Army ‘has blood on hands’over Harry’s tragic comrade
A soldier who served alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan was assigned to clear Taliban bombs without the proper training, an inquest heard yesterday.
royal engineer Nathan Hunt, 39, was sent back out there a year later despite showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, a coroner was told.
He was found hanged at his home on New Year’s Day after suffering years of nightmares. Yesterday, after one of his comrades told a coroner the Army had ‘blood on its hands’, Warrant officer Hunt’s ex-wife condemned a ‘tick-box’ culture.
lainey Hunt, with whom he had a nine-year-old daughter, said: ‘After he returned from his first tour I said to him, “Why are you doing this with IeDs [improvised explosive devices], you are not qualified to do this, what is your chain of command doing?” It is like a clerk clearing IeDs...and then to send him back to Afghanistan is shocking.’ Wo Hunt was mentioned in dispatches for his courage. But his battlefield experiences took their toll on his mental health and led to him developing signs of PTSD, the inquest in lincoln heard. Wo Hunt was part of a desert reconnaissance unit searching for roadside bombs and served with Prince Harry in Helmand Province in 2008 after being attached to the Household Cavalry.
Dean Smith, 47, his search team commander during the tour, told the inquest: ‘I employed Mr Hunt illegally as an IeD clearer, he was not qualified. That command pressure has got blood on their hands until today. The Household Cavalry regiment should be investigated.’
In an emotional statement which she read to the inquest, Mrs Hunt, also a warrant officer with 32 engineer regiment, said commanders should have known her husband was not fully qualified to clear IeDs. She described how his mental condition changed after he saw a vehicle blown up during his first Afghanistan tour.
His depression and mood swings caused them to divorce in 2014 but they remained best friends.
Army records disclosed at the inquest showed Wo Hunt was treated for depression but there was never a full diagnosis of PTSD. He was found dead at his house in lincoln after he failed to show up at his parents home on New Year’s Day.
recording a narrative verdict, lincolnshire coroner Paul Smith said he could not be certain that Wo Hunt had intended to take his own life.
outside the court, Mrs Hunt said she believed he hid his symptoms and criticised the Army’s ‘tick box’ attitude at the time towards mental health. Wo Hunt’s parents Derek, 66, and Maria, 64, said they were disappointed with the verdict, believing he killed himself because he had PTSD.
Following their son’s death, Prince Harry sent them a letter of condolence. They have since successfully campaigned for a 24/7 helpline for traumatised troops and their families.
For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local branch. See samaritans. org for details.