Posted on Sep 7, 2020
Navajo Nation Calls for Investigation into Fort Hood Deaths
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The Navajo Nation has joined calls for an accounting of the deaths at Fort Hood after one of its members became the latest soldier from the U.S. Army post to die this year.
Pvt. Corlton L. Chee, a 25-year-old soldier from Pinehill, New Mexico, died Wednesday after he collapsed following a physical fitness training exercise five days earlier, according to officials at the central Texas post. He was the 28th soldier from Fort Hood to die this year, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
Pvt. Corlton L. Chee, a 25-year-old soldier from Pinehill, New Mexico, died Wednesday after he collapsed following a physical fitness training exercise five days earlier, according to officials at the central Texas post. He was the 28th soldier from Fort Hood to die this year, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation Calls for Investigation into Fort Hood Deaths
Posted from military.com
Native Americans
Fort Cavazos
Fitness
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 1
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Everybody wants to jump on the bandwagon. Why not wait for an autopsy to reveal the cause of death before a lawsuit?
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SSG Robert Ricci
A1C Chris Pointer Airman, I know that you mean well but quite frankly and you're short what 14 months or so in the Air Force and not even assigned to Fort Hood you have no frame of reference and nothing to base your opinion on other the news articles. I don't mean to dismiss you but I've been assigned there as a military policeman and investigator.
It is not the post Commander is responsibility that two soldiers died in a traffic collision in Austin 60 miles away.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility that two soldiers died in Iraq in a hostile zone.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was murdered after leaving a strip club in the dangerous city of Killeen. No connection to the host has been made.
It's that the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was found dead in his on post housing and foul play is not suspected. It is believed that he died of an illness.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibility that private Chee of the Navajo tribe died during a PT run at 7 in the morning when the temperature was only 79 degrees. An individual stated that a doctor "told him that the private died of swelling of the brain caused by extreme heat exhaustion." Not at 79 degrees as well as the fact that unless the individual was a family member the doctor could not tell him the cause of death. HIPAA regulations. An autopsy is pending. Unless the unit can be found to be negligent in some way this doesn't fall on the post Commander's shoulders.
There is anecdotal information that she was celebrating his birthday the night before it may have been highly intoxicated. Soldiers you're not like Airmen. Soldiers, Marines, and sailors drink. We'd go out and tie went on and it's 6 a.m. we were standing tall ready to run. It's the culture.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that a soldier cohabitating with to non-military individuals were found murdered in their apartment in the dangerous city of Killeen. The matter is under investigation and CID is involved to determine if there's any connection to the post.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility for the soldier that accused a higher ranking individual of groping him filed a sexual harassment claim was determined to be unsubstantiated and there were no Witnesses. The soldier was transfer to another unit where he was hazed and that falls on the unit. Except that the platoon Sergeant drove Sergeant Fernandes home to his new off post housing and the sergeant went UA. He was later found 30 miles away in the city of Temple hanging from a tree after committing suicide. There's no indication of foul play.
It is not necessarily the post Commander's responsibility play previous Soldier was murdered by a current Soldier on Fort Hood. The matter is being being investigated by CID. Crime occurs on the third largest military base in the country.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibility that the skeletal remains of his sold you were found in a field in Killeen 10 months after being missing.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility today Soldier drowned at Stillhouse Hollow Lake off post.
It is not the Commander's responsibility it is Soldier drowned at Belton Lake while waterskiing. My last year there I handled eight drownings at Belton Lake. It happens. Lake Belton by the way is the third largest lake in the state of Texas.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was in Harker Heights selling a handgun to a third party and they argued over the price. The soldier was ultimately shot with his own weapon and found in a ditch 3 miles from his burnt-out Jeep. CID is investigating but there's no connection at this time to Fort Hood.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was killed in a auto versus pedestrian Collision on post. Fort Hood has 49,000 active-duty troops plus a reserve component. It also has dependents and civilian personnel. It's daytime population approaches 200,000. It is larger than most cities around it. Fort Hood is now larger than the city of Waco 30 miles east afford head. It's a common stomping ground of soldiers that want to catch a movie.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibilities of the soldier died during a land navigation training exercise. That would lend itself more to the unit level than the post Commander. An investigation is under way.
The post Commander is not directly responsible for the murder of PFC Vanessa Guillen it was brutally murdered in an Armory of a unit buy a senior ranking Soldier who thought that she had reported him for sexual harassment. She had not done so according to her sister but had planned to do so the next day. That Soldier ultimately committed suicide off post. The matter is of course under investigation by CID. Fort Hood is a large post. The unit Commander could not be held responsible for holding the hand of every Soldier on post.
Of all the information I have given you and now others 8 soldiers have died as a result of an accident. 5 of died on or off post by homicide. Two are known to have died of illnesses. 6 of died of suicides which I have responded to as well. Soldiers get home sick and it's my experience that they get extremely drunk and end up breaking a bottle and slitting their wrists. It's not pretty but it's the truth. A post Commander can't really be held responsible for soldiers at Texas final step. Not unless the unit I knew there was a psychological component present in failed to act on it.
Lastly, five of died of unknown reasons and the investigations are pending totaling 26 deaths tangentially or directly associated with Fort Hood.
Your words to the Commander's responsibility to his soldiers once they leave post does not end it's not true. It's an all-volunteer military and every reasonable accommodation to allow soldiers to have as normal a life as a civilian have been made. To a large extent, soldiers have free will. They have choices to be made.
In fairness, Fort Hood compares to Fort Campbell, Fort Stewart, and Fort Bragg and it's numbers. All three have in common narcotics sales and use which may have some impact on some of the crimes on and off post, Fort Hood is not the only post with an issue and the only thing that makes it an issue is the news media attention because of the death a PFC Vanessa Guillen.
Fort Hood is larger than the County of Los Angeles. It sounds as if you expect Utopia from a military post. I mean no disrespect as I tell you that you're not going to find it. The military is made up of a microcosm of society. Who's someone comes in as doesn't necessarily change after basic training. Some come in running from the law expecting that they'll never be looked for in the military. That doesn't stop there ways. Their criminal actions off post are only an indirect connection to Fort Hood.
I've given you a great deal of information that you did not have previously. You're in the Air Force which tells me that you're an intelligent young man. If you could honestly say did everything I've just mentioned including the accidental deaths it's the fault of the post Commander there's nothing I can say that's going to change your mind other than to suggest that with age comes wisdom. Experience. Knowledge.
It is not the post Commander is responsibility that two soldiers died in a traffic collision in Austin 60 miles away.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility that two soldiers died in Iraq in a hostile zone.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was murdered after leaving a strip club in the dangerous city of Killeen. No connection to the host has been made.
It's that the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was found dead in his on post housing and foul play is not suspected. It is believed that he died of an illness.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibility that private Chee of the Navajo tribe died during a PT run at 7 in the morning when the temperature was only 79 degrees. An individual stated that a doctor "told him that the private died of swelling of the brain caused by extreme heat exhaustion." Not at 79 degrees as well as the fact that unless the individual was a family member the doctor could not tell him the cause of death. HIPAA regulations. An autopsy is pending. Unless the unit can be found to be negligent in some way this doesn't fall on the post Commander's shoulders.
There is anecdotal information that she was celebrating his birthday the night before it may have been highly intoxicated. Soldiers you're not like Airmen. Soldiers, Marines, and sailors drink. We'd go out and tie went on and it's 6 a.m. we were standing tall ready to run. It's the culture.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that a soldier cohabitating with to non-military individuals were found murdered in their apartment in the dangerous city of Killeen. The matter is under investigation and CID is involved to determine if there's any connection to the post.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility for the soldier that accused a higher ranking individual of groping him filed a sexual harassment claim was determined to be unsubstantiated and there were no Witnesses. The soldier was transfer to another unit where he was hazed and that falls on the unit. Except that the platoon Sergeant drove Sergeant Fernandes home to his new off post housing and the sergeant went UA. He was later found 30 miles away in the city of Temple hanging from a tree after committing suicide. There's no indication of foul play.
It is not necessarily the post Commander's responsibility play previous Soldier was murdered by a current Soldier on Fort Hood. The matter is being being investigated by CID. Crime occurs on the third largest military base in the country.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibility that the skeletal remains of his sold you were found in a field in Killeen 10 months after being missing.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility today Soldier drowned at Stillhouse Hollow Lake off post.
It is not the Commander's responsibility it is Soldier drowned at Belton Lake while waterskiing. My last year there I handled eight drownings at Belton Lake. It happens. Lake Belton by the way is the third largest lake in the state of Texas.
It is not the Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was in Harker Heights selling a handgun to a third party and they argued over the price. The soldier was ultimately shot with his own weapon and found in a ditch 3 miles from his burnt-out Jeep. CID is investigating but there's no connection at this time to Fort Hood.
It is not the post Commander's responsibility that is Soldier was killed in a auto versus pedestrian Collision on post. Fort Hood has 49,000 active-duty troops plus a reserve component. It also has dependents and civilian personnel. It's daytime population approaches 200,000. It is larger than most cities around it. Fort Hood is now larger than the city of Waco 30 miles east afford head. It's a common stomping ground of soldiers that want to catch a movie.
It may not be the post Commander's responsibilities of the soldier died during a land navigation training exercise. That would lend itself more to the unit level than the post Commander. An investigation is under way.
The post Commander is not directly responsible for the murder of PFC Vanessa Guillen it was brutally murdered in an Armory of a unit buy a senior ranking Soldier who thought that she had reported him for sexual harassment. She had not done so according to her sister but had planned to do so the next day. That Soldier ultimately committed suicide off post. The matter is of course under investigation by CID. Fort Hood is a large post. The unit Commander could not be held responsible for holding the hand of every Soldier on post.
Of all the information I have given you and now others 8 soldiers have died as a result of an accident. 5 of died on or off post by homicide. Two are known to have died of illnesses. 6 of died of suicides which I have responded to as well. Soldiers get home sick and it's my experience that they get extremely drunk and end up breaking a bottle and slitting their wrists. It's not pretty but it's the truth. A post Commander can't really be held responsible for soldiers at Texas final step. Not unless the unit I knew there was a psychological component present in failed to act on it.
Lastly, five of died of unknown reasons and the investigations are pending totaling 26 deaths tangentially or directly associated with Fort Hood.
Your words to the Commander's responsibility to his soldiers once they leave post does not end it's not true. It's an all-volunteer military and every reasonable accommodation to allow soldiers to have as normal a life as a civilian have been made. To a large extent, soldiers have free will. They have choices to be made.
In fairness, Fort Hood compares to Fort Campbell, Fort Stewart, and Fort Bragg and it's numbers. All three have in common narcotics sales and use which may have some impact on some of the crimes on and off post, Fort Hood is not the only post with an issue and the only thing that makes it an issue is the news media attention because of the death a PFC Vanessa Guillen.
Fort Hood is larger than the County of Los Angeles. It sounds as if you expect Utopia from a military post. I mean no disrespect as I tell you that you're not going to find it. The military is made up of a microcosm of society. Who's someone comes in as doesn't necessarily change after basic training. Some come in running from the law expecting that they'll never be looked for in the military. That doesn't stop there ways. Their criminal actions off post are only an indirect connection to Fort Hood.
I've given you a great deal of information that you did not have previously. You're in the Air Force which tells me that you're an intelligent young man. If you could honestly say did everything I've just mentioned including the accidental deaths it's the fault of the post Commander there's nothing I can say that's going to change your mind other than to suggest that with age comes wisdom. Experience. Knowledge.
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SSG (Join to see)
Training accidents yes, how these things are handled, yes
The rest, unless we put the dudes on permanent lockdown and babysit 24/7 we can’t control who they get involved with off post,(there’s a lot the press isn’t releasing that’s known around post) we can give Saftey briefs until we’re blue in the face and kids will still go make stupid alcohol choices.
Also, there are other posts this is happening at, Hood is in the spotlight now and everyone is calling for blood. Like I said, I’m currently here, and there is a lot to improve on but getting command for choices that adults make on their off time isn’t the answer
A1C Chris Pointer
The rest, unless we put the dudes on permanent lockdown and babysit 24/7 we can’t control who they get involved with off post,(there’s a lot the press isn’t releasing that’s known around post) we can give Saftey briefs until we’re blue in the face and kids will still go make stupid alcohol choices.
Also, there are other posts this is happening at, Hood is in the spotlight now and everyone is calling for blood. Like I said, I’m currently here, and there is a lot to improve on but getting command for choices that adults make on their off time isn’t the answer
A1C Chris Pointer
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SSG Robert Ricci
SSG (Join to see) excellent points staff sergeant! I couldn't have said it better and you said it in fewer words. LOL. This may actually be one of my shortest replies. LOL.
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SSG Robert Ricci
A1C Chris Pointer I understand what you're saying Chris. But it's not that simple. As SSG Baswell points out the military can give safety briefings on this. They can hand out condoms. They can tell soldiers to stay out of the strip joints downtown. But do you think it's going to happen? No. Unless you put a military policeman with a Killeen Police Officer on what we called White Hat Duty clearing the bars to get the soldiers out of there, there's nothing you can do about it. Besides, it would kill the local economy in many ways. The economy does not exist on Church's Fried Chicken - which I don't even know if it's still there - and Sonic Burger right outside the East Gate. Harker Heights and Copperas Cove rely on rental income as does Killeen.
As SSG Brian Baswell and I agree, Fort Hood is in the media right now. As long as it stays in the media the spotlight is going to be on everything that happens there. I've said it several times already. Fort Hood's crime rate and the issues that it faces are no different than it Fort Stewart, Fort Bragg, Fort Gordon, Fort Benning, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and a string of Marine Corps bases. The Marine Corps has several locations where sexual assaults are at all-time highs but we're not talking about them. We're not even hearing about them!
This is a systemic military issue. As I've said numerous times as well, it is an all-volunteer military. Accommodations have been made to get people to enlist. Many of those people are uneducated and see the military as the only way to get job training. That's a good thing. We need service members like that. But there are others that although they may go in for job training bring with them their own ethics and morality. Their own criminality. As long as the potential service member can pass a background check and get a basic security clearance the recruiters are happy because they get the tick. That's why I say it is a systemic issue of the military. Service members come from a microcosm of society. Let's face it. If they come from gang-ridden communities wearing blue or red representing the Crips and the Bloods for example, they're probably going to find a home in the military. It may not be as public and quite as violent as in the civilian world but it exists. Drugs and prostitution. The same applies to White Supremacy groups or Hispanic gangs. Where do we legislate that you can't be in a gang and join the military? It's not a question on the application. Well, it may be now. But the point is simply that on large military bases especially crime is going to happen. Deaths are going to happen whether foreseeable or not. PV2 Chee tied one on pretty good the night before. It was his birthday. If this rumor is true should an NCO have been more aware that a SM was not in any shape to go on a run? People are trying to say that it was caused by the excessive heat which was over 110 degrees during the daytime. At 7 a.m. on that particular day it was 79 degrees. If Private Chee was intoxicated as is rumored he would have been dehydrated. Cerebral edema. But it is not fact.
Witnesses stated PV2 Chee showed no signs of struggling and was running at the front of the group when he collapsed near the end of the run,” the post said.
Soldiers in the unit “provided initial care” until medics and paramedics arrived and found PV2 Chee unresponsive and without a pulse.
“They implemented advanced life saving measures until his circulation returned."
The family insists that this be investigated as a murder because he had bruises and scrapes and a knot on his head. Did he get into a fight the night before when he was downtown? There's no indication the malfeasance occurred.
As SSG Brian Baswell and I agree, Fort Hood is in the media right now. As long as it stays in the media the spotlight is going to be on everything that happens there. I've said it several times already. Fort Hood's crime rate and the issues that it faces are no different than it Fort Stewart, Fort Bragg, Fort Gordon, Fort Benning, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and a string of Marine Corps bases. The Marine Corps has several locations where sexual assaults are at all-time highs but we're not talking about them. We're not even hearing about them!
This is a systemic military issue. As I've said numerous times as well, it is an all-volunteer military. Accommodations have been made to get people to enlist. Many of those people are uneducated and see the military as the only way to get job training. That's a good thing. We need service members like that. But there are others that although they may go in for job training bring with them their own ethics and morality. Their own criminality. As long as the potential service member can pass a background check and get a basic security clearance the recruiters are happy because they get the tick. That's why I say it is a systemic issue of the military. Service members come from a microcosm of society. Let's face it. If they come from gang-ridden communities wearing blue or red representing the Crips and the Bloods for example, they're probably going to find a home in the military. It may not be as public and quite as violent as in the civilian world but it exists. Drugs and prostitution. The same applies to White Supremacy groups or Hispanic gangs. Where do we legislate that you can't be in a gang and join the military? It's not a question on the application. Well, it may be now. But the point is simply that on large military bases especially crime is going to happen. Deaths are going to happen whether foreseeable or not. PV2 Chee tied one on pretty good the night before. It was his birthday. If this rumor is true should an NCO have been more aware that a SM was not in any shape to go on a run? People are trying to say that it was caused by the excessive heat which was over 110 degrees during the daytime. At 7 a.m. on that particular day it was 79 degrees. If Private Chee was intoxicated as is rumored he would have been dehydrated. Cerebral edema. But it is not fact.
Witnesses stated PV2 Chee showed no signs of struggling and was running at the front of the group when he collapsed near the end of the run,” the post said.
Soldiers in the unit “provided initial care” until medics and paramedics arrived and found PV2 Chee unresponsive and without a pulse.
“They implemented advanced life saving measures until his circulation returned."
The family insists that this be investigated as a murder because he had bruises and scrapes and a knot on his head. Did he get into a fight the night before when he was downtown? There's no indication the malfeasance occurred.
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