Tri-Service

Soldier 'Sues MoD Over Cold Training Conditions'

Squaddie Suing MoD Over Cold Training Conditions

A 33-year-old soldier is reportedly suing the MoD for more than £200,000 over training conditions that he claims were too cold.

Gershon Rawlings, who was born in Ghana, says his ethnicity made him suffer more than fellow soldiers, according to the Sun.

Earlier this year, 30-year-old Gambian-born soldier Abdoulie Bojang sued the MoD for failing to consider his ethnicity while he trained in Banff, Canada, where temperatures can dip as low as -30C.

Training conditions in Banff, Canada, where Abdoulie Bojang received injuries, can get as low as minus 30C

Solicitors Bolt Burdon Kemp said at the time:

"Service personnel of African and Afro-Caribbean descent, including those of mixed race, are particularly vulnerable in low temperatures."

"The MoD has acknowledged research indicating that these groups are 30 times more likely to contract an NFCI (non-freezing cold injury) than Caucasian service personnel."

"Even mild injuries can leave long-term effects such as problems regulating body temperature. The damage to a military career and the prolonged pain can even result in depression.

"Personnel from the Commonwealth will often find that, following a cold injury, they are restricted to working in warm climates. This means they can no longer follow any plans they may have made to make a life in the UK, Europe or North America."

Bojang's barrister, Christopher Barnes, said at the time that the MoD have known about the additional risk of cold injuries to Black African troops since a report came out after the Falklands war.

Rawlings had reportedly also received an NFCI (non-freezing cold injury) diagnosis, but despite this still had to work in cold conditions through to the end of the two-week training.

Professor Mike Tipton, a physiologist at the University of Portsmouth, said:

"The blood vessels in black people are generally more sensitive to changes in temperature... This could leave them more susceptible to non-freezing cold injuries at certain temperatures".

October temperatures in Sennybridge, Wales, where Rawlings was training in October 2013, are usually 9C.

Gershon Rawlings reportedly suffered an NFCI while training around Sennybridge, near the Brecon Beacons, where October temperatures are typically around 9C

When Rawlings told his sergeant he was experiencing tingling in his hands and feet he was allegedly told to "man up".

The writ filed at the High Court in London attacks the Army for giving him waterproof Gore-Tex boots and standard gloves that did not cater to his situation.

Rawlings claims that he has been "disadvantaged" in future jobs by his injuries.

The MoD has reportedly admitted that Rawlings did develop NFCIs but has said he needs to prove their seriousness and impact on job prospects. An MoD spokesperson said:

"We cannot comment on individual cases, but when compensation claims are submitted, we will carefully consider whether there is a legal liability to pay compensation. Where there is, we will."