FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- Many questions remain unanswered in the mysterious death of a teenage girl in the barracks at the Fort Lewis Army Base. Two former soldiers, however, believe the death resulted from the drugs, alcohol and unrelieved stress that they claim plague the barracks.

The Army on Monday said two girls, both 16, were found unresponsive in the barracks around 3: 30 a.m. on Sunday. One girl was pronounced dead at the scene, and the other was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center where she is now in stable condition.

The Army has launched an investigation into the girl's death, as well as how the girls came to be on the installation in the first place.

For civilians to be allowed on the Army base, they must show proper identification and have a valid reason for being on the base.

Any minors who aren't a member of their host's immediate family must be accompanied in the barracks by a parent or guardian. Anyone with a valid Department of Defense identification is allowed to escort a civilian - even an unrelated minor - onto the base.

Robby Lewis, a 15-year Navy Veteran, can't help but wonder whether he could have prevented the teen's death somehow.

"My first reaction was 'I wish I would have spoken up,'" he said.

Several months ago, Lewis' own 16-year-old daughter called him from the base and said she needed a ride home. Now he questions the level of security of enforced at Fort Lewis.

"I mean if we can't stop 16 year olds from coming on to the base how can we stop terrorists? That's what I think," he said. "At the very least if they were visitors, when they checked in, then they should have been tracked so that when it was time to leave the base and the girls didn't show up, they should have put up a red flag."

It is not known how the girls in this case gained access into the barracks; however, two former soldiers said it isn't difficult to sneak visitors into the base and the barracks have been known to draw curious young girls.

"It can certainly be attractive, an attractive environment with a bunch of soldiers who are older, and have access to alcohol and drugs often times," said Seth Manzel, who spent four years as a soldier, often working guard duty on the base.

Menzel claims the effects of drugs and alcohol, along with the overwhelming stress of having been deployed to war zones and the mental toll that can take, can make men do things they shouldn't.

"There were times when I walked in on things that were pretty atrocious. At one point, a girl got branded. She was a willing participant, but she was very drunk and not in a position to make that decision," he said.

Joshua Simpson, another former Fort Lewis-based soldier, described a similar scene.

"I would see women intoxicated and being taken advantage of by like groups of men, not just one individual," he said.

Both former soldiers blamed the Army's alleged negligence of the soldiers' mental needs as the cause of the gruesome scenes they witnessed.

"Consider the fact that people in the military generally have a lot of problems that the military doesn't deal with, so it's very easy to be put in a dangerous situation very quickly," Menzel said.

"A lot of these people have issues, and the way they relay these issues is through alcohol and even drug use," said Simpson. "At a place like that, I would not want any teenage girl to be hanging out in that environment."

Young women, the soldiers said, probably don't understand what they're getting themselves into when they visit the barracks.

"Sixteen-year-old girls should not be in any military barracks. I'm a father, and if I found out that any of my girls had been in a military barrack, I would be very angry about that, having seen the type of things that happen in military barracks," said Simpson.

"Soldiers go thorough horrible things and they play hard. And when they get on off hours, it's really an unfortunate situation that some people aren't going into it with their eyes open as to the horrible things that can happen to them," Menzel added.

The Army said the dead victim did not suffer any physical signs of trauma, and that an autopsy should give a more definitive cause of death.

The identities of both girls were withheld, but both are from the south Puget Sound area and are not military dependents.

The girl who died attended Lakes High School for her freshman year last year. She dropped out to take online courses last fall, at the beginning of her sophomore year, but re-enrolled at the school earlier this month, said Kim Prentice, a spokeswoman for the Clover Park School District.

Prentice said she did not believe the other girl was enrolled in the district.

Army officials said a Fort Lewis soldier who was "allegedly acquainted with the two girls" has been questioned, but no arrests had been made.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Division is investigating.