A short-sighted British soldier accidentally shot and killed a fellow soldier with live ammunition during a Welsh regiment exercise for not wearing his contact lenses. The tragic accident already took place in March 2021, but an investigation report has since been published. It states that the victim was likely mistaken for a predetermined target.
Despite wearing a safety vest and a red glow plug on his helmet, the gunman, whose identity has not been released, shot the 35-year-old sergeant, who had served in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan, instead of hitting the target. fall.
Minimum criteria for admission only met with contact lenses
“The committee concluded that the ability of ‘Guardsman 1’ to identify, lock in and then engage the correct target was significantly impaired by not wearing the prescribed contact lenses,” it said. The army member had been employed by the armed forces for 18 months at the time of the incident. Only using contact lenses did it meet the minimum criteria to enter.
Without lenses, Guardsman 1 should have been three times closer to the target with two eyes open to see all the details and six times closer with only the right eye open, the report said. At the time of the incident, the gunman was about 290 meters from the target. “Given the uncorrected visual acuity, this target would have been seen in the same detail as if someone with normal vision had seen it from 1740 meters away.” An army spokeswoman declined to comment on legal ramifications until the police investigation is complete.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
