Another homecoming parade, how many left?

This week saw me attending another Homecoming and medal parade here in Germany.  I have lost track of how many of these I have covered over the years.  They are always great opportunities to capture some great images although this time for some reason, it got me thinking.

With the imminent return home of British troops from Afghanistan in 2014, these may well be a thing of the past for a little while.  Of course this is great news when you consider how many soldiers we have lost during the conflict, but I can’t help feel a tinge of sadness.

These parades are always great events supported by the soldiers and their families.  They are a show, a celebration, in many cases an opportunity to reflect and for some a way of closure.  But more than that these signify the end of a job well done.

 

The British Armed forces are there to do these jobs, love them or hate them, these roles seem to come up all too often, usually when you least expect them.  These parades are significant as they mean the members of the Armed Forces have been doing a job they have trained hard for.

 

I do not mean to be disrespectful as the conflict in Afghanistan goes on and there will in all likelihood be more injured or even killed, so we cannot afford to look at the end with too much comfort.

One thing I am glad of is how this operation seems to have brought the Armed Forces closer together.  In the past the fierce rivalry used to alienate certain cap badges or trades, but such is the nature of this conflict that every job out there has risk and danger, it is not just the infantry who are risking their lives on the front.  I think this conflict has shown the strengths of our armed forces as a whole and that should be commended.

The opinions stated here are simply the opinions of the author and do not in any way necessarily reflect the stance of the Ministry of Defence.