Posted on 06/13/2007 12:18:51 AM PDT by Racehorse
Searchers found the body late Tuesday of a sergeant who was missing for four days after he disappeared during a training exercise, an Army spokeswoman said.
Sgt. Lawrence G. Sprader, 25, went missing Friday during a solo exercise testing basic map-reading and navigation skills.
Col. Diane Battaglia, III Corps spokeswoman at Fort Hood, said the body was found on the rugged Central Texas Army post. The body had been sent for an autopsy and the cause of death had not been determined, she said.
Sprader was one of nearly 320 noncommissioned officers being trained as part of a two-week leadership course.
He wasn't the only soldier who got lost during the three-hour exercise, but nine others who were disoriented got back to the rally point safely by following the sound of a siren that blasts when time is up, Battaglia said.
Reached on his cell phone two hours after the exercise was over, Sprader told commanders he wanted to finish the drill.
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
I wonder why he was out in the wilds operating alone. I can’t recall that ever being the case in any training in my time, but that was a while ago. Of course some stuff was individual, like the OC.
How do the nco courses break down these days? It was PNCOC for combat arms and PLC for non combat arms back before dinosaurs had evolved, when I was in. The course progression for combat arms was PNCOC, BNCOC, ANCOC and then SNCOC.
I went to Schloss Kransberg for the 7th Army PNCOC course. It was a blast, lived in a castle that had been a Luftwaffe commo school pre-war, an alternate HQ for the German western front during the 1940 campaign and after the war served as a pre-trial detention center for Nazi high value prisoners.
Speer had even signed the guest book and mentioned the place in one of his memoirs as the “dust bin” (dust poofed out of cracks when you walked down the halls in the oldest parts of the castle, made clean up and inspection a lot of fun every morning!).
I was a scout (19D) at that point so land nav was not a big issue. Later, in Florida, in a reserve arty unit billeted in the same reserve center with several support units I came to see that not all units or soldiers got adequete training.
Our support folks did, as an arty bn our trains elements and service/support people had to run all over the place to keep up as the various elements moved constantly. The situation in some of the other units billeted with us was sad tho’, we gave prep courses for Guardsmen going off to active duty schools: E-6s and E-5s that couldn’t read maps or compases or use radios and CEOIs, tear down or perform immediate action drills on machine guns, etc.
They weren’t bad guys, they’d just been piloting desks for so long they’d forgotten soldiering. Our feelings of superiority over the NGs were usually short-lived tho’, inevitably we’d go to the field and the snake eaters would aggress against us, leaving CPs and TOCs over run in the night, sentries with throats cut w/magic markers, etc.
As to “Fishy”, nuts. This guy was passionate about his job and he obviously convinced the guys on the other end of the line to let him try. He paid for it.
It’s a waste, but it does happen. He made a wrong decision and he talked those in charge into going along. That’s what NCO trainings about... Make the call.
This time... The NCO lost.
“Identifiable landmarks?” Right! To my left are cedar brush and limestone rocks, to my right are cedar brush and limestone rocks, ahead of me are cedar brush and limestone rocks, and I just came through guess what? Cedar brush, limestone rocks, and a lost goat. Here in Austin, about 70 miles south of Fort Hood, working moderately for one hour in my shaded yard, after 7:00 PM leaves me drenched in perspiration and damn near dehydrated. Still, this incident is hard to understand.
Everything you say about the area is true, except it is not cold at night. I’m sure the low was in the seventies last night, for instance.
Drink plenty of water or 'ade;carbonated beverages don't do the trick as well.
My son was always complaining about the weather extremes. He said he’d get up in the morning and be freezing his xxx and then it would get a hundred plus degrees.
Of course, I guess 30 degree difference is a lot. I don’t think 70 would feel cold, but I guess it might - he was pretty dang thin during that time.
My son was always complaining about the weather extremes. He said he’d get up in the morning and be freezing his xxx and then it would get a hundred plus degrees.
Of course, I guess 30 degree difference is a lot. I don’t think 70 would feel cold, but I guess it might - he was pretty dang thin during that time.
My son was always complaining about the weather extremes. He said he’d get up in the morning and be freezing his xxx and then it would get a hundred plus degrees.
Of course, I guess 30 degree difference is a lot. I don’t think 70 would feel cold, but I guess it might - he was pretty dang thin during that time.
That pic proves smoking kills! Doesn’t he go down as a smoking victim by the Anti-smoking nuts just because he was a smoker and died young?
Well, apparently I am not the only one on this thread that thinks this was a little odd-—not saying a conspiracy or even foul play——i just don’t believe EVERYTHING I hear or see for that matter-—some things need to be questioned especially where a human life is concerned. If this were a boy scout venture I might buy their story a little more—but this is our military and 1+1 doesn’t = 2 here. Sorry. (I admit I don’t know all the details either, just going on what i’ve heard and i’m speculating a little)
I get that. I have a husband, step-father, and brother-in-law who were all in the military. Believe me, I understand about being the stubborn soldier mentality. I get your point. It is a good one. I was just throwing another one out there...forgive me, I have a criminal justice background so everyone is suspect (smile)
THE FINAL INSPECTION
The soldier stood and faced his God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.
“Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?”
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
“No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be a saint.
I’ve had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.
I know I don’t deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.
If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don’t, I’ll understand.”
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
“Step forward now, you soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell.”
Author unknown.
Even if he doesn’t know where he is. If you are on top of a hill you can tell. If he had a compass, he can say that 10 minutes ago he crossed a road and continued to walk at a degree of 158. There is almost always a way for you to describe what is around you for others to find where you are. And because he should have had a compass, that should have made things even easier.
Sgt had a compass. Think in terms of “200 paces back I crossed a stream and now I’m on a hill. I traveled at this azimuth. From the top of this hill, at a degree of ___ I think I see another hill, about X distance away.” Just by doing that, he has identified 3 things about his location: X distance from a stream at this degree., it’s a hill this far from the stream, X distance from another hill at this degree”.
And yet, for all accounts we’ve had so far- he didn’t.
And being lost, a nice litte trick is *usually* “follow the road”.
Him not being able to survive in such an environment is a big red flag. Hell, it’s possible the guy, first realizing he didnt have any water left (1 quart an hour would be likely given the excercise, unless the heat-cat was up) just panicked and lost his ability to put it all together. I don’t know the terrain, but a long valley in these circumstances would have likely been very daunting, maybe to the point of paralyzing (mentally). Where was he found?
2 canteens gone in two hours. That was simple. And the water pack someone else mentioned? How big was it? How much had he already been moving around? Hell, since he was by himself- what kind of emegency gear was he carrying?
Bottom line- He didn’t give his higher-ups enough information to find him easily despite having aparent access to a functioning cell phone, proper map, compass, and his own senses (assuming the CoC was even able to reach the guy). He also ended up dying.
And my suspicion tells me the two are a little relataed. (And if needed, this last line has it’s own special </sarc off>)
Reading back a bit, I see where I didn’t mak myself clear.
What if his wits had left him so far behind that he *couldnt* tell where he was, even if he was standing in a river.
Heat stroke causes disorientation. I haven’t heard his phone calls, so I can’r say either way if he sounded like a victim. I’m looking for any updates on this now.
(Which makes me ask- why is it when Paris Hilton going to jail causes a media log-jam, but a US Soldier dying in his own Country doens’t merit more coverage?)
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