Fort Sill instructors suspended after trainee alleges sexual assault
Jeff LPH 3 sends in this dour news. Army Times reports;
Army CID special agents are investigating allegations that multiple Fort Sill training instructors sexually assaulted a woman trainee at the Oklahoma post.
Fort Sill commander Maj. Gen. Ken Kamper told reporters Thursday that the trainee reported the incident March 27 and an investigation was launched within hours.
Kamper said he was limited from offering more details, such as where the incident took place and how many instructors were allegedly involved.
A person familiar with the incident told Army Times that more than 20 individuals were under investigation in the wake of the initial report, and there are potentially more victims based on the allegations.
“In our statement, the way we are characterizing it is cadre members. I will leave it at that. That means more than one,” Kamper said Thursday. “In an attempt to protect the integrity of the investigation we won’t go into much more detail than that.”
A Fort Sill spokesperson reiterated over the telephone Friday that the post can not say anything more about the number of instructors allegedly involved.
“What’s important is we’ve taken immediate action with any cadre member that has been named and possibly involved in this allegation,” Kamper said.
“We’ve removed them from their normal duties. They’ve been suspended,” Kamper added. “And with that, we will conduct a full and thorough investigation. We will pursue the facts wherever they lead us and we’ll take any and all appropriate action as the investigation concludes.”
CID agents began conducting initial interviews within hours of the sexual assault allegation being reported, and that investigation has continued this week, according to Fort Sill.
Fort Sill also asked for, and received, extra investigative help from the Department of the Army, to include additional specialized CID personnel and more attorneys.
“The Army has moved fast to help us ensure that we have all the resources necessary to fully and completely investigate these allegations,” Kamper added.
Fort Sill hosts basic training and advanced individual training for soldiers. But Kamper would not elaborate on the training environment in which the incident allegedly occurred.
The woman who made the initial report has been assigned a special victims counsel and is safe, according to Fort Sill. Though few details were provided Thursday, Kamper acknowledged that this case is significant.
“I have had experience with sexual assault allegations and cases,” Kamper said. “Not very often do we see the characterization of being assault by cadre members. That’s the significance here.”
Sexual assault has been a rising focal point in the Army since allegations arose that Spc. Vanessa Guillen, a soldier killed inside an armory at Fort Hood, Texas, was sexually harassed before her death but did not report it for fear of retribution from her chain of command.
A study released by the Defense Department in May 2020 showed that the military still has a long way to go when it comes to stamping out sexual misconduct, as well as the toxic and harassing command cultures that set the stage for sexual violence.
Overall, the annual report found that sexual assault reports were up 3 percent in fiscal year 2019, for a total of 6,236.
We’ll report more when new information comes to light.
Category: Army, Army News, Dick Stepping, Guest Link
I will withhold judgement until “…when new information comes to light.” “…multiple Fort Sill training instructors…” ?!? He said, she said, they said.
Easter Weekend Stand Down for intensified SHARP Training. Off with the heads of everyone from the Battery Commander to the Post Commander.
“Fort Hood 2.0” folk are calling it already– classier than the “Fort Sill Gang Rape Scandal,” but that’s not saying much.
22 Joes, including DIs, and there’s a video of at least one incident.
You’d be amazed at just how many cameras are in an AIT or NCOES barracks (Advanced Individual Training / Non-Commissioned Officer Education System for the acronym police). Everything is under surveillance except company offices and students rooms.
Thank you for the translation. AIT I remember, but I believe it was NCO Academy in ancient times. We were not advanced enough for a whole system.
Not just a system- a System of Excellence
Yeah. All the Army schools are now the “Center of Excellence”. It must logically follow that there’s a center of mediocrity out there somewhere.
Unfortunately, the cameras are known all too well and some know how to circumvent them.
I only hope that if this is proven true, those criminals are treated as they should be, not just given a “general discharge” or allowed to retire because they have kids to feed or some bullshit like that.
SA is no laughing matter and if these clowns are guilty, hammer hem.
But on the flip side, 40 Roosters are much easier to train.
How does training 40 Roosters compare with Herding Cats?
Cats and roosters are both easier to train than Hoomans.
Trained cats? I’ve never seen those, even in a circus (except for the lions and tigers).
Saw some at Sea World, of all places.
Color me Cynical and Jaded, but I would like to hear what REALLY happened, vs “he said, she said”.
Is it possible that the TIs ganged together to SA the trainee? Yes, anything is possible.
What I suspect is more likely is that the trainee is a royal screwup, made a (several) royal screwup mistakes, and the TIs yelled at her, maybe even called her “naughty” names. (which hardly constitutes “SA”).
Annnnd the trainee, being a snowflake, got all offended and called the Hot Line to report the Big Bad Meanie TIs.
Just my Cynical and Jaded opinion.
If it’s not a spontaneous gang-rape (perhaps several times) or she’s a lyin’ dirtbag who made up stuff because she couldn’t hack it, the remaining posibility (call me cynical, too) is just nasty:
Yeah, that’s where my thoughts went too… But as stated above, if the allegations are true, hammer the dudes… If not, hammer her!
if it’s true, then hammer them. If it’s not true and she made it up, hammer her. Otherwise, this fake accusations to ruin others will flare up again like it did a few times before over the years.
It’s one thing to come forth and be stuck in a he said/she said, but if they can prove she’s lying then destroy her, same as if it’s true those involved need to be destroyed.
I think it is tons more likely we are looking at Aberdeen 2.0
There was a strong racial component to the Aberdeen scandal with all the perps, including the one officer involved, being black, while most of the dozens of victims were white.
If that’s the case here, it will be interesting to see how the media treat the situation, as it most assuredly does not fit their current narrative.
I know much has changed with the Big Green Machine since I got out decades ago, but with females in Combat Arms, I’m under the assumption that the females in question were aspiring “Artillerypersons”( Noticed I did not say “Artillerymen”), or perhaps a former Red Leg /13 series MOS on here can enlighten me.
Red Leggings?
Great. Now everyone gets four more hours of SHARP.
Does the sexual harassment training come with an activity book?
Actually, we used to refer to it as “SHIT” (Sexual Harassment Intervention Training). You don’t want to train someone in “Sexual Harassment”; you want to stop the “Sexual Harassment.” Therefore, it is “Intervention.” Thus, “SHIT.”
Close the comments, we have a winner…
If found guilty, the cadre should be hanged for violation of trust and of honor. The Aberdeen NCOs should have received the same punishment.
Not allowable for almost 44 years according to the SCOTUS. See Coker v. Georgia (1977) .
FWIW: the SCOTUS also ruled over a dozen years ago that even child rape that doesn’t result in death doesn’t merit the death penalty. See Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008).
Provided for info only, w/o implication that I agree with these decisions personally.
This business at Fort Sill has made ol’ Poe curious as to how women function in artillery crews since the job would seem to require substantial upper body strength. A 155 round can weigh over 100 pounds depending on the particular munition used and even the smaller 105 rounds can weigh close to forty. Since weaker upper body strength seems to be one of the principal problems with women serving in combat roles, I’m wondering how they handle artillery jobs.
Perhaps our resident Red Leg, our expert, go-to guy on all things artillery, KoB, could enlighten me?
Poe, Fort Sill has also been home to the ADA Basic/AIT train-up since 2009, so it’s just not for FA anymore.
Ah so…back a few decades when Sill was one of my client accounts, I visited the place several times, including the troop medical clinics in the training areas, and was of the impression that it was purely artillery training going on there.
nope, moved the duck hunters there a while back so the tank trails around Ft. Bliss would sound like they oughta – filled with M1s and such.
Ol’ Poe, their struggle would be really real. Humping rounds to serve the gunz is not for sissies. A whole lot has changed in Gun Bunnying since my time, but the rounds haven’t gotten any lighter. Back yonder, a smart Gun Commander made sure everybody that served his piece was crossed trained on each position and would rotate the troops out. You look at the Battle of LZ-XRay and the FIRST (ht 2 Lurker Curt) BN, 21st FA (The Big Voice of Garry Owen), Batteries A & C. Those troops fired over 18 THOUSAND rounds during a 53 hour period in support of LTC Moore’s Troopers, melting out several tubes in the process from Firebase Falcon. Each round had to be hand carried to and loaded into the tube. Hardcore!
As Claw points out there are many jobs that females could do in some Artillery Units. Humping rounds and serving the gun wouldn’t be on that list, IMO.
Look at the entire “chain of custody”. Loaded onto trucks from an ammo dump for shipment to Pleiku(?), then transferred(by hand) to helicopters for transport to LZ Falcon, unloaded and stacked (by hand), unpackaged and restacked(by hand), fuzed charged and carried to gun(by hand), assorted debris collected and disposed of. All by hand. Tanks aren’t much better.
Even in peacetime those tank, artillery, and mortar rounds (120mm is 30+ lbs.) have to get from the dump to the tube by hand.
More than 20 cadre members? That could mean instructors, drill instructors, company clerks, supply clerks, cooks, and who knows who else.
The final investigation results won’t help anyone’s career, either participants or the chain of command.
Must be one helluva woman, a reel sireen.