2025-10

Protect Our Troops at Home

Sponsored by

Sen. Nilsa Cruz Perez (NJ), Del. Aijalon Cordoza (VA), Rep. Annie Menz (OK) and Rep. Janie Lopez (TX)

Reported to the Caucus by the
NHCSL Veterans and Military Affairs Task Force

Sen. Nilsa Cruz Perez (NJ), Chair

Unanimously ratified by the Caucus on November 22, 2025

WHEREAS, on July 13, 2020, the President and the Executive Director of NHCSL sent a letter, on behalf of the Caucus, to the then Secretary of the Army, the then Secretary of the Navy, and to the then Chairmen of the Armed Services Committees of both chambers of Congress urging them “to address the continued lack of safety experienced by female enlisted service members” in stateside bases; and,

WHEREAS, the letter highlighted two “tragedies which demonstrate a continuing culture where enlisted women – especially enlisted women of color – have more to fear from those with whom they serve than from this nation’s enemies,” namely, the murders of Airman First Class Natasha Aposhian (USAF), killed in a base dormitory at Grand Forks Air Force Base by another Airman, and Specialist Vanessa Guillén (USA), whose remains had just been found and who later turned out to have been bludgeoned to death by another soldier inside an armory at Fort Hood;[1] and,

WHEREAS, the letter raised the concern that the trend “documented in an April 2019 Pentagon report that commanders and law enforcement personnel are not following their own rules when investigating and handling these cases and their victims” appeared to continue unabated; and,

WHEREAS, in December 2020, the Army announced that it would relieve or suspend 14 senior Fort Hood officers for “leadership failures” following the probe[2] initiated after the Caucus’s letter and other intense community pressure regarding Guillén’s murder and 28[3] other deaths there. The probe results noted that “no Commanding General or subordinate echelon commander chose to intervene proactively and mitigate known risks of high crime, sexual assault and sexual harassment;”[4] and,

WHEREAS, since that time, the crisis has been revealed to be both deeper and broader; and,

WHEREAS, in March 2023, Private Ana Basaldua Ruiz (USA) took her own life at Fort Hood, after enduring months of sexual harassment by another soldier that the base did not properly address; transferring her to another platoon and promoting her previous leader before the investigation was complete;[5] and,

WHEREAS, in October 2024, Sergeant Sarah Roque (USA) was killed inside Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, her body tossed in a barracks dumpster; another soldier stands accused of her murder;[6] and,

WHEREAS, at least 44 soldiers died at Fort Bragg[7] in 2020 — several by homicide.[8] And this summer, after two years of litigation, the Army revealed that 51 more soldiers died in undisclosed circumstances at Fort Bragg in 2023 alone,[9] raising the total deaths for 2023-24 to over 100 in that base, in what has been called “a shocking spate of overdoses, murders, and suicides.”[10]

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators calls on Congress, the President and the Department of Defense to take all necessary measures to protect our troops at home; improve programs to prevent intra service violence and sexual or other harassment; ensure that, unless classified, all information resulting from investigation is released; and bring the responsible to justice.

IN ITS MEETING OF JULY 28, 2025, THE NHCSL VETERANS AND MILITARY AFFAIRS TASK FORCE UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDED THIS RESOLUTION TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR APPROVAL.

THE NHCSL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED THIS RESOLUTION ON AUGUST 5, 2025, AT ITS MEETING IN BOSTON, MA.

THE NATIONAL HISPANIC CAUCUS OF STATE LEGISLATORS UNANIMOUSLY RATIFIED THIS RESOLUTION AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 22, 2025 IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA.

[1] Before it was renamed to Fort Cavazos and later renamed again to Fort Hood, evoking the original with a non-Confederate Hood. (See Resolution 2025-09 for this Caucus’s call to restore the name of Fort Cavazos.)

[2] Zachary Cohen and Ryan Browne, Army punishes 14 senior officers after murder and other deaths at Fort Hood (CNN, Dec 8, 2020)

[3] AP, What led to 28 soldiers' deaths from 1 Army base? Congress wants to know (6ABC, Sep 8, 2020)

[4] Zachary Cohen and Ryan Browne, Army punishes 14 senior officers after murder and other deaths at Fort Hood (CNN, Dec 8, 2020)

[5] Ronny Rojas and Damià Bonmatí, Noticias Telemundo, Army report finds Ana Basaldua died by suicide after struggles at Fort Cavazos (NBC News, Sept. 6, 2023)

[6] Rose L. Thayer, Fort Leonard Wood soldier to face court-martial in death of fellow soldier (Stars and Stripes, July 16, 2025)

[7] Before it was renamed to Fort Liberty and later renamed again to Fort Bragg, evoking the original with a non-Confederate Bragg. (See Resolution 2025-09 for this Caucus’s call to restore the name of Fort Liberty.)

[8] Seth Harp, The Fort Bragg Murders (Rolling Stone, April 18, 2021).

[9] Seth Harp, Fort Bragg disclosure tweet (July 3, 2025)

[10] The Daily Beast, Why Do So Many Soldiers Keep Dying at Fort Bragg? (March 1, 2023)