The News over the past week has been terrible to say the least. In the UK, we have had to deal with a grandmother killed by a drunk driver, her two grandchildren fighting for their lives in hospital. Three innocent women (and maybe more) murdered by a deluded violent man. Twelve people dead, 25 people injured by a man that allegedly 'snapped' for no reason. A small tightly knit community, torn apart by the actions of one man.
This Blog is not about them. I am upset and appalled in equal measure, listening to the News. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and suffering their families, colleagues and friends are going through. My thoughts are with them all.
I suppose this is a bit of a rant about how inured we have become to losing our Soldiers in Afghanistan. myself included, hence this Blog. Since January we have lost 45 British Soldiers, oh and don't quote me on that, they are the only official figures that I can access on the net. Other countries have lost a total of 1044, since the START of 2010. These young men, typically in their early twenties, patrol in APC's (armoured personnel carriers) , they are known as 'Kevlar Coffins' as they offer virtually no protection against roadside IED's. The black humour of the lads wins through and as one Times Correspondent put it, 'There is no point in sweating the small stuff when you are sat in a Kevlar Coffin'.
Our young Soldiers have to do these patrols as a part of their daily routine. Our Government sends these young men on these patrols and the only phrase I can think of is 'Cannon Fodder'. Bit of a nasty thought isn't it? Send your Number One son to war with a wave and a smile, a goody bag full of chocolate and hope to hell he makes it back. His chances are based on the quality of equipment he uses and the vehicle he is ordered to get into. I have ranted in past Blogs about our Governments inability to provide our lads with proper equipment so I won't go on about it now.
My problem is that we are all 'shocked and devestated' by the terrible news in the UK, yet we seem to have forgotten our Forces in Afghanistan. I feel as though not a day goes by without the announcement of a British death. It suddenly hit me today that I had FORGOTTEN, I was guilty too. So this is just a small attempt to redress my selfishness.
Many of our Soldiers are injured and we somehow manage to forget them. There are a lot of charities out there that we can give to, in order to make their lives easier. I will put some on the sidebars of this Blog.
Please remember our fallen. Keep them in your minds, they are doing a job that most of us would refuse. I cannot dismiss this war as something we should not be involved in because we are, Full Bloody Stop and there is no easy way out. Also, if I dismissed our involvement in this conflict then I would be insulting the names of the Soldiers that have lost their lives.
As the weeks UK News has taught us, we can also be on the receiving end of horrific stories. Just please try and remember that our Soldiers face this fear on a daily basis.
Thanks for listening.
Muse x
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