A commander at Fort Cavazos, Texas, was fired from his post last month after a command investigation found issues with his ability to lead, an Army official said in a statement.
Lt. Col. Damasio Davila of the 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, was relieved on April 26 by Col. Chris Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Davila was removed “due to a loss of trust in his ability to command,” a 1st Cavalry Division spokesperson told Army Times. Lt. Col. Patrick Merriss, the new battalion commander, assumed command on May 4.
“As a matter of policy, the Army does not comment on investigations,” Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra said. “The Army takes all allegations of misconduct extremely seriously and conducts thorough investigations to ensure that appropriate action is taken.”
Davila’s firing, which was first reported by Stars and Stripes, comes in the wake of the October 2022 firing of Col. Jon Meredith. Meredith is facing a court-martial for alleged sexual abuse, officials from 1st Cavalry Division confirmed to Army Times last month.
The command at Fort Cavazos has come under scrutiny since April 2020, when Spc. Vanessa Guillén was murdered by a fellow soldier. Before her death, Guillén had complained of sexual harassment and abuse at the installation.
A subsequent report from an independent commission found sexual harassment prevention and response programs at the base to be “ineffective.”
In 2021, then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy released the findings of a report from the then-Fort Hood Independent Review Commission. (Fort Hood was officially redesignated as Fort Cavazos on May 9.)
“Leaders are responsible for the success or failure of their units, the welfare of their soldiers and the culture of their organizations,” McCarthy said in a video discussing problems at the base. “There’s no greater responsibility than caring for our nation’s sons and daughters. We must have service members at every level leading with conviction and moral authority.”
Issues at the Texas installation have persisted, however. On March 13, Pvt. Ana Basaldua Ruiz, 20, was found dead by apparent suicide in a maintenance bay. Army officials said that no foul play was evident when her body was found, but they have publicly acknowledged that Ruiz had complained about sexual harassment by peers and a superior officer prior to her death.
Army Times reporter Davis Winkie contributed to this story.
Zamone “Z” Perez is a reporter at Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.
