Commander seeks to get embattled Fort Hood 'back on track'

Pat White dons his workout clothes and walks through the neighborhoods at Fort Hood with his wife, Emma, and golden retriever Sadie, looking for some unvarnished feedback from the soldiers at his embattled Texas base.As Fort Hood’s commander, White faces the immense task of rebuilding trust and turning around an installation that has one of the highest rates of murder, sexual assault and harassment in the Army, and drew unwelcome national attention this year because of the disappearance and brutal murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen.He knows it will take time to correct what some believe are systemic leadership failures at the base, and that some units will respond more quickly than others. In June, officials discovered the remains of another missing soldier, Gregory Morales, about 10 miles from that lake.McCarthy said in a statement this past week that his initial review of the independent commission’s report on Fort Hood “hardened my belief that the Army’s SHARP program hasn’t achieved its mandate to eliminate sexual assaults and sexual harassment by creating a climate that respects the dignity of every member of the Army family.” SHARP is the Army’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program.McCarthy said the report’s findings will be released on Dec. 8.