A Military Resistant to Change, A Lawyer in the Pursuit of Fame
Last year the disappearance and murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen cast a magnifying glass over Fort Hood and the U.S Army. The sexual violence that plagues the army was once again front and center while the entire nation demanded answers on behalf of the Guillen family. Civilians learned about and joined the fight that veterans and grassroots organizations have been involved in for decades. The fight for reform, the fight to take the decision of whether to prosecute a sexual predator out of the biased hands of chain-of-command, the fight to make the U.S Army care about its appalling sexual violence problem.
People in various states protested with clear demands and purpose. Here in Los Angeles, people gathered in Plaza Olvera and Mariachi Plaza. Protests took place in front of the Air Force Base and recruiting centers, as the sexual violence problem is not specific to the Army but plagues every branch. Veterans shared their stories of rape at the hands of senior officers, of recruiters, and the resulting military sexual trauma they endure, while civilians were reminded of their own assaults.
Last year we learned that before Vanessa Guillen disappeared, she confided in her family that she was being sexually harassed. Her mother and sisters repeated this time and time again. After initially denying it, the U.S Army now confirms that this was in fact true. In a report released on Friday April 30, a Fort Hood AR 15-6 investigation found that SPC Guillen was “sexually harassed by a Supervisor [and] her leaders failed to take appropriate action.” The investigation was conducted by General John Murray, Commanding General of U.S Army Futures Command. Gen. Murray and his team evaluated the actions of Guillen’s unit leaders at “various levels and their responses to the disappearance and murder of Vanessa Guillen at Fort Hood.” They also investigated her sexual harassment allegations, sexual harassment allegations against Specialist Aaron Robinson, “3rd Cavalry Regiment (Regiment)'s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program; the Regiment's accountability of personnel; the Regiment's procedures for personnel assignments; and the Regiment's arms room procedures.”
Timeline of Investigations into Fort Hood from U.S Army site
For the investigation Gen. Murray and his team reviewed 6,000 emails, interviewed 151 witnesses, and analyzed over 11,500 pages of documents to confirm what the Guillen family has been saying since the jump: Vanessa was being sexually harassed and her leadership did not care to do anything about it. According to the executive summary of the investigation findings, Guillen underwent a noticeable change in demeanor following an incident in summer of 2019 when one of her supervisors solicited her to participate in a threesome while she was in her troop orderly room. Noticing her shift in demeanor, another supervisor decided to ask if she was okay and it was then that Vanessa reported that she was being harassed .
This incident was reported by two soldiers to her unit leadership between 16 Sept and 9 Oct 2019, leadership decided to do nothing with the information. The investigation further determined that Vanessa was specifically targeted by that same supervisor who was harassing her, and he would consistently make an example of her, constantly calling her out before her peers. This same supervisor also watched her when he encountered her during a field training exercise while she showered. From the report:
Guillen believed [name redacted] tried to ‘watch her wash up’ and she was very adamant about not wanting to get in trouble by telling what happened. She was afraid that she’d get in trouble - not [name redacted].’ According to [names redacted] was stalking SPC Guillen in the field. SPC Guillen also told another close peer…about the encounter. ‘She didn’t have any clothes on’ and [name redacted] ‘shined a light on her…’ SPC Guillen did not believe the encounters were accidental.
This particular supervisor was not held accountable for his behavior and was moved to another squadron allowing him to continue with his predatory tactics on new targets.
In regards to SPC Robinson, the investigation confirms that from April to Sept. 2019 Robinson sexually harassed another female SPC at Fort Hood. The summary clarifies that no credible evidence was found to suggest that Robinson was harassing Guillen nor that they had any relationship outside of their work setting.
Details surrounding Robinson’s escape and suicide where also revealed. After Guillen’s remains were discovered on June 30, 2020, SPC Robinson was placed under strict observation. He was under the impression that he was detained for violating Covid-19 rules. He was placed in a conference room while an unarmed soldier stood guard at the door, and they let him keep his cellphone. Robinson would then flee a few minutes after receiving a call from his mother. A guard overheard him say, “Don’t believe what you hear about me.” He was found 3 hours later in Killeen and killed himself when approached by Army and civilian police. The report listed poor communication as a contributing factor to Robinson’s escape.
In what should come as no surprise, the key findings also state that “overall, the Regiment’s command climate did not sufficiently emphasize the response and prevention of sexual assault or sexual harassment. SPC Guillen’s leadership was not sufficiently involved in the SHARP program.” SHARP is the military’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program. At this point, there have been multiple investigations into Fort Hood. Multiple congressional hearings addressing sexual harassment and assault. Thousands of survivor stories shared. Documentaries made. Lives lost. What will it take for Congress to pass the bills that have been introduced and re-introduced calling for reform?
The system, as it is, is just not working. Prosecution cannot be left in the hands of chain-of-command; they are utterly incapable of giving these crimes the seriousness they deserve. Time and time again we see they are more concerned with protecting the predators or just downright do not see the violation of their soldiers as serious crimes worthy of prosecution.
Meanwhile, an attorney obsessed with herself has sunken her teeth into the family and shows no plans of letting go anytime soon. Natalie Khawam has been championed as a fighter for veterans labeling herself as an Attorney who gets bills passed while having achieved no progress in the passing of the very bill named after Vanessa Guillen. Khawam was praised last year for taking the case on pro bono. Rumors began circulating that she had her eyes on the rights of the story. Not exactly a pro bono deal if she was strategically setting herself up to represent this family in order to make her way into Hollywood.
And now we learn her strategy paid off. The Hollywood Reporter published a piece on March 22 about the creator of the Netflix series ‘Selena’ and the launch of his production company. Moises Zamora and his company, Zone One, already have multiple projects underway that were detailed in the piece with one being The Whistleblower, “a drama based on attorney Natalie Khawam that explores the high-profile case of missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén. The case ultimately spotlighted the culture of sexual harassment and corruption at Fort Hood.” The Whistleblower is also the name of Khawam’s law firm. Natalie Khawam makes it a point to speak about herself every chance she gets, the Guillen case is not her priority. Her priority is the raising of her own star. Vanessa’s story should be told but it should not be exploited by those only seeking to use her family for their own benefit. Khawam apparently shopped around to see who would produce a series based on the Guillen case but centered around her. In Moises she found someone willing to write such a story. A lawyer should do their job and represent their client not use their clients to bring attention to themselves, attention they could not otherwise obtain through their own merit.
It is yet another tone deaf act on behalf of this Attorney who seems to live in her own version of reality, one in which she does not see how her actions betray her real intentions. Khawam’s perception of reality has been questioned before during a custody trial in which a court-appointed custody evaluator testified that “Ms. Khawam exhibited ‘poor logical thinking’ and ‘a profoundly distorted view of [the father of her child] and of much of the world.” The judge presiding over that custody trial wrote that “Ms. Khawam appears to lack any appreciation or respect for the importance of honesty and integrity in her interactions with her family, employers, and others with whom she comes in contact...the court fully expects that Ms. Khawam's pattern of misrepresentations about virtually everything, including the most important aspects of her life, will continue indefinitely."
Her reputation as a socialite with an interest in entertaining top military brass, along with her twin sister, is well documented in this Tampa Bay Times article published in 2012. Khawam and her sister, according to the wife of a Marine Lt. General, “could work a room better than any politician.” It is no wonder why many people who have come into contact with Khawam are concerned that she is also “working” the Guillen family and using their tragedy as a means to her own superficial ends. Any criticism of Attorney Natalie Khawam is not criticism of the Guillen family. One can only hope that there is someone looking out for their best interest during such a vulnerable time.
As time passes, the findings keep coming, the same stories are told and retold, and nothing seemingly changes. Our question now is: When? When will Congress care enough to come together for its service men and women, and pass either the MJIA-IPA or the IAMVANESSAGUILLEN Act? When will the Armed Forces get a handle on their toxic culture and properly address the behaviors that lead to sexual assault? When will sexual assault be treated with the seriousness it requires? And when will Natalie Khawam stop exploiting the Guillen family in her pursuit of fame?