Coroner slams Army over IED killing 31.07.12
9The Surrey parents of a soldier killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack on an insecure training range said the Army had failed in its duty of care for their son.
Lance Corporal James Hill, of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, died on the firing range 2.5 miles outside Camp Bastion in central Helmand, Afghanistan, on 8 October 2009, the inquest at Woking heard.
Speaking outside the inquest, LCpl Hill's parents, of Redhill, Surrey, said the Army failed in its duty of care for their son.
They said they hoped the MoD would follow the coroner's recommendations to prevent a further tragedy.
In a statement released jointly with their son's fiancee Anastasia Newman, they said: "It was not just those responsible for planting the IED that caused his death, but a culture of complacency and a disregard for every soldier's safety that reached right up the chain of command."
The coroner criticised the Army for failing to take action to prevent the death of Lance Corporal James Hill.
Surrey Coroner Richard Travers said the chain of command had not listened to concerns raised about the potential of insurgents targeting the range and had not provided sufficiently trained units to carry out IED clearance of the site.
He made a series of recommendations to the MoD to prevent a similar tragedy including to take full account of the risk to soldiers when placing a firing range and ensuring that Vallon metal detector operators were given the correct training with an instructor included in all
units.
His final recommendation was that the "MoD should consider how concerns can be communicated effectively through the chain of command."
Recording a verdict that LCpl Hill was unlawfully killed while on active service in Afghanistan, Mr Travers passed on his condolences to the soldier's family who were present for the hearing.