George Nepata signed up for 20 years to be a soldier but was discharged after he broke his neck during an army exercise.

The corporal in charge of an army exercise when George Nepata broke his neck and the private who dropped him have apologised for their parts in the accident.

The two men's accounts have shed new light on the 1989 incident that left Nepata a tetraplegic, as Defence Minister Ron Mark is reviewing the case. For the past 20 years, Nepata has been fighting for compensation from the Defence Force, alongside his younger brother Damien, who was seriously injured after the tank he was driving rolled and exploded in 1994.

The corporal and the private admit some responsibility for what happened - but say the Defence Force should too.

"What's been done can't be undone but what's been done since that event really sticks in a lot of people's throats, the hypocrisy of the army," said the corporal, who served for 23 years before leaving the military. "They tell us we're a team and all brothers."

READ MORE:

* Emotional Ron Mark has misgivings about Defence Force treatment of injured brothers

* For 20 years, two brothers have been fighting for compensation

Both believe the military has never taken any blame for either accident, instead shifting responsibility to those involved and then on to ACC.

The Defence Force has always maintained the brothers should not receive any compensation because they have received all of the benefits and payments they were legally entitled to.

"A wrong has been performed here. If no one made a noise about anything the fear is these guys (the Defence Force) would walk away scot-free," says the private.

"I cannot believe the military has taken the stance it has."

It's the first time either witness has spoken publicly about the incident. They felt compelled to after reading Stuff's investigation into the brothers' accidents.

The men gave evidence to the military's court of inquiry. They are referred to by the numbers they were given in the inquiry.

Both accounts differ from their court statements and what was officially reported by the army at the time.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Brothers George and Damien Nepata give an emotional account of how they were injured while serving in the New Zealand Defence Force.

THE SIXTH WITNESS

The corporal - the sixth witness - was commended for his actions after Nepata broke his neck and received a citation. He calls it a boy scout badge.

"I wish that I could take back that moment in time around the accident. This isn't possible. I can only do two things." He wanted to remind the army it had a responsibility to uphold the same values it instils into soldiers and to make his own amends.

"Apologies to George and his family for my failings as the last 'leadership cog' of events that led to his accident."

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF George Nepata has received his first public apology from the man in charge before he fell and broke his neck during an army exercise.

He knew the team was in trouble when he saw Nepata being carried at shoulder height on top of a high, wooden plank obstacle in a training exercise.

"I was running with them and I remember getting to the catwalk and thinking what the f… happens here?" he says. By that stage they'd got up there. And then it was like oh s... he's on their shoulders."

Before he could communicate his concerns or formulate a plan to get Nepata down, the man at the back of the stretcher fell off and Nepata slipped, breaking his neck.

"When George landed at my feet I was the one who took over the whole thing but there were failings the whole way through," he says.

At the start of the obstacle carry exercise, the officer in charge, the safety officer and medic left the site.

A senior NCO was put in charge. But he also left the exercise, handing over to the sixth witness before the last team had finished the course.

"They left. The medic shouldn't have left," says the sixth witness. "The medic should be the last one to leave any training activity."

Stuff explained the chief medical officer had told the court of inquiry a medic wasn't needed. But the witness stood by his statement.

"If an activity is being conducted then the medic is there until the activity is completed."

He says it really upset him because the medic would have helped care for Nepata after he broke his neck.

NEPATA FAMILY Front row sitting, right: George Nepata in his prime, fit and confident.

The witness also claims the senior NCO, who was still on the course, failed to perform his duties.

"He just went to pieces and said, 'It's not my fault,' and wandered off," he says.

"I got a boy scout badge but he should actually have been charged for not rising to the occasion. I was quite bitter and twisted about it and still am to this day.

"It was just chaos - there was a lot of people blaming myself and everybody else and guys getting emotional."

The sixth witness says after the accident, there was a series of mistakes - made by him and others - including going to the wrong hospital. He says Nepata was moved a lot; in and out of vehicles, on and off stretchers, beds and x-ray tables. He was concerned by the care Nepata received.

He stayed with the paralysed man into the night. After he returned to the base, he locked himself in his room the entire weekend.

"I walked up to my room and hid away there. A bit of shock. I spent the weekend going through my head what the f... had just happened."

THE FOURTH WITNESS

The private who dropped Nepata was the court of inquiry's fourth witness.

He was the carrier at the back of the stretcher. Nepata went up feet first, his head at the back. The course was wet and they were two metres above ground when the private slipped twice, eventually falling off the obstacle. He tried to push Nepata to safety but before the man holding the front could react and correct the stretcher, Nepata slid off backwards, landing on his neck.

"At the time we didn't understand the seriousness of what had occurred to him after he slid."

Speaking to Stuff, his voice would waver with emotion.

At one point, his tears were audible. "I have a brother who can no longer walk," he cried.

He claims after the accident the two stretcher carriers were ordered to stay away from Nepata.

"We were told we can't go to visit George, he's in hospital with weights holding his head back. ... It's a restricted zone that's for family only. Well, f...king hell. Who were we if we weren't family?"

NEPATA FAMILY Second row, second from right: George Nepata with his band of brothers in Singapore.

The witness quit the army not long after returning to New Zealand and lived overseas until two years ago.

He didn't see Nepata again until many years after the accident at a reunion in Taupō, where they were able to reconcile.

"People can think what they damned well like but we've had to live with those decisions."

COURT OF INQUIRY

Now in his 50s, the fourth witness was surprised to learn Stuff had read his court of inquiry statement because he says he doesn't remember giving one. Nor does he recall being told he had rights or that he was under oath when he signed his statement.

"To us at the time it may have been just a sitting down and someone writing down notes about what happened, having no inkling it may end up in a court of inquiry," he says.

"I don't recall sitting in a box being questioned."

NEPATA FAMILY Centre row, right: George Nepata in Singapore a year before his accident.

He was shocked to hear the court of inquiry found against him.

"I'm pretty f...ing sure I'd remember if someone had said by the way your mate has broken his f...ing neck and he'll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and you're up for it."

The court report says: "The accident can be directly attributable to the rear soldier losing his balance on the 'Balancing Log' obstacle." But discarded the notion human error was to blame because it was a problem of balance.

"No one ever came back and said by the way this has been the outcome of a court of inquiry," he says. "We've determined that as a result of some poor decision making you are found to be at the root cause of this guy's accident. And you're accountable for it.

"They've reached an outcome and no one's f...ing told me. I'm bewildered."

He wondered if the court of inquiry findings had impacted on his military career. After he left the army in 1989, the witness claims he tried to sign up again two or three years later.

"I was subsequently turned down. Could that have been the reason?" he says.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF George Nepata believes the army needs to take responsibility for the accident that left him paralysed.

The corporal does remember giving a statement for the court of inquiry but is critical of the process.

He gave evidence and was given just two questions to answer. He was asked why the team was at a shoulder carry at the plank obstacle. In his statement he said it just happened that way but said they were the slowest team on the course. The corporal was also asked if he knew who the safety supervisor was for the section or team, and replied he did not know.

The sixth witness did not tell the court he was concerned about the shoulder carry, a medic should have been present, and the senior NCO failed to do his duty.

"It's like any court - the witness is asked questions that are presented. Was there a series of questions that were all the same or were they loaded?"

The fourth witness gave a brief description of what happened but was asked just three non-specific questions. He admitted in his statement he had not done a stretcher carry over an obstacle course before but was prepared to do the activity.

Neither man was asked if they thought the exercise was safe, whether they'd been given a safety brief for the obstacle stretcher carry or if a medic would have helped.

The court of inquiry found there was adequate safety supervision, control and measures in place.

Joseph Johnson/Stuff George and Kim Nepata have been dealing with the health issues of tetraplegia for nearly 30 years.

George Nepata says he's grateful for the apology and the two men coming forward to make public statements.

He doesn't hold a grudge against either man. But says he's dumbfounded by the court of inquiry.

"It was just a load of crap. It was just a big cover up.

"It was done so quickly, covered up and I never had a chance to say my piece or have any input. That's upsetting as well."

Nepata says it's frustrating for him to hear the sixth witness say there were systemic failures before and after the accident.

"I should never have been put into that situation in the first place," he says. "The whole thing was just one dangerous exercise."

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF In a 2018 interview with Stuff, Defence Minister Ron Mark became emotional when speaking about George and Damien Nepata, who are victims of peacetime accidents during army exercises.

Stuff contacted the officer in charge at the time of the accident but he declined to comment.

The commanding officer who ordered the court of inquiry also declined an interview request.

The Defence Force refused to be interviewed or answer questions relating to the court of inquiry, saying it is a matter for the Government.

Defence Minister Ron Mark, who is currently reviewing the Nepata brothers' claim, has been publicly critical of the officers involved in the army exercise in Singapore.

He says he does not yet have enough information to determine if he will take the case to Cabinet for consideration. The brothers' claim has already been rejected by Cabinet twice before.