(WHDH) — Three members of the Bay State congressional delegation spoke about what they recently found at Fort Hood in Texas — where Army Sgt. Elder Fernandes of Brockton was stationed before he went missing and was found dead In August.
Reps. Stephen Lynch, Katherine Clark and Ayanna Presley said they have identified 150 suicides, homicides, and disappearances at Fort Hood in the last 5 years and believe there is a wider issue of sexual assault in the military.
While no foul play suspected, Fernandez reported that he was bullied and harassed after he’d been sexually assaulted by a male superior.
“We need to address the toxic culture of fear, intimidation, harassment…,” Clark said.
Lynch said he is skeptical about the investigation into Sgt. Fernandes’ sexual assault complaint.
“There was a lack of seriousness, a lack of attention, a lack of focus,” he said. “Some of the officers at the very top were very casual about what was going on there.”
Lynch said the accused passed a polygraph test and officials dismissed the case before going back to check with Fernandes.
The representatives said there are systemic problems with military families who suffer from depression and trauma and live in deplorable housing.
“I was ashamed, ashamed,” Pressley said. “Black mold, roaches, rodents, asbestos.”
She said, “We heard from military spouses who have suffered multiple miscarriages, who are plagued by aggressive asthma and the respiratory ailments.”
The representatives say they have introduced legislation to deal with the problem of sexual harassment.
“It will create a confidential reporting system for sexual harassment in the military. It will take these cases and prosecutorial decisions out of the chain of command and it will make sexual harassment a crime within the uniform code of military justice,” Clark explained.
The representatives said they have been assured that the bill will be acted on quickly. They said they plan to return to Fort Hood in a few months.
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