This is a story with a bad ending. He seemed equipped pretty well but it still turned out bad for this soldier in Ft Hood TX. It seems odd he died of dehydratin but they said plenty of water was nearby.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4887091.html


Soldier who died in Texas was dehydrated

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press


FORT HOOD, Texas — A soldier who went missing for four days after a solo navigation exercise died of hyperthermia and dehydration, according to autopsy results released Wednesday.

The body of Sgt. Lawrence G. Sprader, 25, was found Tuesday night in a brushy area on the Central Texas Army post's training ground, said Eddy Howton, Fort Hood's director of emergency services. About 3,000 people, including soldiers, covered more than 30 square miles searching for him in 90-degree heat.

A brief report on the autopsy, conducted at the Southwestern Institute of Forensics Sciences at Dallas, was released by a Bell County justice of the peace. The report did not provide further details.

Officials have said Sprader had two canteens of water, a water backpack and two Meals Ready To Eat when he left. His body was found near plenty of drinking water from creeks and other sources, said Robert Volk, Fort Hood's chief game warden.

Officials do not suspect foul play, said Lt. Col. Carter Oates, commander of the 11th MP Battalion, Criminal Investigations Division, where Sprader was assigned.

Sprader disappeared Friday during the exercise testing basic map-reading and navigation skills in a rugged exercise area at the sprawling central Texas post.

Officials declined to answer questions about whether there were signs of distress that might indicate how Sprader died, saying all that is under investigation. Eddy Howton, Fort Hood's director of emergency services, said he did not know if searchers found anything that would indicate how long Sprader had been dead.

Commanders said that when they reached Sprader on his phone late Friday — the last time anyone spoke to him — he was determined to finish the exercise and did not indicate he was ill or distressed.

"He was a model soldier. He had a goal to succeed," Oates said.

Sprader was one of nearly 320 noncommissioned officers taking part in a two-week leadership course. Nine other soldiers got lost during the three-hour exercise, but all except Sprader got back to the rally point safely by following the sound of a siren that blasts when time is up, said Col. Diane Battaglia, a III Corps spokeswoman at Fort Hood.

Post officials said no other soldier had ever been lost on the heavily used range long enough to prompt such a huge search.

Sprader had returned from an Iraq deployment in September and worked in the criminal investigation division of Fort Hood. The Prince George, Va., soldier had no orders for redeployment to the war zone.

"Being near..." very true. What I'm more interested in is did he still have water in his gear?

I grew up over there. Is it possible he drank some creek water, got sick, which then led to severe dehydration?

Again, even with all the creeks over there, he may have just missed them each time he was near. Also, it's possible he had taken some medication, had the wrong diet before the exercises, or been suffering from some other mild malady that was magnified by the stress, heat, and lack of fluids.

It sounds like he had his cell phone with him. The whole situation sounds a little strange. It's sad.

90 degrees. Wow. I used to dig ditches, and work in the oil fields, in 100+ degree heat without ill effect (other than being pooped at the end of the day). I suspect that there is more to this story than we know...

This story doesn't make any sense at all. A 3 hour orientation course would be typically only 10 miles in length, the furthest point away would have been only 5 miles away, 3 miles if we assume a somewhat circular path. The soldier was equipped with water (3-5 litres of water being carried, which was plenty for a 3hr jaunt) and food (though why he was carrying food is another mystery for such a short 3 hr orientation/navigation course) together with a map and compass and a cellular phone. I've looked on google earth, the terrain is not difficult, being mostly flat and is criss crossed by dirt roads and other easily identifiable landmarks. To be found 4 days later having died from hypothermia and dehydration doesn't make any sense at all especially considering the small search area.

Could it have been that the tragic death of this soldier was due to the fact that he was unable to start a fire? Hypothermia led to disorientation and consequently led to dehydration when his canteen water ran out.

Even though the soldier was on a 2 week leadership course, I am surprised that so many NCOs who must of have some considerable army experience could not cope with basic map and compass work with 9 others getting lost.

What is the training given to even basic army recruits on navigation and basic survival skills (considering that most survival skills are essentially just basic common sense) such as water procurement and signaling technique (even more of a mystery since the story implied he had a mobile phone)?

Reminds me of another story about Marine Lance Corporal Jason Rother

Quoting from the article:


Sounds like a truly freak occurance. I agree with Stretch and wonder if he had some as-yet undiagnosed medical condition?

It's hyPERthermia, not hypothermia

In my last post I actually did mean hypothermia (cold weather injury) rather than hyperthermia (heat stroke). Surviving 90 degree heat with adequate water (the soldier reportedly had a camelbak and 2 canteens, about 4-5 litres, this would have been more than sufficient) is easier than surviving 32 degree cold (could it have rained during the night) during the night time without adequate clothing and shelter protection or the skills and ability to light a fire. But if the soldier had suffered heat stroke then most likely he would have died on the same day within hours of the navigation exercise finishing before the cooler temperatures of the evening. But I would have found this unlikely simply because 4-5 litres of water would have been sufficient to make it through until the cooling evening temperatures. He could of then walked the 3-4 miles home during the cooler evening temperatures if he knew how to use a map and compass with very little water. If this soldier had not died because of an unrelated medical condition this is certainly a most bizarre tragedy.

It's summertime here in our part of the world and here in the southwest, well like elsewhere, it gets hot. Every summer we have illegal aliens dying in the desert. Most are female, slightly overweight, and all from hyPERthermic dehydration. The problem is, that's just the end result and it's easy to presume that the dehydration occurred only because the person didn;t have enough water. But I've come to the conclusion that there's usually an underlying condition or circumstance that leads to the dehydration.

In "most" of these alien death cases, there is water available to the person who died. So then there are guesses as to the onset of the dehydration. Now if we just consider Mexican aliens, these people will travel by bus from wherever in their country. Then, they'll sometimes wait for days and weeks along the border, making arrangements and waiting for their group to cross. During this time, they're out of their home element, eating poorly, possibly drinking some bad water here and there, and suffering worry and stress. The womenfolk are housewives, not mountainbikers, so the initial jaunt even in good health is hard for them, leaving aside all the other factors. Then, to top it off, there've been reports (unsubstantiated as of yet) that the guides will often recommend or dole out pills (probably amphetamines) to help boost their energy for the initial hike.

I know this was a little OT, but in this soldier's case, I tend to think of pre-existing conditions when I hear a story like that. Not necessarily long-term conditions, it could be as simple as a mild flu virus that he might have contracted the very day he set out.

I have to agree with some others though, the story leaves alot to be desired and it all sounds strange. There are too many reasons for a trained military professional NOT to die in that neck of the woods.