview. “The salient concern for the family is that we learn what happened on that day (March 13) and the days and weeks leading up to this tragic event. Suicide does not take place in a vacuum,” he added.

If it was a suicide, Connolly said the circumstances prior to her death could explain what led her to take her life and if there were any other people responsible to driving her such a desperate act, “such as wrongful conduct by her commanders, sexual harassment or anything improper.”

Why an independent investigation may be necessary

Some victim’s advocates question the military’s transparency in handling internal investigations involving possible sexual abuse, warning that it is also hurting recruitment to the armed services and military readiness.

“You can update an investigation without exposing too much or in any way hampering an investigation,” said Col Don Christensen, the former Chief Prosecutor for the US Air Force, who is now an advocate for survivors of abuse. “The military isn’t particularly good at that. Just saying “we can’t comment,” doesn’t engender a lot of confidence,” he added.

A previous independent investigation in 2020 found Fort Hood leadership allowed a “toxic” and “permissive environment” for sexual assault.

As a result, 14 military leaders were dismissed or suspended in December 2020. “Given Fort Hood’s enduring culture of toxicity and the latest tragedies, it’s imperative that an independent party review be appointed to review the current command climate and culture at the largest military installation in the country,” POD said in a statement on Thursday.

“The (military’s) bias is to change this from within. Maybe they need to get more creative and help from outside the services. Alarm bells should be going off that the situation isn’t getting better,” Connolly said.

The military's recruitment crisis

The issue of sexual abuse is one of the factors that surveys suggest has led to a dramatic fall in recruitment for military service in recent years, especially among women and minorities, causing growing concern among Pentagon officials and members of Congress.

Though the majority of active-duty service member respondents are satisfied with their job, satisfaction is about 10%lower for female service members and service members of color, according to a recent survey by Blue Star Families, which advocates for service members deployed overseas.

Most service member respondents who are dissatisfied are likely to look for another job in the next 12 months, and a smaller proportion recommend military service to others, it found.

A friend of Basaldua told Univision that the young private was also thinking of leaving the Army.

Sexual abuse was listed among other complaints, along with low pay, time away from family and “toxic leaders,” when asked about why they were thinking of quitting.

The authors noted that previous research suggested that Black and Hispanic soldiers, as well as all women “experience greater perceived benefits to military service than white males.”

Fear of sexual abuse “is definitely top of mind,” said Jessica Strong, director of Applied Research at Blue Star Families, which surveyed almost 10,000 military and Veteran-connected family members.

The loss of confidence in the military among Hispanics and Blacks was especially troubling due to increased reliance on minorities for recruitment. “That’s the pipeline of our future recruits,” said Strong.

A fall 2021 survey by the Pentagon found that 30 percent of Americans aged 16 to 24 said the possibility of sexual harassment or assault was one of the main reasons why they would not consider joining the U.S. military.

Statistics from 2021, show that 36,000 service members experienced sexual violence: 19,000 women and 16,600 men, according to POD, citing U.S. military data. The number of cases jumped almost 35% from 2018. Of these incidents, four out five went unreported. A shocking 67% of women who report sexual assault in the military faced retaliation, while 64% of them say their assailants were in their chain of command.

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Concern in Congress over military recruitment

At a hearing in Congress last week, lawmakers urged the Pentagon to find better ways to confronting the shortfalls in military recruiting, saying the issue threatens national security.

U.S. defense officials face the worst recruiting environment since the Vietnam War, with less than a quarter of Americans ages 17 to 24 years old eligible to serve — and just 9 percent willing to do so, the hearing was told, according to The Washignton Post.

U.S defense officials told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Army, Air Force and Navy all will fall short of their goals this year, possibly by thousands of recruits. The US Army faces the biggest problem. It fell about 15,000 recruits – or 25% - short of its goal of 60,000 active-duty recruits last year.

Crisis of U.S. confidence in the military

The Pentagon has attributed its difficulties to a variety of factors, including the nation’s low unemployment rate, limited recruiters’ access to high schools during the covid-19 pandemic, and a shifting culture in which more teens seek jobs with higher expectations of work-life balance.

The end of the war in Afghanistan and reduced options for service overseas, a longtime attraction for military service, was also a factor, experts say.

There is also a crisis of confidence in the U.S. military, experts say. The Reagan National Defense Survey found confidence in the U.S. military dropping from 70 percent in 2018 to just 48 percent in 2022.

Army officials project that active duty strength could shrink by as much as 20,000 soldiers by September, down to 445,000. “That means that the nation’s primary land force could plummet by as much as 7 percent in only two years,” according to a recent article in the online defense publication, War on the Rocks, by Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, U.S. Army (ret.), and Dr. Nora Bensahel, professors of strategic studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

“The U.S. military is shrinking, not because of any strategic choices, but simply because there aren’t enough qualified volunteers — and that may have enormous implications for the U.S. strategic position in an increasingly uncertain and dangerous world,” they added.