Short-sighted squaddie shot sergeant in training as 'he thought he was wooden target'
dailystar.co.ukArmy rifle range in Pembrokeshire.An inquiry into his death found that the soldier who fired the fatal bullet was initially refused entry into the Welsh Guards due to his poor eyesight, and was only allowed to join up after being issued with special corrective lenses.READ MORE: British soldiers told to prepare for war with Russia and warn their loved onesAccording to the conclusions of the inquiry the soldier - named only as Guardsman 1 - had such poor eyesight that “to see the same level of detail as a normally-sighted person, he would need to be three times closer if using both eyes or six times closer using just their right eye”.Sgt Hillier was acting as a safety supervisor on the exercise in March 2021.He was wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket when he was shot, and a red glowstick was strapped to the back of his helmet.
He was also wearing body armour.“On the night of March 4, 2021,” the inquiry’s report states, “Guardsman 1 was not wearing corrective lenses and so his binocular vision would have seen Sgt Hillier, who was 143m away, in the same level of detail as someone with normal vision would have seen him at 429m.“With their right eye (the eye used to aim and fire the rifle) this would have increased to 858m.”Guardsman 1 is understood to have mistaken Sgt Hillier for a wooden target, The Ministry of Defence has declined to release any information on what, if any action it has taken against him.Sgt Hillier's widow Karyn has reportedly seen the Service Inquiry report but is yet to release a statement on its conclusions.Mrs Hillier has, however, released a statement in tribute to her late husband.Together with her sons Declan and Connor, she said: “I thank you for the day you came into my life and made me your wife and.
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