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Shooting report criticises training
16.08.08
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A report into the "blue-on-blue" death of a British soldier in Afghanistan said "lessons were learned the hard way" because training was inadequate.
Lance Corporal Mathew Ford, from 45 Commando Royal Marines, died after he was shot in Afghanistan on January 15 2007 as British troops stormed a Taliban fort.
A Royal Navy Board of Inquiry report into his death said it was almost certain that L/Cpl Ford was killed by a shot from another British soldier.
But it said there was "no suggestion of negligence" on the part of the gunner, whose actions were attributed to a "momentary error of judgment".
Instead the report criticised the training which the troops were given before the Royal Marine Commandos advanced on the enemy fort, saying "training must reflect operational reality".
It said they were "forced to adapt to a fast-moving environment quite different to that for which they had trained" and added that troops must be trained for the "most demanding scenarios" as well as the most likely.
The report said the soldier who is believed to have fired the shot which killed L/Cpl Ford had been given a "hurried" briefing and was disorientated when he opened fire.
"His actions were spontaneous on witnessing what he believed to be enemy fire," the report said. He shot at a wall of the fort as the marines prepared to go inside after seeing a flash. L/Cpl Ford suffered wounds to the head and chest.
Four others were injured and were immediately evacuated but confusion at the scene meant troops withdrew before they realised L/Cpl Ford was still missing.
When they were able to return, he was already dead but the report said it was unlikely he would have survived the serious head wound which he had suffered.
