THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 25, 1995 TAG: 9507250284
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: FORT WALTON BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
A new Army camp commander had changed policy and delegated authority on training safety before four soldiers died of exposure during rigorous Ranger training, according to military documents.
The statements of Army investigators were obtained from the Army Infantry Center through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Northwest Florida Daily News of Fort Walton Beach, which reported on them Sunday.
Three platoons of 34 students each participated in the February exercise on a remote area of Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.
The instructor of one platoon kept his troops out of water that was over the heads of some trainees and, at 52 degrees, was only two degrees above a training minimum. They reached their destination safely by land.
Two other platoons continued through the swamp. Four trainees died of hypothermia on Feb. 15 after four or five hours of wading through the water. Several others required treatment.
Policy on who would make weather-related training decisions was changed after Lt. Col. Richard Rachmeler assumed command of Camp James E. Rudder, the Army Ranger installation at Eglin, from Lt. Col. Anthony Coroalles a year before the deaths, according to the documents.
As a result of the deaths, Rachmeler was reprimanded, relieved of his command and transferred to Fort McPherson, Ga.
Coroalles told investigators he was worried about hypothermia and had appointed a primary instructor to oversee the four-day swamp-training sessions with emphasis on safety.
He also established winter training rules to keep students out of the water at night and decrease their overall exposure. For each exercise, Coroalles made the final decision on whether conditions were too risky.
Coroalles said he encountered resistance from some instructors who thought he was making the training too soft.
Training for the elite Ranger unit is considered the Army's toughest. The grueling nine-week course is meant to simulate war conditions and includes exercises in deserts and mountains. The four soldiers who died weren't seeking to join the Rangers, but wanted the training to enhance their Army careers.
Rachmeler scrapped Coroalles' policy, giving the authority to platoon instructors, according to the documents.
He told investigators he thought field instructors were more experienced than command staff. But the primary instructor for the fatal mission had been in charge of the first day of swamp training only once before and had never walked the route taken by the students who died.
The documents also show that at least one trainee objected to the exercise conditions.
KEYWORDS: U.S. ARMY RANGERS DEATHS INVESTIGATION by CNB