Gunner's death could have been avoided, court told
Gunner Matthew Psaila's death could have been avoided, former AFM commander Maurice Calleja told court this morning.
Brig. Calleja, who had been asked by Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who led the magisterial inquiry into gunner's death, to speak to witnesses and draw up a report on the case, said that there had been shortcomings and Gunner Psaila had not informed his superiors that he could not swim.
Gunner Psaila, 19, died last February during army training at Chadwick Lakes.
Two officers, Lieutenant Christian Vella and Lance Bombardier Marvic Peregin are being charged with the involuntary homicide of the young gunner through negligence.
Brig. Calleja told the court he had spoken to five witnesses and it seemed there were shortcomings.
The most major ones were that no reconnaissance was carried out before the training session and the water's depth was not measured.
On the other hand, when asked if there was anyone who could not swim, Gunner Psaila had not said anything.
Brig. Calleja said there should have been a clear and detailed briefing before the training as well as enough assistance and clear orders in case of an emergency.
Nobody had tested the tunnel where the gunner died and there should have been an instructor in front and behind each section.
There were no life jackets in the C Company and by the time Gunner Psaila was found missing it was too late.
Had Gunner Psaila notified his superiors that he could not swim, the incident might not have happened, Brig. Calleja said.
Gunner Wayne Bonello, who was Gunner Psaila's buddy during the exercise, said the group was made up of 10 people and he and Matthew were at the back. Lance Bombardier Peregin and Lt Vella were with them.
Gunner Psaila, he said, had never told him he could not swim.
He said that when they reached under the bridge, Gunner Darren Galea found himself in difficulty and everybody panicked.
"I was bobbing up and down, I couldn't find my footing... Psaila was in front of me... I started swallowing water and bobbed up and down two or three times. Finally I found a stone on which I could rest. Nobody helped me.... I had to fend for myself. At one point everybody started shouting Psaila Psaila and after a headcount I told them that I last saw him on the right."
Gunner Bonello said that the water temperature had not been measured before the training started but the soldiers were briefed on the effects of hypothermia. However, nobody told them just how cold it was.
"When our superior asked us who could not swim, Psaila never said anything. Only Gunner Galea said that he might have difficulty... We never trained in fresh water. We would usually train in Birzebbuga where we would swim in January or February as a group."
Gunner Bonello said that during the exercise, the soldiers were spurred on by Lance Bombardier Peregin but within seconds of them entering the tunnel, there was panic and Gunner Galea had to be pulled out.
He was pulled out by Lance Bombardier Peregin who looked like he was using all his strength.
"I did not see Psaila, there were some people already out and on the first headcount everybody seemed to be up. Then a second group of soldiers arrived behind us and because we were in uniform and looked the same there was some confusion. Only on the second head count, people started shouting Psaila Psaila. Peregin then jumped into the water followed closely by Vella. They pulled Matthew up and started CPR..."
The case continues.
At the beginning of the sitting, the prosecution presented a judgment in court where it was noted that Lance Bombardier Peregin had been given three years probation on June 26, 2001 for taking part in hold-up.
Popular Stories
Update 3: Woman found dead in car,...
Updated: Woman dies in car crash
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Part of Dwejra 'Azure window' collapses
The end of the bar that ‘never closed’
Bundy does not know whether to...
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
This WAS the night - Kurt makes it...
Petrol price up 6c
In Discussion
Updated - Jason Micallef demands...
Gozo tunnel could take 5-7 years to...
CABS remote controlled aircraft shot...
Carm Mifsud Bonnici resigns after...
Joseph Calleja condemns portrayal of...
Updated: Labour would give...
CABS drone shot down
Second group of migrants arrives
Adrian Vassallo in scathing...
23 Comments
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Raymond Sammut
Jul 25th 2009, 19:36
@ L Debono and Emmanuel Ebejer
I think that the prosecution is highlighting its view that the standard of army entry level criteria should be raised, i.e. a basic ability to swim, a clean conduct certificate from the police station, a good pass in at least O-level physics (I would prefer A-level in this subject for army duties), and so on. I fully agree that an event from the past would certainly not have contributed to this particular tragic event, but it may reflect on the overall standard, and on the sense of discipline and character, in the army. The army needs to maintain the trust of its members and of the public. A clean conduct certificate as a criterion would be a starting point to achieve this.
Joseph Borg
Jul 25th 2009, 01:18
In my view, being a soldier with the inability to swim is a shortcoming in the first place, especially in Malta. People should be screened for these abilities BEFORE being admitted to the army not before a practice drill.
I just came to learn that we have soldiers who can't even swim. Banana Republic as usual.
L Debono
Jul 24th 2009, 23:16
BTW Gunner Psiala's death had absolutly nothing to do with the fact that one member in the past was a criminal.
L Debono
Jul 24th 2009, 23:14
Mr.Sammut-just-to-answer-your-questions-and-put-some-light-on"regular"military-activities. When-candidates-are-being-selected-in-specialized-units,they-go-through-a-battery-of-rigorious-tests. From-the-recommendation-of-their-CO,to- days-long marches,night-navigation,parachting,demolition,aptitude-phyc,etc. During-the-early-phase-of-selection-the-recruiters-are-not-in-full-knowledge-of-their-applicants’abilities.Therefore-special-attention-is-taken-to-proceed-with-the-selection-process-safely. Full-physical-examinations-are-also taken seriously, when-joining-specialized-units. The recruiters’ job is to get to know the candidates, start the candidates from the ground up and push them in certain fields. This is done by following a manual. No one does anything at his own good will in the army. The manual is the bible.
I ‘m still trying to figure out what the instructors were trying to teach in this case? I understand that water crossing is very common even under live fire even in the dark and in much worse weather but normally the men are better briefed and know what to do rather than hanging to a log!
-Was it stealth during an assault or recce ex? That requires immersion suits though!
- Escape and evasion? But that requires the soldiers to ditch every thing strip down and keep their survival gear and uniform dry while crossing from the shortest distance in small numbers.
Normally you don't use a cold, deep body of water as your main route. (Scouting & recce skills). Training soldiers for cold conditions especially water crossing requires preparations. = A cold soldier is a dead soldier.
Emmanuel Ebejer
Jul 24th 2009, 22:18
@Ray Sammut
Agreed. But what has LBdr Peregin's past got to do with this unfortunate situation? That is my point. In my opinion the prosecution is trying to mislead.
Raymond Sammut
Jul 24th 2009, 20:46
If the late gunner Matthew Psaila could not swim, that was the responsibility of his superiors to establish. Possession of skills, such as swimming in fresh water under set constraints, would be established only through suitable testing of each member of the Corps. Simply asking people to raise their hands is clearly unacceptable.
@ Samantha Abela, D Vella, and M.Gatt
Your points on the issue of: "when asked if there was anyone who could not swim", are highly significant in my view. This issue appears to be, in fact, the crux of this tragedy.
@ J Farrugia
Your comment was almost spot on except for these two sentences:
"For not telling his superiors that he did not know how to swim. What's done is done and should never be repeated again." You cannot dismiss unnecessary loss of life as simply as that. Those responsible must be identified and be held accountable. Human life in Malta must never, and under no circumstance, be "cheap".
@ Emmanuel Ebejer
We are not talking about political prisoners here. Without a totally clean police conduct certificate, the Maltese could not even emigrate to Australia, let alone join the army.
michael cassar
Jul 24th 2009, 19:40
@ robert spiteri qoute from Robert ( that he is a man of honour ) say that to the victims of the holdup put yourself in their shoe ! i agree he did what he could to save him but his place ( and others like him ) is not int hte army . pajjiz tal mickey mouse nothing else
L Debono
Jul 24th 2009, 19:21
Sorry-to-rain- on-every-one's-party-but-this-whole-exercise-thing-was messed up from-the start!!!_ It's-unjust-for-a-couple-of-grunts-to-get-all-the-blame.
- In an elite unit you don't ask who knows how to swim. What standards were they following?
- You train your men and you build your men. These are all fundamentals of Special Forces (if any one has any idea)!
- You don't get some one off the street and put him in such units. You select the cream of the cream from seasoned soldiers after many weeks and months of coordinated selections.
- During selection beefier safety measures MUST be in place.
- Why were the soldiers ordered to travel down stream when they were not properly instructed on water crossing prior of this ex? That’s unprofessional. A 100kg person can barely swim with a load of 10kg in sea water imagine carrying more weight, a weapon and wearing a uniform and in fresh water. SOP not observed!
- I understand that you don't babysit special units, but the men have to know their SOP's like the palm of their hand. But the course leaders have to teach them those SOP’s!
Disciplining-two-individuals-isn't-going-to change-anything,-what-I-recommend-is-a-total overhaul-the-whole- C-Coy-training-approach-and-adopt-procedures that are already proven and on the manual of other similar units in foreign countries.
John Zammit
Jul 24th 2009, 18:39
I find this charade a ridiculous attempt to bring back the unfortunate. The unfortunate 19 year old is gone now. I find this unnecessary to blame scape goats. What are we going to prove now? naturally the top ones wont get anything, but only the small ranking will be to blame . Shame on us all.
Emmanuel Ebejer
Jul 24th 2009, 18:36
I'm sure that you've all heard of Nelson Mandela and Agatha Barbara. They both spent time in jail and yet ended up as Head of States. So please forget this good conduct story if you don't know the meaning of Brother in Arms.
Samantha Abela
Jul 24th 2009, 17:27
I am sure that he knows Lance Peregin is a good person etc... I don't know him but he save 2 lives which is a good thing to acknowledge. What I pointed out in my comment, and my motive behind my statement, is simply 1, and it is not against Peregin as a person... My statement is the 'incompetence' of the AFM as an institution. Why do other job seekers, and ones not even working for a government entity, need to have a clean conduct, while for the AFM, people who need to serve the country well and be an example (weaknesses or not, past, present or future accusations included) need not have such a requirement. Surely by now the Maltese public has realized that the AFM has a lot of flaws and needs a revision from top to bottom, in its applications, tests, methods of training and behavior because who doesn't know a 1 or 2 soldiers with a too-cocky attitude? I know good and loyal soldiers, and fortunately we do have a good number of them but alas testimonials show that some are not so genuine as they seem.
Emmanuel Ebejer
Jul 24th 2009, 17:02
@Robert Spiteri ...Well said. I salute you!! This case has nothing to do with Lbdr Peregin's past.
Joseph Stafrace
Jul 24th 2009, 16:50
With all due respect to the Prosecuting officer, the fact that Lance Bombardier Perigin had been given a three year probation for taking part in a hold-up is irrelevant to the case. I am surprised that the defending council did not object to this fact. On the other hand I urge all bloggers to refrain from turning this case into an online Kangaroo court.
Robert Spiteri
Jul 24th 2009, 16:41
Gunner Psaila's death is a sad event and the Maltese should mourn the son of this country who has died so tragically, but I cannot comprehand how a soldier who is in special forces cannot swin or has any kind of phobia for that matter. I persoanlly know a lot of C Company soldiers, among them Mr Peregin, and all are deeply knowledgable in weapons handling, first aid, fire fighting, trained in heights like abseling and climbing, infantry and most also qualified in SCUBA. I agree the tragedy could have been avoided through a better assessment... but this is supposed to happen when designating the soldiers in the areas where they can serve their country best.
Please excuse me but I had to take that out as I could no longer see this becomeing a Mr Peregin's case. It is not. it s about
-Gunner's Psaila's death
-who to blame (if anyone)
-how can we commemorate a son of Malta
-how we can avoid another such tragedy
Robert Spiteri
Jul 24th 2009, 16:40
Dear All,
While I am no Judge or jury and I have no idea what Mr. Peregin's involvement with this 'hold up was'
What I can only say regarding this person, is that he is a man of honour , a man of his word, a man who took care of us being younger than him in the past. He is totally dedicated to the army, which is his life and absolute passion.
I can undersyand you people thinkiong what you are thinking, I wont even dare to judge you as you are all entitled to your opinion as much as I am. But I beg you to belive that I would bet an eye, that Marvic is a diligent soldier, a fine example of comradeship and above all very skilled and caring. I am more than convinced he has done all that he could to safeguard a qualified soldier in the Special force of the Maltese Army.
John Montague
Jul 24th 2009, 15:56
This is not about some lance bombardier.
THIS IS ABOUT MATTHEW PSAILA.
Let's focus on what really matters here - Former Brigadier Maurice Calleja has pointed out that his death could have been avoided.
Clearly, procedures were not followed here and this resulted in Matthew's death.
What now ????
Samantha Abela
Jul 24th 2009, 15:51
Indeed a crime was yet again overlooked. Shouldn't people in the army be loyal to the country? Is committing a crime and be on probation 'loyal' ?
What I ask, and what a lot of people should be asking themselves is.... but the person who said 'might find difficulties' and inf fact he did, was he given any special help BEFORE going into the water? Because if he was sent into the water like every body else, what was the use of asking if anyone could not swim? I don't remember reading any where that the person in difficulty was already wearing safety equipment. What would have happened if he had drowned instead?
Also the soldiers were trained at Birzebbuga... Matthew Psaila was with them... so he did know how to swim right ?
Also its a known fact that in Malta many claim to know how to swim, however when they are put to test they don't swim very far from where they can find some leverage. A lot of accidents happen because Maltese do not know how to swim CORRECTLY which makes a difference.
D Vella
Jul 24th 2009, 15:51
Surely the ability to swim should be one of the critera for a prospective soldier. Why wasn't this sort of thing checked prior to appointment?. Passing the buck to a dead man,who's not able to defend himself is no excuse for what should have been ascertained well before he became a trainee ,let alone a soldier
i.cilia
Jul 24th 2009, 15:46
excuse my ignorance but I thought that this was an enquiry about a young soldier's tragic death..
what does the fact that the person who dived in for him to assist him (and who looked to be using all his strenght) was involved in a hold up have anything to do with it.
hold up or no hold up he jumped in to save him... at the risk of his own life i guess as well...
IMO a very stupid and totally irrelevant argument by the prosecution... what are they trying to prove? that he was not fit to have responsibility... may i remind everyone that a lance bombardier is just a grade above a gunner...
and of course one can also consider that this poor chap could have had a moment of weakness and participated in a hold up... 3 years suspended sentence suggest that his role was a very minor one...
again I reiterate what does this have to do with this young gunner's tragic death... he could have been a serial killer but he still dived in to try and save him!!!!!
Michael Cassar
Jul 24th 2009, 15:38
wow so we have soldiers with convicted criminal past !!! ( Peregin had been given three years probation on June 26, 2001 for taking part in hold-up.) imagine a typical solider stop you in the middle of the night with a rifle and you are alone you have to stop !! should we trust ppl like these !!!! ma nafx !!
J Farrugia
Jul 24th 2009, 15:29
What's this I hear? A soldier who was convicted for a hold up WAS STILL IN THE ARMY, despite the fact that he was given a suspended sentence? No wonder everything is going to the dogs nowadays. He should have been removed from the AFM in 2001. What was he doing in the Army? Shame on whoever overlooked this fact and should be punished for his irresponsibility. As for Bgdr (rtd) Calleja's testimony that the army should have tested the bridges, measured the depths, etc. etc. this is all hogwash. In combat training he, as an expert and a former head of the army trained overseas, should know that these things are taken for what they are. If there is depth, a soldier either passes or retreats. Either he wins or he loses. In this case even though it was just a training exercise, this unfortunate soldier lost.....his life. For not telling his superiors that he did not know how to swim. What's done is done and should never be repeated again.
M.Gatt
Jul 24th 2009, 15:22
At the beginning of the sitting, the prosecution presented a judgment in court where it was noted that Lance Bombardier Peregin had been given three years probation on June 26, 2001 for taking part in hold-up.
Did I understand the line before the last correctly? Peregin was found guilty of taking part in a hold-up??
First we forgot to check if our soldiers can swim. Now we don't care if the NCOs in our military are convicted fellons!? What next?
Why does nobody else give a tut about security concerns in our country!? When is the government going to step up the status of Maltese army from an official militia to professional army!? I think that is the least that our nation deserves!
R. Agius
Jul 24th 2009, 15:16
A lance bombardier who has taken part in a hold-up?! And he is still in the army?
..........................................