Armed Forces Day is our opportunity to show support for all the men and women who make up our armed forces community: regular service personnel, their families, reservists and cadets. The Day was marked in Horsham on Sunday with historic military vehicles, bands and displays. A large cadet presence in Carfax joined veterans and the Royal British Legion and Royal Naval Association.
Speaking to both Air and Sea Cadets there were many great young people, some interested in joining the services, others simply interested in the opportunities and experience offered to all Cadets.
The forces have always been a conundrum in the UK. As one foreign observer pointed out a century ago there is no country on earth that hates militarism more but holds their military in higher esteem. Not that that has always been the case. Kipling wrote about the squaddie of his day being the subject of suspicion “but its Thank You Mr Atkins when the band begins to play!” The services today, more than a generation on from national service are staffed by professionals who know they have excellent skills which will carry them through their branch of the services and on into civilian life.
We invest in the services – and are one of the very few NATO countries meeting our 2 per cent commitment of GDP - because simply having them makes us and our world safer. Sadly the fall of the Berlin Wall far from reducing the need for defence has seen a host of conflicts in which our forces have, as ever, conducted themselves with great distinction.
This is a particularly proud week for the Royal Navy as HMS Queen Elizabeth one of the Navy’s two new aircraft carriers leaves Rosyth for sea trials. She is the largest carrier ever built for the Royal Navy and for the next 50 years she will deploy around the world. If she is never used for fighting, if her deployments are for “flying the flag” and humanitarian purposes, we will all be delighted. However if called upon, when fully equipped and battle-ready, the UK has gained a formidable additional defence capability.
Photo caption: With RAF Cadets in Carfax for Armed Forces Sunday.