Serve

A simple and engaging web ad on a concerning problem, suicide among war veterans, but that still provides a hopeful outcome to aim for. (Hat/tip A Pint of Unionist Lite Daily)

Not a good one for the blood pressure

"When our men were wounded, helicopters were able to land within 30 minutes. Yet no helicopter was sent within three days to collect the remains of our Commanding Officer. It was an obscenity, the desecration of a national hero."

The other emergency

While attention was focused on the emergency budget, the name today was released of the 300th British soldier to die as a result of the Afghanistan campaign. He was Marine Richard Hollington, 23, of Petersfield, Hampshire. A further two Royal Marines have been killed in action since he died on Sunday.

The situation could not be more grave with a UN report highlighting a deteriorating situation in the country and crucially a revealing profile of the American General in charge of the campaign, McChrystal, in Rolling Stone magazine lays bare the tensions within the American administration over strategy and the glaring holes in that strategy. This may yet cost him his job that with another change in leadership doing little to improve the situation.

As the preparations for Armed Foces Day begin in earnest it is clear our troops in Afghanistan need not only our appreciation but a strategy to ensure the sacrifices achieve something meaningful.

"Most Incredible Courage"

Lance Bombardier Gary Proust from Libsurn has been awarded the Conspicious Gallantry Cross for "the most incredible courage" in Afghanistan.

Under heavy machine gun fire he helped retrieve a wounded colleague (his best friend, Lance Corporal Christopher Hackett who later died of his wounds), called fire down on the Taleban from an exposed position, volunteered to stay behind when resuce vehicles were too small to take all the patrol, returned to his exposed position to call down further fire to ensure Taleban didn't know how few were left behind and in the final evacuation retrieved weapons left behind under rocket and machine gun fire.

This fourth generation soldier had told his mum he was in an office.