An army board will be convened to determine whether the lieutenant expected to be charged with the involuntary manslaughter of Gunner Matthew Psaila will be suspended.

Brigadier Carmel Vassallo told The Sunday Times yesterday that since the army had not yet been officially notified of the charges by the police, it had not initiated procedures to suspend the officer.

"We have our own system which determines whether someone should be suspended or not. The minute... we are officially notified that there is a charge of this kind, we set up a board and the board will make its recommendations depending on the circumstances."

The officer, 27-year-old lieutenant Chris Vella from Żabbar who was in charge of the gunner's platoon, is expected to be arraigned shortly after charges were filed in court last Thursday.

He will face charges of causing the death of Gunner Psaila through negligence and of committing a crime he was duty bound to prevent.

The charges are the first legal steps to be taken since the death of the 19-year-old soldier. The findings of a magisterial inquiry, concluded last March, remain under wraps.

Gunner Psaila died on February 16 after succumbing to injuries he sustained during a military exercise at Chadwick Lakes. He had been pulled out of the water unconscious.

Three soldiers, including Gunner Psaila, were reported to have got into difficulty and went under during the training exercise on February 13. When the supervising soldiers realised what had happened, they jumped in to help but, according to unconfirmed reports, nobody seemed to have realised that the 19-year-old was submerged under a bridge.

Gunner Psalia enlisted with the army on March 17, 2008, and in November was in the passing-out parade, which meant he qualified as a regular soldier with the force. He was deemed to have the right potential and talent to serve in the elite unit.