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thedrifter
09-28-07, 08:30 AM
Hood soldiers punished in training death
By Angela K. Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 28, 2007 8:29:22 EDT

FORT WORTH, Texas — Six leaders of a Fort Hood officer academy have been disciplined in connection with a soldier’s death during a training exercise on the Texas Army post, their attorney said Thursday.

The Noncommissioned Officer Academy leadership had been suspended since shortly after Sgt. Lawrence Sprader, 24, disappeared during a solo map-reading exercise in June and was found dead four days later. Sprader, who had been in good health and served two tours in Iraq, died from dehydration and hyperthermia, according to an autopsy report.

An investigative report found various missteps by the academy’s leadership.

One of the leaders will be removed for cause from his position at the academy, and two got letters of reprimand and will be reassigned to another job or to another Army base, said their attorney John Galligan. Three others also received letters of reprimand, which all will be filed locally and not in their permanent military file in Washington, D.C., he said.

But three more had their letters of reprimand withdrawn and were exonerated, said Galligan, who declined to release any names. All nine remain on active duty, he said.

“I was very happy with the outcome,” Galligan said Thursday. “I think anybody that looked at all the facts ... would agree.”

The decisions were made after a meeting Wednesday with Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond, the senior mission commander at Fort Hood near Killeen, about 150 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

A Fort Hood spokeswoman, Col. Diane Battaglia, confirmed that the disciplinary actions were finalized Wednesday but said privacy laws prevented her from releasing names or details. The actions taken so far have been administrative, but Army officials have not ruled out taking judicial actions against one or more soldiers, Battaglia said Thursday.

An investigative report into Sprader’s death said the academy leaders failed to adequately monitor the heat index before and during the exercise as required by Army policy. It also said leaders did not adequately patrol the course or provide enough water for soldiers, and that disorganization and delays hampered the search.

The report said Sprader and the 320 other soldiers participating had already been exposed to the heat for hours before starting the course about noon. By the time the exercise ended three hours later, more than two dozen soldiers were so stricken by the heat they received medical attention.

The sergeant’s father, Larry Sprader of Prince George, Va., said he believed the investigation was thorough and that he accepted Hammond’s decisions regarding the disciplinary actions.

“Obviously those that need to be held accountable will be held accountable,” Sprader said Thursday. “We’ll wait and see if anything else happens.”

Galligan said one leader who was not his client has been reassigned. Galligan said one of his clients, a soldier accused of lying to investigators about patrolling the training area that day, had a disciplinary hearing previously but has since left the Army.

Ellie