Where is the Army’s Leadership?

LTC Marc King — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 11:48:15 -0500

No 'daycare center': Lawmakers tell Obama not to use Ft. Hood to house illegal immigrant kids”

“Two Texas lawmakers wrote President Obama this week to oppose a possible plan to use Fort Hood military base to house unaccompanied minors who illegally crossed into the U.S. from Mexico. Republican congressmen John Carter and Roger Williams, whose districts both include parts of the sprawling military base, say they wrote the letter after learning the Pentagon has assigned a team to assess the possibility of using it and other bases to house young immigrants.”

What we also learn from this article is: “In a statement, Fort Hood spokesman Tony Rheinlander said it isn’t even up to the Pentagon whether or not the base is used.” Further… “Representatives from HHS are conducting an ongoing assessment of Fort Hood to determine if our installation is suitable for them to temporarily provide shelter for unaccompanied children under their care,” he said. “HHS will make the final determination if they will use Fort Hood for unaccompanied children operations.”

This is not about immigration policy or whether we should or should not be shutting down the border to this type of migration. It is about national security as well as training and sustaining the force necessary to complete the mission.

Ft. Hood is one of the nation’s busiest installations. Hosting a significant number of operational units from a Corps HQ to Maneuver Brigades and an Army SOG, there are currently about 50,000 personnel assigned to the installation. Ft. Hood is the Army's Premier Installation to train and deploy heavy forces. A 214,968-acre installation, Ft. Hood is the only post in the United States capable of stationing and training two Armored Divisions. But apparently the Commander of Ft. Hood is not in charge of his own installation – The Department of Health and Human Services has assumed that role. The Congressmen have it right, the Administration has it wrong, and the Army’s leaders appear to be AWOL on the matter. Why would any Army leader – from the Chief of Staff of the Army to the 3 Corps Commander, to the Commander of the Ft. Hood Garrison - agree to an arrangement with HHS that allows them to usurp their authority in the operations of their installation?

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that this will have an enormous impact on the overall operation of the installation and the surrounding communities. We now know that by law these children have to be enrolled in school. Ft. Hood has an outstanding relationship with the Killeen School District as well as others in the immediate area, yet none of this has been budgeted for. Perhaps we can just tap into the Army’s O&M account and divert some funds from training or maintenance – after all, readiness is not that important given the current terrorist situation both here and overseas. And, of course, the good news is, that if we reduce training requirements to budget for schools, we will have eliminated the possibility that one of these young people might wander on to an active range or into a motor park where armored vehicles are being maneuvered…just saying.

It is easy to understand why our military installations are such a desirable place to house these children. They are well-run facilities with places to eat, sleep, bathe, and hangout. The Department of Health and Human Services “dumps” the problem on the Department of Defense, leaves an HHS monitor on site to inform their department head when the military screws up, and then the problem is “solved”. I don’t think anybody buys that the problems are solved; in fact, it is often the opposite. So where is the Army’s leadership push back? Or have they “gone over to the dark side” on this?

I don’t believe that there will be a way to stop the migration of people across our southern border until the politicians take serious actions. So the problem still remains - what to do with these young people alone on this side of the border? Since the law states they are the responsibility of HHS, why not ensure that they fulfill that responsibility and leave the DoD and the DA out of it? If you need facilities, I call your attention to BRAC!

The most important aspect of Base Realignment and Closure is, well, closure! These are “closed” former military facilities all around the nation that provide the same type of living facilities as our active installations. These are the facilities that should be placed under the direct supervision of HHS to solve this problem. In fact, this could be a job generating opportunity. There would be a need for cooks, security personnel, administrators, drivers, and facilities maintenance workers - all in lock step with the Department of Health and Human Services, not the Department of Defense. No defense resources, no competition for school space, health facilities, transportation, and, most of all, no increased security requirements. The constant “blurring” of department missions, roles and responsibilities has to stop and our Army leaders need to lead this charge.

Response by SSG Audwin Scott made Jan 21 at 2016 12:11 PM

SSG Audwin Scott — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 12:11:49 -0500

The Army leadership is there. Of course we know the Politicians will override the Army's top officials to make a decision based off what they feel will be done at Ft. Hood.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 21 at 2016 1:05 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 13:05:23 -0500

Some info on these facilities.

Q: How do ORR shelters affect our community?

A: The impact on the local community is minimal. Shelters are operated by non-profit organizations, generally as group homes. Most shelters care for fewer than 50 unaccompanied children. These shelters are consistently quiet and good neighbors in the communities where they are located.

ORR pays for and provides all services for the children while they are in care at a shelter. This includes providing food, clothing, education, medical screening, and any needed medical care to the children. Children spend fewer than 35 days on average at the shelters and do not integrate into the local community. They remain under staff supervision at all times.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 22 at 2016 8:42 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 20:42:05 -0500

HHS cant even write a simple 5 paragraph OPORD.

Response by SFC William Stephens made Aug 23 at 2017 2:09 PM

SFC William Stephens — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 14:09:32 -0400

The question should be What happened to the Army LEADERSHIP? where has it gone because the new ARMY has really change because it seems to me that this is a YES SIR NO SIR ARMY and a PLEASE and THANK YOU ARMY and the 4 letter word ARMY is gone because of the EO policy but we are still fighting war and need to make killers because other countries are not stopping making the soldiers they had been making in the past and I bet their soldiers aren't bring cell phones to basic and AIT. I think the Leaders need to grab some instead of trying to come up with new rank ideas and train our soldiers for combat because boots on the ground is not winning our wars NO more, the enemy is smarter and technical on the battle field these days. Where has our leadership gone, who running our Gov't and who's running our Military, when our soldier are standing around talking to mom and daddy and Jodi on their cell phones. Shit won't change it just gets worse these soldiers don't know what real training is and don't what it feels like to have a bullets fly by them on the battle field, They wouldn't worry about that damn cell phone if they knew what they were really signing up for where they got our that plane in Kuwait if they ever deployed or made home safe.