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Good Morning.

Today is Armed Forces Day, an opportunity for the public to recognise the men and women of the country’s military community and celebrate the work that they do for us.

The civilian population doesn’t see our Armed Forces much. Occasionally there’s coverage of the military helping other organisations responding to floods, or in the national response to COVID.

But most likely, you’ll see them on ceremonial or State occasions like Remembrance. When you see these fantastic events, it’s easy to forget that behind the pageantry and the drill, our Armed Forces are here primarily to protect the United Kingdom’s interests at home and abroad, providing a safe and secure environment in which all British citizens can live and prosper.

This Armed Forces Day takes place in the shadow of a land-war in Europe as the hostilities following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue - a sobering reminder of just how difficult our world really is. Much as we’d hope that, rather than fight, people would negotiate, the reality is different. The violence and outrage of war continues. That it does, is unmistakably a human failing.

As an Army Chaplain, I have the privilege of working alongside our servicemen and women - delivering pastoral care, moral guidance and spiritual support – sometimes in difficult places and circumstances. It’s been at these times that I’ve seen, first hand, that our military community has a profound sense of the beauty and strength of friendship and the courage that it takes to work for what is just and good.

In the Christian tradition we often talk about this using Jesus’ words - there being no greater love than someone laying down their lives for their friends - a human and humane disposition of heart and mind to put other people’s interests before your own – even to the point of ultimate sacrifice.

When I see our servicemen and women, whether they’re stacking sandbags to protect against floods, dispensing COVID jabs, parading on State occasions, or preparing to engage in combat - I see a young, dynamic and multicultural community. I know they’re not all saints or superheroes, but I also know they’re people who accept that there can be a cost to service – a cost to working for what is good and just, and are prepared to pay it. That’s the promise, the covenant, they’ve made with all of us. I applaud them for it - and hope you will too.

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