WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — The Servicemember Safety and Security Act was reintroduced today by Sen. John Cornyn.
A bipartisan bill, it would require military installations to review and improve policies and procedures for reporting missing servicemembers and to partner with local and federal law enforcement to improve information sharing.
“As a parent and the son of a veteran, I feel a sense of duty to protect the dedicated servicemembers who sacrifice so much to protect us,” Cornyn said in a release. “The recent deaths of soldiers at Fort Hood have shaken us all, and my hope is that this bill will help us prevent similar tragedies in the future.”
The bill requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive review of the department's policies and procedures for reporting members of the Armed Forces absent without leave or missing.
Each military installation would then be required to review its policies and procedures for reporting missing or AWOL servicemembers, and update policies and procedures to improve force protection, security for on-base residents and coordination with local and federal law enforcement.
Installation commanders would be required to create or update protocols for information sharing with local and federal law enforcement agencies in their area of operation. The commanders would also report these protocols back to each service installation command.
Cornyn introduced the bill following last year's deaths of Sgt. Elder Fernandes, Spc. Vanessa Guillén and other soldiers stationed at Fort Hood.
These soldiers' deaths are two of several that gained national attention in 2020, after Guillén's family raised awareness about her death and disappearance in the latter half of the year.
Guillén was killed in an armory room on post in April 2020. According to federal complaint in the case, Spc. Aaron Robinson killed her with a hammer and then took her off post where his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, helped dismember and bury the remains around the Leon River.
Her remains were found June 30, 2020 and Robinson killed himself the following day as Killeen police moved in to arrest him. Aguilar was taken into custody where she confessed to the happenings. She remains in custody and is set to appear in court June 16.
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Fernandes, 23, reportedly died by suicide in August 2020, days after he was last seen in Killeen, officials said. Fort Hood said the soldier was part of a sexual abuse investigation, but officials ruled his claims were "unsubstantiated."
Guillén's case led to multiple investigations including an independent review of the climate and culture on Fort Hood that resulted in major leadership changes on post and an overhaul of how the Army handles sexual assault and harassment cases.