Fort Hood Army Base Failed To Disclose The Death Of Another Female Soldier That Occurred On The Same Day As Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz

Fort Hood Army Base stayed quiet after another soldier passed away last month.

According to Military.com, Fort Hood officials held a press conference to address the death of Pvt. Ana Basalduaruiz in March. However, the army base failed to disclose that another female soldier had also passed away on the same day. The outlet reported that Spc. Katerina Weikel, died on March 13 in Killeen, just one day after her 29th birthday.

To their defense, Fort Hood says they release the information regarding a soldier’s death on a “case-by-case basis.” Additionally, they say Weikel death happened off-post and her cause of death is still unknown at this time.

“In the case of a soldier death on Fort Hood, officials determine when or how to release information on a case-by-case basis. Considerations include, first and foremost, providing the families space to grieve, any announcement often triggers media queries to the family members,” CID spokesman Jeffrey Castro said.

According to Weikel’s obituary, she was a New York native who joined the U.S. Army in 2019 after briefly attending college. Weikel had earned the National Defense Service Medal and served on the 64th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion and 89th Military Police Brigade.

As previously mentioned, Weikel’s death occurred on the same day as Basalduaruiz. Nevertheless, Fort Hood says no foul play was involved in Weikel’s passing but an investigation is in the works.

As for Basalduaruiz, the combat engineer complained about sexual harassment for 15 months before she unexpectedly lost her life. Basalduaruiz’s family says they talked with her daily and even offered to pick her up after learning about the incidents.