Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 New cadet dies during training at USMA. The autopsy report confirmed the young man died because of a heat-related situation. I am sick beyond words for the situation. Prayers up for Cadet Bower and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 New cadet dies during training at USMA. The autopsy report confirmed the young man died because of a heat-related situation. I am sick beyond words for the situation. Prayers up for Cadet Bower and his family. In 90+ heat and high humidity conditions, all strenuous physical activities should be curtailed. Not worth the life of a soldier just to keep up with the training schedule. Somebody made a bad decision. My sympathies go out to Cadet Bower's family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Gatlin, SASS 10274L Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Very sorry to hear that - will forward the story to my niece who graduated this year from West Point. Of course, prayers up for his family and fellow cadets. GG ~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hacker, SASS #55963 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 We have heard a lot about young men dying during high school and college sports due to hidden heart conditions. I wonder if the physical for entry into WP could/should have found the condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickahominy Charlie Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I read about his as well. "Sick" is the right word, Harley. My prayers go up to his family. I've been through that training. It's tough and rigorous, but I always remember the cadre ("real" officers and the more senior cadets) checking us constantly to insure proper hydration. You gotta drink when it's that hot and you're doing that much physical activity. Often overlooked, is that you must also eat. I don't know and won't speculate as to any "blame" that needs to be attributed, but I'm sure it will go on. That, too, is sad. I can proudly say that I never lost a soldier, but I can only begin to think how much I'd second-guess myself if I had done so....in a combat situation or training accident. I've also been a heat casualty. I ate, I drank (right at a gallon of water in the preceding 8 hours), but it happened anyway. I didn't fall out or anything, but I dragged myself over to the medics and told 'em to "give me a bag" (saline). They gave me 2. Three and they would've evacuated me out. I still think back and wonder why that happened to me. Hmmmm...95+ outside, 125+ inside my tank, chemical suit on, fighting a simulated battle for 3 hours.... Very sad indeed.... Chick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Sad to hear. Prayers for the family and friends. Heat is a killer for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duffield, SASS #23454 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I read about his as well. "Sick" is the right word, Harley. My prayers go up to his family. I've been through that training. It's tough and rigorous, but I always remember the cadre ("real" officers and the more senior cadets) checking us constantly to insure proper hydration. You gotta drink when it's that hot and you're doing that much physical activity. Often overlooked, is that you must also eat. I don't know and won't speculate as to any "blame" that needs to be attributed, but I'm sure it will go on. That, too, is sad. I can proudly say that I never lost a soldier, but I can only begin to think how much I'd second-guess myself if I had done so....in a combat situation or training accident. I've also been a heat casualty. I ate, I drank (right at a gallon of water in the preceding 8 hours), but it happened anyway. I didn't fall out or anything, but I dragged myself over to the medics and told 'em to "give me a bag" (saline). They gave me 2. Three and they would've evacuated me out. I still think back and wonder why that happened to me. Hmmmm...95+ outside, 125+ inside my tank, chemical suit on, fighting a simulated battle for 3 hours.... Very sad indeed.... Chick +1 I never lost a soldier to heat in combat or in training, but in 1980 our NG unit had several people that had to be medevaced for heat injuries. It is all to easy to place blame in a situation like this. I will not get into that, I am sure all involved are second guessing themselves and feel bad enough. My prayers are going up for this young man's soul and his family. Duffield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okie Sawbones, SASS #77381 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I don't know how it is now, but when I was a military doc, if I diagnosed a heat/cold injury, there was an immediate investigation, and the responsible officer's head usually rolled (if in a training situation). There is zero excuse to have these types of injuries. The research has been disseminated throughout all commands, and the guidelines are very clear. Now before we get our exercise by flying off of the handle, and jumping to conclusions, there are some medical causes of heat intolerance that may not have been diagnosed in this person yet, the most common being thyroid disease. Medical conditions can cause the person injury well before other folks feel any effects. So it might be better to wait for the autopsy results, to rule out medical causes versus negligence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 An Update His father, Dean Bower, said a preliminary autopsy indicated that Jacob died of heat-related causes. There were no signs of foul play or a head or neck injury. Temperatures in the West Point area were in the mid-90s last week. Rob Washburn, an officer in the internal criminal investigation department, told Dean Bower his son drank most of the water in his 2-quart Camelbak, but still had two full canteens with him when he died. "My thought is that he was confused at that time and was struggling to find his way out of the woods," Dean Bower said in an email. "He knew he was in trouble, but unfortunately he had no way of communicating his dire condition to officials since they had no means of communicating with his leaders such as a cell phone/radio/tracking device. He struggled mightily toward an access road where he could be found, but unfortunately died 20 feet from reaching it." May God take him into His keeping, grant him rest in Abrahams bosom, in a place of brightness, a place of repose, from whence all sickness, sighing, and sorrow have fled away, and number him among the righteous. May He grant solace to the family of the young man. And may there be learning from this to prevent such incidents in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forty Rod SASS 3935 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 In 90+ heat and high humidity conditions, all strenuous physical activities should be curtailed. Do our guys and gals in Iraq and Afghanistan know this? I'm just thinking that this youngster could have been in either place within a few short years...or someplace else with disagreeable climates. It's very sad, but it's also as much a part of the job as getting shot or blown up, or driving a truck or being a laundryman, or any other situation found in today's military. We're going to lose some, and sometimes for what appear to be really stupid reasons. It's inherent in the calling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Do our guys and gals in Iraq and Afghanistan know this? I'm just thinking that this youngster could have been in either place within a few short years...or someplace else with disagreeable climates. It's very sad, but it's also as much a part of the job as getting shot or blown up, or driving a truck or being a laundryman, or any other situation found in today's military. We're going to lose some, and sometimes for what appear to be really stupid reasons. It's inherent in the calling. I was speaking of training only. Not combat. No sense putting troops at unnecessary risk in training scenarios. As Okie said, there are SOPs in place for training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Do our guys and gals in Iraq and Afghanistan know this? I'm just thinking that this youngster could have been in either place within a few short years...or someplace else with disagreeable climates. It's very sad, but it's also as much a part of the job as getting shot or blown up, or driving a truck or being a laundryman, or any other situation found in today's military. We're going to lose some, and sometimes for what appear to be really stupid reasons. It's inherent in the calling. I was speaking of training only. Not combat. No sense putting troops at unnecessary risk in training scenarios. As Okie said, there are SOPs in place for training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache Hawk 60642 Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Clearly , the S.O.P. was not followed. Prayers up for his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Scatterbrain Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Clearly , the S.O.P. was not followed. Perhaps, but as you likely know, it is very common for soldiers to want to downplay their discomfort, to man up, not wuss out, whatever. This trait is, to an extent, inversely proportional to age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Smokepole #29248L Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Not to lessen the sacrifice made but heat related deaths during training are very common... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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