The documents obtained by InsideClimate News describe leadership failures from dawn, with the inadequate daily risk assessment, to the end of the day, when commanders had failed to allow soldiers enough rest to comply with the Army's "black flag" regulations.
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The Army condemned the field commander, Lt. Gib Richardson, and the highest ranking noncommissioned officer in charge that day, command Sgt. Charles Franks. Richardson lost his command but remains in the National Guard as a warrant officer at the Arkansas National Guard Armory. Franks said he was given the choice between retiring from the National Guard or facing disciplinary action, and he chose to retire. The two leaders "failed to adequately address known hazards associated with the predicted hot weather environment prior to training commencing," the page findings and recommendations report issued by the Army a month after Cline's death said.
Richardson and Franks also "failed to execute adequate heat illness prevention procedures while conducting training," the report found. That poor judgment "rose to the level of negligence in their duty to protect soldiers from the adverse effects of heat," the report said. Staff Sgt. Samuel Kell was a platoon leader for the training exercise.
He pulled Cline out of action several times to cool off and to hydrate, and he expressed his concerns about the heat to his higher-ups. When contacted for comment, Kell said he had been ordered not to talk about Cline's death. Richardson denied making that statement. The state police investigation was turned over to a local prosecutor, who determined no criminal charges were warranted.
Franks said he was a "fall guy" for the military scrambling to account for Cline's death. He said there was nothing out of the ordinary that day, including the blistering heat that is common for June at Fort Chaffee. It was hot and muggy," he told InsideClimate News.
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Marines loaded with gear practice bridge construction at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, on a July day in when temperatures neared degrees. Credit: Lance Cpl. Marine Corps. In his defense, Franks wrote a rebuttal to the Army's finding of negligence. He said he strictly adhered to the Army's guidelines for resting soldiers and reassessed conditions for safety throughout the day. He said he was never alerted to any life-threatening concerns. Richardson wrote a rebuttal as well, saying he took proactive measures to safeguard soldiers, including assigning six medics and two ambulances to the range when only one medic and ambulance were required.
He also directed safety officers be stationed at each site where soldiers were positioned with machine guns and appointed the battalion's safety officer as second in command to ensure soldiers were safe. The military has projects underway to better monitor troops' health in the heat.
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A soldier at Fort Benning participates in a mile march while wearing sensors to measure his core temperature and heart rate. Richardson wrote that many statements made to investigators were "patently untrue" and were refuted by other witnesses. He said he was absolved of the negligence allegation because no mention of it was made in the brief memorandum relieving him of command.
We train for combat. That weighs heavy on me. Cline will be in my mind forever," he said. The disregard for safety on the day Cline died prompted one insider to send an anonymous letter to Cline's mother several weeks later. The author, who appears to have military knowledge and had been close to the training exercise, suggested commanders were more concerned with a successful training exercise than with the welfare of those under their command. Kristopher Fields, who served as a medic on the day Cline died.
Fields said he had been ordered by his National Guard superiors and base public affairs officials not to talk to InsideClimate News about Cline's death. He said in a brief conversation that conditions that day were not unusual. About 60 percent of the Southeast's major cities are already experiencing worsening heat waves — a higher percentage than in any other region in the country — according to the National Climate Assessment. During the most recent 10 years, a verage summer temperatures were the hottest on record.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue on the current path, global average temperatures could rise 8. The resulting extreme heat could lead to tens of thousands of premature deaths every year across the United States. Army medical researchers found heat illnesses were already responsible for more than 20, lost or limited-duty days in , the first time the data was collected.
The costs include medical care, the lost investment in training if ill service members cannot return to their duties, the cost to retrain them and any ongoing expenses for rehabilitation and disability. A Defense Health Agency study found that while 90 percent of all recruits finish basic training, only 66 percent of those who suffer a heat illness do so. On the day in June when Cline died in Arkansas, it was in Baghdad. Training in hot environments poses two competing demands: the necessity of conducting realistic exercises and the need to protect personnel against heat-related illness.
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Many U. To them, a few degrees seem insignificant when compared with the rigors of combat. This temperament can raise the risk of heat illness at home and abroad, according to interviews with dozens of current and former military personnel. Augusto Giacoman, a former Army captain who trained at Fort Bragg's airborne school and later managed the training of platoons of up to 45 soldiers, said the Army's "black flag" heat warnings aren't always reasonable when training combat forces.
To be prepared, you have to go beyond the charts; you have to be aware of that, but training and being prepared has to come first. Yet training commanders also remain vigilant — demanding waters breaks and checking for signs of heat exhaustion, Giacoman said. Joy Craig, a retired Marine Corps warrant officer and drill instructor, said service members often don't want to acknowledge their vulnerability to heat. And when they do, she said, it's taken as a sign of weakness.
There are a number of safety badges personnel wear during training.
One indicates a poor swimmer; another indicates allergies to bee stings. A red badge signifies susceptibility to heat illness. Troops are particularly vulnerable to heat illnesses early in their training, when they may be less physically fit or acclimated to the heat.
Even in moderate temperatures, high exertion coupled with multiple layers of clothing can result in heat stroke, which can damage organs and result in seizures, coma or even death. Those who survive may face permanent brain damage.
At Fort Benning, the emergency room at Martin Army Community Hospital sees soldiers suffering from a heat illness nearly every day, said Galer, the Army doctor there who has been outspoken about climate change and the need for changes to safeguard soldiers. She was moved to action after Michael Parros, 21, a second lieutenant and graduate of West Point, died in the first week of training in the sweltering heat and humidity at Fort Benning in July The cause of death was listed as "exercise-associated hyponatremic encephalopathy," a condition triggered by drinking too much water that results in sodium in the blood becoming so diluted it causes brain swelling.
Following a two-month Army investigation, authorities recommended administrative or disciplinary action be taken against some members of Parros' command team and instructors based on the delayed medical care, the investigative report stated. There is no indication in the report of such action being taken. Galer and her colleagues saw 1, heat-related illnesses from to , the highest number among U. In alone, the base had heat stroke cases.
Galer was instrumental in establishing a "heat center" at Fort Benning last year to train medics to treat heat illnesses on the ground, teach field leaders to prevent heat illnesses and encourage research that explains why some soldiers are more susceptible to heat illnesses than others. A volunteer runs with a chest sensor that measures his core temperature in a room that can simulate extreme hot and cold temperatures at the U.
Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. The Army's Research Institute of Environmental Medicine has joined the Heat Center to study soldiers during intense physical training, in the hopes of developing an alarm badge — similar to a radiation badge — that would warn when a soldier is nearing heat stress. Ervin B.
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Marshburn Fayetteville—Ervin B. Marshburn, 58, of Fayetteville passed away on Wednesday, November 6, at his home with his beloved family by his side. Viewing: Thursday, November 7, from 1pm until 5pm. Formerly of Godwin.