An investigation reveals that a short-sighted soldier killed a 35-year-old Welsh Guards sergeant during a training exercise because he mistook him for a wooden target.
British Guards A soldier shot and killed Sgt. Gavin Hillier during an exercise.
Guardsman 1, who was nearsighted, believed he was aiming at a target.
Due to this impaired vision, the soldier was first denied admittance into the military.
Sgt. Hillier, 35, was a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq and a father of two.
An Army sergeant was fatally shot by a short-sighted soldier who mistook him for a wooden target, according to a military investigation.
Gavin Hillier, a member of the Welsh Guards, was killed during a night exercise on a Pembrokeshire Army rifle range.
The father of two died almost instantaneously after Guardsman 1, who was not wearing glasses, fired the fatal shot without them.
According to a Service Inquiry report, the soldier’s vision was so poor that he was initially denied admittance into the Welsh Guards and was only allowed to join after receiving corrective lenses and being examined.
35-year-old Welsh Guardsman Gavin Hillier (pictured) was slain during a night exercise on an Army rifle range in Pembrokeshire.
According to the report, Army physicians could not advise Guardsman 1’s chain of command that he required spectacles due to medical confidentiality regulations. Rather, it was the guardsman’s obligation, the passage continues.
In March of last year, 35-year-old Sgt. Hillier, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was slain while serving as a safety supervisor. He was wearing a brilliant yellow high-visibility jacket and a red glowstick was attached to the back of his helmet. Additionally, he was wearing body armor.
However, it is evident from the report that the soldier who fatally shot Sgt. Hillier could not discriminate between him and a wooden training target.
The report states that the guardsman’s uncorrected vision required him to be three times closer when using both eyes or six times closer while using their right eye to see the same degree of detail as a normally-sighted person.
The study stated, “On the evening of March 4, 2021, Guardsman 1 was not wearing corrective lenses, therefore his binocular vision would have seen Sgt. Hillier, who was 143 meters away, with the same level of detail as a person with normal vision would have seen him at 429 meters.” This would have been improved to 858 meters if they had utilized their right eye (the eye used to aim and shoot the rifle)
Guardsman 1 had been in the military for 18 months, but his live-fire experience on war ranges was limited.
The research identifies fourteen contributing reasons to Sgt. Hillier’s death and offers twenty recommendations to prevent a recurrence. In addition, the Health and Safety Executive is conducting an investigation.
An inquest has been filed and adjourned investigating Sgt. Hillier’s death in Abertillery, Gwent, and Dyfed-Powys Police have opened a criminal investigation, although no arrests have been made. Karyn Hillier, the widow of Sgt. Hillier, has reviewed the Service Inquiry report but declined to comment at this time.
Soldiers have been killed in previous events at the photographed Castlemartin range.
Following her husband’s death, she and their sons Declan and Connor issued a joint statement in which they thanked him for making her his wife and becoming the father of their two lovely sons.
“We are heartbroken and cannot convey how proud we are of you.” Our sons will continue to make you proud, and you will continue to live on in perpetuity via them.
We are not yet ready to say goodbye, so until we meet again, we will always love you. Your grieving wife and children,’
The Ministry of Defense has refused to disclose what became of Guardsman 1. A spokesperson for the Army stated, “Our thoughts and condolences remain with Sergeant Gavin Hillier’s family and friends during this difficult time.” We are assisting Dyfed-Powys Police with their ongoing investigation into the incident, so it would be inappropriate to speak further.’