Dad of soldier who died after SAS training on hottest day of the year blasts MPs who want troops ‘wrapped in cotton wool’
Afghan veteran Cpl Hoole had run eight miles on Brecon Beacons in a selection exercise as heat hit 30C
THE soldier who died in a training run on the hottest day of the year would not have wanted the Army blamed, his grieving father insisted.
Phillip Hoole, 54 — a former sergeant major — said that Joshua Hoole, 26, “knew the risks”.
He said in Carlisle, Cumbria: “The medics did their best to save him.
“Josh wouldn’t have been happy with the way people have had a knee-jerk reaction.”
Afghan veteran Cpl Hoole had run eight miles on Wales’s Brecon Beacons in a selection exercise as heat hit 30C (86F) on Tuesday last week.
His dad said the run was normal with “no extra beastings”.
Mr Hoole added: “He was about 200 metres from the end.”
The father blasted MPs who want troops “wrapped in cotton wool”.
He said: “There’s a phrase — train hard, fight easy.”
His cause of death at this stage is inconclusive but Mr Hoole fears it may be an arrhythmia or an aneurysm in the heart.
At the time of the tragedy the Met Office recorded it as the hottest day so far of the year — prompting some MPs to link the tragedy with the dangers of training in the high temperatures.
But Mr Hoole added: “People have started to point the finger at the army.
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“Josh wouldn’t have wanted the soldiers that were with him, or the medics, to feel any personal blame.
“He was doing his job and he knew the risks.
“The way the MPs are talking, if there were more checks and balances placed on the army and they were wrapped in cotton wool the MPs would ultimately be responsible for a lack of duty of care.
“Being a soldier by the very nature of the job means that at times you have to fight in various countries in extreme climatic conditions.
Mr Hoole, who spent 24 years with The Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, said Joshua was always driven to do his best.
He was doing his job and he knew the risks
Phillip Hoole, father of Joshua
The shattered dad added: “He always pushed himself 100 per cent, he always gave his all. He led by example.
“Even if he was taking part in the Carlisle parkrun with me he would be pushing himself 100 per cent, leaving his old dad in his wake!
“But he was also a very caring young man who would help anybody. All those who knew him were blessed to have spent time with him.
“Josh was proud to be a member of the British Army, just as his brother Tyrone is.”