'More than just uniforms'

The father of a British soldier killed in Afghanistan has questioned the government's attitude towards the safety of young troops. Grieving Daniel Jackson urged the Government to treat young soldiers as more than just a uniform after his 19-year-old son Damien became the sixth British serviceman to lose his life in the Helmand province during the last month after a firefight at a helicopter landing pad on Wednesday. He said: ' 'I think the Government needs to look at these people as a group of individuals rather than as a unit because these people are sons and daughters, they're not just a uniform'. He also revealed that his son, who died four days short of his 20th birthday, had concerns about the numbers of personnel deployed in the hostile country and feared British forces were undermanned. Private Jackson, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, would have been 20 on Saturday. His father Daniel today spoke of his loss and admitted to having concerns about the Government's attitude to servicemen. He said today: 'I remember my son as very energetic, very polite - just a normal teenager with an appetite for life. 'The beret that the kid wore was the most important thing in his life. 'I was reticent at first when he joined the army, any parent would be reticent about sending their child off in the times that we're living through at the moment. 'Again I was very reticent, almost fearful when I found out he was going to Afghanistan but as I said to him then he was in the best company and he had the best training to prepare him for where he was going.' When asked if he blamed anyone for his cherished son's death Mr Jackson said: 'That's a difficult question to answer because blame is a difficult thing to apportion in a situation like this. 'I think there is an attitude in the Government which I find questionable when it comes to putting our young men and women in this sort of danger. 'I find a lot of comfort in the fact that I know my son never shied away from anything his whole life. 'I just try to be as brave as my son.'

ITN | July 7, 2006

Tags:. .private. .father. .fact. .lose. .danger