Sorry Lads, i don't know how to get pictures on as well, but if anyone wants this i can e-mail, just ask
Ray
![]()
The average British soldier is 19 years old…..he is a short haired, well
built lad who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half
man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears and just old enough to
buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country – and for
you. He’s not particularly keen on hard work but he’d rather be
grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the UK. He recently left
comprehensive school where he was probably an average student, played some
form of sport, drove a ten year old rust bucket, and knew a girl that either
broke up with him when he left, or swore to be waiting when he returns
home. He moves easily to rock and roll or hip-hop or to the rattle
of a 7.62mm machine gun.
![]()
He is about a stone lighter than when he left home because he is working
or fighting from dawn to dusk and well beyond. He has trouble spelling,
so letter writing is a pain for him, but he can strip a rifle in 25 seconds
and reassemble it in the dark. He can recite every detail of a machine
gun or grenade launcher and use either effectively if he has to. He
digs trenches and latrines without the aid of machines and can apply first
aid like a professional paramedic. He can march until he is told
to stop, or stay dead still until he is told to move.
![]()
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he is not without
a rebellious spirit or a sense of personal dignity. He is confidently
self-sufficient. He has two sets of uniform with him: he washes one
and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet
dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to
clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes
and fix his own hurts. If you are thirsty, he'll share his water
with you; if you are hungry, his food is your food. He'll even share
his life-saving ammunition with you in the heat of a firefight if you run
low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and regards his weapon as
an extension of his own hands. He can save your life or he can take
it, because that is his job - it's what a soldier does. He often
works twice as long and hard as a civilian, draw half the pay and have
nowhere to spend it, and can still find black ironic humour in it all.
There's an old saying in the British Army: 'If you can't take a joke,
you shouldn't have joined!'
![]()
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat
and he is unashamed to show it or admit it. He feels every bugle note of
the 'Last Post' or 'Sunset' vibrate through his body while standing rigidly
to attention. He's not afraid to '***' anyone who shows disrespect
when the Regimental Colours are on display or the National Anthem is played;
yet in an odd twist, he would defend anyone's right to be an individual.
Just as with generations of young people before him, he is paying
the price for our freedom. Clean shaven and baby faced he may be,
but be prepared to defend yourself if you treat him like a kid.
He is the latest in a long thin line of British Fighting Men that have
kept this country free for hundreds of years. He asks for nothing
from us except our respect, friendship and understanding. We may
not like what he does, but sometimes he doesn't like it either - he just
has it to do. Remember him always, for he has earned our respect
and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have brave young women putting themselves in harm's way,
doing their part in this tradition of going to war when our nation's politicians
call on us to do so.
![]()
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and if you are so inclined,
feel free to say a prayer for our troops in the trouble spots of the world.