Photo By Jean Han | Gripping a large pair of golden scissors with both hands, Fort Bliss Garrison...... read more read more
FORT BLISS, Texas – Gripping a large pair of scissors with both hands, Garrison Commander Col. James Brady and Staff Judge Advocate Col. Andrew Flor sliced through the red satin ribbon that adorned the double doors of the new Ironsides Courtroom on Fort Bliss, Jan. 26, 2022.
The inaugural ceremony marked the official opening of Fort Bliss’ second courtroom, a first in the installation’s history.
The establishment of the courtroom is just one of over 40 initiatives being implemented for Operation Ironclad, Fort Bliss’ action-based approach toward eliminating sexual assault and sexual harassment; suicide; and extremism and racism in the ranks.
The multi-phased plan began rolling out in December 2020 following the release of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee’s report – a three-month review which found the command climate at Fort Hood to be permissive of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
While the independent review only examined Fort Hood, the findings contained in the report galvanized installations across the U.S. to take a critical look at their systems and policies.
This led Maj. Gen. Sean Bernabe, commanding general of 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss to create the Operation Ironclad planning committee, a task force aimed specifically at combating these corrosives and improving the lives of Soldiers and their families.
One of the first issues the task force identified was a backlog in adjudication of cases.
“We're one of the busiest jurisdictions in the Army,” said Flor. “In calendar year 2021, 24 courts-martial were tried here at Fort Bliss. In calendar year 2022, 13 courts-martial have already been docketed, to include seven in the month of January alone.”
To tackle this delay, Bernabe directed the Mission and Installation Contracting Command and the Directorate of Public Works to work together to establish a second courtroom on Fort Bliss.
Creating the second courtroom increases the efficiency and capacity of the judicial process, ultimately providing a quicker resolution to cases. It allows timely care and closure to survivors who might have experienced trauma as well as provide them with the justice they deserve.
“Having a second courtroom on the installation should reduce the time from report of sexual assault to adjudication for at least a portion of the cases,” said Bernabe. “Processing rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment, already one of the quickest among Army installations, will become more rapid as well.”
According to Brady, the Ironsides Courtroom tackles destructive behaviors and actions in a significant way.
“As our CG came in, coming off of the Fort Hood Independent Review, he wanted to make sure that we’re combating harmful behaviors,” said Brady. “The new courtroom gets after his Operation Ironclad initiative perfectly; it’s great that the Garrison can support the senior commander.”
“It allows us to try cases simultaneously if necessary, which allows us to increase the pace that we're able to prosecute courts-martial and also it allows us to increase the speed of Justice,” said Flor. “The opportunity to have two fully functional courtrooms on Fort Bliss is a gift, we’re one of the few installations that has that.“
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.24.2022 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 416810 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | EL PASO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 181 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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