Need to remember soldiering can be brutal

Sir, - Old soldiers will be perplexed and no doubt amused at the army recruitment team’s effort at encouraging more young people to join the army with their latest ‘softer’ campaign.

Veterans will agree that nothing much has changed for those joining up.

It’s only the language used to encourage them which has changed and is designed to resonate with a different generation.

Those who have served will concur that emotions can range from absolute boredom to sheer terror within a very short time, that it is practically impossible to find an atheist who’s under fire in a fox hole and they’d also agree that a sense of regimental pride and comradeship makes the idea of ‘inclusiveness’ seem pretty shallow by comparison.

We don’t need an army that reflects the make-up of our society.

The fighting spirit of an army has never depended on the background of its personnel but more on the morale of their unit or regiment, the mutual respect of their brothers in arms and a firm commitment to serve loyally whatever the circumstances.

An army cannot become a collection of individuals reliant on personal attention to their needs if it is to become a potent fighting force.

The mantra of our army will never change. The role of a soldier is ‘to seek out and close with the enemy, kill or capture him, seize and hold ground and repel attack by day or night regardless of season, weather or terrain’.

Recruitment teams must realise that soldiering to protect the realm can be a brutal business and when the going gets hot ‘snowflakes’ are not going to fare well.

Iain G Richmond. Guildy House, Monikie.