The parents of Gunner Matthew Psaila, who died during a military exercise, believe the truth behind the tragedy is being covered up and seven months after their son's death their mind is whirling with questions.

"We cannot achieve closure until we know the truth... This is not a case of vendetta. The family want the absolute truth, not cover-ups," Anthony Psaila, the father of the 19-year-old soldier, said.

Sitting at the kitchen table next to his wife Marion, with a framed photo of their youngest son hanging prominently behind, Mr Psaila said that to this day the army has kept them in the dark.

Gunner Psaila died in the early hours of February 16 after succumbing to injuries he sustained during a military exercise at Chadwick Lakes three days earlier. This exercise, with the army's C (Special Duties) Company, would have seen the soldiers qualify for the BIII infantry course.

His death led to three investigations - a magisterial inquiry, the army's internal military inquiry and a third by retired Judge Victor Caruana Colombo, who was appointed by the Office of the Prime Minister to examine all aspects of C Company's operation. Only the findings of the latter have been made public.

Just last week, the army said it would not suspend the two soldiers - Lieutenant Christian Vella, 27, and Lance Bombardier Marvic Peregin, 31 - who stand charged with the involuntary homicide of Gunner Psaila through negligence.

The family's reaction to this news is unexpected.

Mrs Psaila said: "We don't want to apportion blame ourselves until the truth is out and we don't have the truth. It is clear the truth is being covered. We're very hurt".

They also questioned whether Lt Vella functioned in a vacuum: "Where are the ones on top? Is it fair to place so much responsibility on a junior officer?"

The family said it was getting snitches of information from different quarters but the truth was not emerging in public. They were also baffled by the veil of silence from the army's side and believed their son's comrades had been instructed to avoid contact with the family.

"The Brigadier was like a brother to me while Matthew was on his deathbed in hospital. He comforted us and promised me the truth will emerge but we have not heard from him since... The army is treating us as if we're the enemy," Mr Psaila said.

His wife adds: "It is puzzling how none of his friends, who were with Matthew on that fateful exercise, ever showed up in hospital to bid him farewell. They steer clear of us whenever they see us".

The family is particularly irked by Judge Caruana Colombo's inquiry, which, despite finding serious failures in army training, put the soldier's death down to "misadventure".

"He made a judgment on the case when his terms of reference were to investigate the operations of C Company," Mr Psaila said.

They cannot understand how the inquiry seems to pin a lot of the incident on the fact that Gunner Psaila did not raise his hand when he was asked if he could swim before the exercise.

While his mother admitted her son was not a good swimmer, she said it had emerged in court that he did swim the first 20-metre-deep stretch in Chadwick Lakes without encountering problems. They then walked 200 metres with wet clothes against the biting wind, before re-entering the water near the bridge. That is when the accident happened.

"There were some four other soldiers, so-called 'competent' swimmers, who experienced difficulties. Matthew was not the first one to panic. This was obviously an exercise conducted in extreme weather conditions and there were not enough officers supervising them," Mrs Psaila said.

Clutching a batch of photos, Mrs Psaila pointed to soldiers doing the same exercise in April 2008; the conditions contrast sharply to the blustery day her son undertook the training.

The photos show that previous exercises were carried out when it was warmer, with the soldiers wearing just T-shirts and not carrying anything except a wooden log and the water they waded through at Chadwick Lakes was barely knee-high. There were also more supervisors than the three observing the training in February.

In contrast, Gunner Psaila's exercise saw each soldier wearing a helmet, carrying a rifle and a 13-kilogramme kit on his back through water that was up to two metres deep. The family said army sources told them the water on that fateful February day was below 5˚C.

"Matthew's group was fated for disaster. Why is the element of the cold being discarded in the Caruana Colombo inquiry? Why was there such an escalation in testing the soldiers' endurance in the same exercise? Who took the decision? Is it possible no photos were taken of Matthew's exercise," Mrs Psaila asked.

The parents also find it hard to believe their son spent just 10 minutes under water in the panic that ensued before being discovered.

"Medical sources believe the volume of water in Matthew's lungs indicate he was under the water for much longer than 10 minutes. According to the autopsy, Matthew's lungs weighed four times the normal weight," she added.

"We just want to know Matthew's last moments. Instead of answers we face questions."