Major general in charge of Fort Hood during Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance reassigned to Joint Base San Antonio

Maj. Gen. Scot L. Efflandt is assigned to a similar role in San Antonio, officials say

Image courtesy of The U.S. Army. (Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Department of Defense announced general officer assignments on Wednesday, which will place the general who was in charge of Fort Hood when Vanessa Guillen disappeared in San Antonio.

Maj. Gen. Scot L. Efflandt, formerly the special assistant to the commanding general at Fort Hood, has been reassigned to the same position at U.S. Army North, Joint Base San Antonio.

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An Army spokesperson said this was a temporary assignment for Efflandt while an internal investigation continues as a result of Guillen’s death.

Lt. Gen. Pat White, the commanding general of Fort Hood during Guillen’s disappearance, will not face any administrative action. According to a report from the Associated Press, “White was deployed to Iraq as the commander there for much of the year.”

Efflandt’s role change was among more than 50 general officer assignments announced by the Department of Defense on Wednesday.

On July 6, 2020, Efflandt announced that the human remains found near the Leon River on June 30 were confirmed to be those of Vanessa Guillen.

“Sadly, I stand here to report that the search for Specialist Vanessa Guillen has resulted in the very outcome that I have prayed it would not have from the very beginning,” Efflandt said at a press conference on July 6, 2020. “The Armed Forces Forensic Examiner has determined through DNA analysis that the remains found near the Leon River are in fact those of Vanessa.”

On Dec. 7, 2020, The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Army expected to fire or suspend a “significant number” of officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood in “a dramatic purge to correct a command culture they believe failed to address leadership failures and a pattern of violence that included murders, sexual assaults and suicides.”

On Dec. 8, Army leaders fired and suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood and ordered policy changes to address “chronic leadership failures at the base that fostered a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment.”

Related: Vanessa Guillen family, attorney to hold briefing after Army fires, suspends 14 Fort Hood soldiers


About the Author
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Jakob Rodriguez is a digital journalist at KSAT 12. He's a graduate of Texas State University, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper, The University Star.

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