Inquest told of doubts over gun range officer
An officer running a live fire Army exercise where a Shropshire-based soldier was killed while in a safe haven was recommended for 'supervision' after struggling to pass his course, an inquest heard.
Lieutenant Jonathan Price, 26, passed his live fire tactical training course among the bottom third of its intake of 79.
He finished the vital course with a B minus, a grade defined as performance to the standard expected 'in most respects'.
Army chiefs passed him as 'competent' while highlighting a range of shortcomings and concluded he needed 'increased levels of supervision'.
The lieutenant was confronted with that conclusion and said he previously knew nothing about it and had finished the course 'quite happy'.
Within nine months of passing he was put in charge of a live fire Army training exercise in Wales, which went tragically wrong.
Michael 'Mike' Maguire, 21, originally from Co Cork, Ireland, was hit in the temple by a shot probably fired by a fellow soldier attacking a target one kilometre away.
The shooting happened at the Castlemartin Ranges in Pembrokeshire last May.
Mr Maguire, of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment based at Tern Hill near Market Drayton, was standing in a designated administrative area, deemed secure, outside the range where live fire training was taking place. The inquest heard that Lt Price became an officer cadet in May 2010 after doing a degree in history and going to Sandhurst.
After a year's officer training he did a Live Fire Tactical Training course which qualified him for overseeing exercises at ranges. He got a B minus but scored 20 out of 20 overall.
His examination report stated he was: "Placed in the lower third of the 79 students on the Live Fire Tactical Training course and will require increased levels of supervision from his senior planning officer until such time as he gains more experience."
Previously the jury has heard that areas used for shooting were monitored and specific compass co-ordinates governed where live rounds could be fired.
The jury heard that since the tragedy Lt Price has not run a shooting range and his range qualification has been suspended.
The inquest continues.
