By David Lohr
June 21, 2007
FORT HOOD, Texas (Crime Library) — For the past two weeks, I have been covering the case of 24-year-old Lawrence G. Sprader, Jr., a sergeant in the United States Army who disappeared during a military training exercise at Fort Hood Army base. Four days later, a group of soldiers found his remains in a brushy area within the 15,000 acre training ground.
Since the discovery of Lawrence's body, many questions have arisen regarding the military's culpability in his death. Internal and external investigations are purportedly under way; however, the wheels of denial are already in motion, with some top brass claiming appropriate risk assessments were taken prior to the event. If it were up to them, this story would end there; however, 320 soldiers carried out the training exercise, and all it takes is one person to enlighten us with his or her take on the case.
Yesterday, a soldier who took part in the two-week Warrior Leader Course contacted me and shared several disturbing details regarding the day Lawrence disappeared and the search that took place thereafter. The information was provided to me under the condition of strict anonymity, so I shall refer to my source as "Michael."
"The first week [of the course] was primarily classroom work, and the land navigation exercise signified the beginning [of] the field portion," Michael said. "Leading up [to] the land navigational course, we'd been advised on numerous occasions by the cadre [key group of officers] to be sure to hydrate, as temperatures were forecast to be in the high 90s.
"The day before we were to go out to the training site, they told us that the event would begin at noon. Many of us were surprised to learn of such a late start time. A few of us, myself included, raised concerns about the safety of starting so late in the day and suggested that it may be better to start earlier before temperatures peaked. The lower echelon cadre — known as SGLs, or Small Group Leaders — were sympathetic to our concerns, but it seemed that the scheduling was out of their hands."
Next Page
Hyperthermia, Dehydration Killed Sgt. Lawrence G. Sprader
Fort Hood Soldiers Search for Sgt. Lawrence G. Sprader
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