# @statesman on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CN5I7Y4AoIo
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15004408-statesman-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/a2adf3997b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-04-20T15:28:19.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Austin Statesman (@statesman) — https://gondola.cc/statesman

## Caption

With the anniversary of Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s death just days away, Statesman journalists heather_ozzy and brontewittpenn visited Fort Hood military base a couple weeks ago to see what new measures are in place to keep soldiers safe from violent crimes on post. This comes at a time when the base continues to be criticized for its hidden reputation of violence and misconduct among soldiers, specifically with sexual assault and sexual harassment. After Guillen’s death sparked national outcry, an independent investigation was performed and released findings that stated that the post’s leaders “created a permissive environment that allowed rape and sexual harassment to take place frequently on post.” The findings sparked a new initiative dubbed by the Army as Operation People First. The program focuses on training soldiers and leaders to indentify early warning signs of sex crimes while also building back trust between soldiers, their families and the community. The program also offers mentorship to support female soldiers. “We have a culture that we are trying to improve right now where it’s okay to seek that help,” said Maj. Gabriela Thompson, who is a deputy public affairs officer. “What is important is that we just need to concentrate and focus and get back to what it is to be a soldier and what that means.” Since Guillen’s death and the independent investigation, the Army announced the firing or suspending of 14 leaders and enlisted personnel at Fort Hood. The Guillen family continues to demand answers and transparency from the Army and Fort Hood’s Criminal Investigation Division. “It’s unfortunate that it took the death of a fellow soldier for everyone to realize, ‘OK, we’ve got to turn this ship around and go in a different direction in our Army,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Cliff Burgoyne. #forthood #vanessaguillen #iamvanessaguillen #army #usarmy #operationpeoplefirst #texas #killeen 📸 brontewittpenn

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 161
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- **Comments:** 9

## Tags

army, usarmy, texas, iamvanessaguillen, forthood, vanessaguillen, killeen, operationpeoplefirst

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