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Corlton L Chee: Fort Hood sees 28th death this year as soldier dies the same day new commander takes over

Pvt Corlton L Chee, 25, who entered the Army in February as a tank crewman, died on Wednesday after he collapsed following physical fitness training on August 28

With controversy surrounding Fort Hood already making headlines, yet another death has been reported at the Army base marking the 28th death this year alone. Private Corlton L Chee, 25, died on Wednesday, September 2, 2020, after he had initially collapsed on August 28 after undergoing physical fitness training, said reports.

Officials at Ford Hood revealed on Friday, September 4, that an autopsy on Pvt. Chee is "underway" and will be able to determine the soldier's cause of death, reported the Daily Mail. Fort Hood base has been the center of attention lately due to to the suspicious deaths that have occurred this year. Chee's demise would mark the bases' 28th death in 2020, with reports of five of those deaths being suspected of "foul play."

We had earlier reported that 23-year-old Sgt Elder Fernandes's body was found after he had been missing since August 17, 2020. He had claimed to have been sexually abused. Not to mention, the body of Sgt Vanessa Guillen, aged 20 was found dismembered in July after she had disappeared. She had also told her family she was being "sexually harassed." Further, on July 17, 2020, 26 year-old Pvt. Mejhor Morta, was also found dead 15 miles from the Fort Hood base. 

After Private Corlton had been feeling ill during exercise training, he was taken to Carl R Darnall Medical Center. The Daily Mail reported that Chee was later moved to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas, on August 30 where he died with family beside him, according to Army officials. It was reported that Dallas' Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences will conduct the autopsy on Chee's body, with Army officials reporting that the soldier's death is "currently under investigation."

Chee, from hailed from Pinehill, New Mexico, was inducted into the Army earlier this year in February as a tank crewman. In July the young soldier was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and has also been awarded the National FamDefense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. The official Twitter account of Fort Hood posted their condolences with a picture of Chee, tweeting, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Pvt. Carlton L. Chee, as well as his teammates and extended family at the @1stCavalryDiv. #FortHood #USArmy #RIP #FirstTeam."

Further, on the day Chee had died, the new commander, Maj Gen John Richardson IV, was welcomed at the base with a ceremony. Richardson, the publication revealed, has now taken over for Deputy Commanding General Scott Efflandt who was removed for the bases' commander position on Tuesday, September 2. According to reports, Richardson said, "We need to teach young leaders how to ask hard, difficult questions. Those are the ones that then allows relationships to build. Trust is strong in the army, but we have individual instances where they trust is broken and one break-in that link is one too many." The new commander had also began 'Operation Phantom Action' which is a "plan to open up conversations and counseling between soldiers and their chains of command on issues such as sexual harassment," reported the Daily Mail. It was further announced that the head of the Army's Future Command, General John Murray, will conduct a new probe on how late Vanessa Guillen's sexual harassment reports were handled at the base along with her missing status and later, death.