I saw this on Facebook today ...

A British Serviceman is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to ' United Kingdom ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'   

That is Honour, and there are way too many foreigners in this country who don't understand it.'

It started off with a story about how someone bought some lads a meal - soldiers who were off for some advance training before being deployed to Afghanistan.  You can read the full story on:   http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=13403&post=65751&uid=44700302225#!/topic.php?uid=44700302225&topic=13403&ref=nf

The last two paragraphs gave me an itch that I had to scratch:

Foreigners aren't the issue here. It's governments that choose to engage us in conflicts that aren't necessarily just, but that aside, I wish to take issue with your last paragraph. I'm not sure whether you wrote it or are just quoting it. I remember seeing a similar message a while back about an american serviceman.


Your story, while touching in sentiment re buying the lads a meal, spreads an under current of racism and that is not acceptable.

I'm a British Forces Veteran. My ancestry is from India. I was born in England, first generation, back in 1964.

What you quoted or said about foreigners in this country is what some people in other countries say about British settlers. You need to start realising that the world is a smaller place now and people of all races and cultures move amongst eachother nowadays .. and that's a good thing because it promotes understanding and tolerance, which in turn will promote peace.


If you're going to do a good deed, keep it pure ... don't taint it with racism. I'm getting a bit sick of some of the stuff I'm reading from 'supporters' of our armed forces. It's showing double standards. If you don't like 'foreigners' start lobbying your MPs to stay out of their countries and their affairs .. end of.

'Foreginers' are imported into this country to do the menial jobs that no local bod wants to do. It's a continuation of the policies of the British government from the 50s and 60s. That's how my dad ended up coming here. The difference is that now it's the Eastern Europeans that are being subjected to unacceptable wage levels and subsequent poverty. But, you don't hear them complaining about it, they just get on with it while indigenous natives moan about not being able to find a job. Slave labour ring a bell? Ask the Asian and Black communities' elders about it.

You also get the successful 'foreigners' that apply for high salaried positions on the strength of having worked hard and beaten the local competition on an equal opportunities type interview. I like seeing different people, hearing different accents and sampling different cultures in this country. It keeps the biggots at bay and enriches societies.

The Ghurkas are 'foreigners'. Would you dare to teach them about honour? They're some of the best soldiers in the world. They serve the Crown, and proudly, but they are from Nepal and they are a part of OUR British Armed Forces.

I live with PTSD now as a result of a 2 year tour in Northern Ireland. Are you going to teach me too?

Mind what you say and don't taint us with words that aren't worthy of a warrior. Those of us that did the job right helped anyone, risked our lives for anyone, irrespective of their race or religion.

Honour is not a British concept, it's an International one. So please don't taint it with your words. It exists amongst the enemy too and soldiers need to remember that. Just because someone else breaks the rules of engagement or violates someone's human rights, we should not. Standards have to be maintained and the 'honourable' soldiers in the world all over are the ones that do that; now remember, I just used the word 'soldiers' not 'terrorists'. I haven't got time for terrorists that hurt innocents from anywhere. I hold no grudges againt the IRA or INLA or any of the other parties in Northern Ireland for what happened to me out there ... because I wrote that 'cheque' you mention, I took the queen's shilling and I did the job. It was MY decision to serve ... so I was a legitimate target. It's the innocent lives they took that they must never be forgiven for.

Now you might be a really nice person with a heart of gold ... but you might also be someone that harbours racist tendencies. Be careful what you write and how you write it ... and please don't write about 'honour' as you don't have sufficient awareness of it.

Racism exists in every country. Try stamping it out. The Armed Forces in this country have come forward a ways from the racism that existed within the ranks in the 80s. Comments like your last paragraph have a way of sending them backwards. The majority of people in the Armed Forces do the job right, without any sort of discrimination.

One last thing ... it's the tight gits in the Ministry of  Defence that should have been paying for those meals as the lads were on duty.

Have a good day.

Wolf

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