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 other nation, the British Army is drawn from across our society. It is true that it does not totally reflect that society, but nor does the England football team. With soldiers of immigrant stock fleeing from poverty - like our most recent Victoria Cross holder, Lance Corporal Johnston Beharry - serving alongside the Queen's grandsons, the British Army is drawn from across the daring men and women of our society, those with a taste for adventure.
And to make it to the top of that lot you have to be something special. General Dannatt is something special. Not only has he navigated the dangerous waters of Whitehall on the way up but he has done so as a committed Christian who will not compromise on his principles.
Furthermore, he is the holder of a Military Cross won in a shooting war. Let us not forget that three times the number of servicemen died in Belfast in 1972 when General Dannatt won his MC as have died in Afghanistan since our intervention in 2001.
Do not overlook the boost to morale and |
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| The General’s statment is a boost to morale for beleaguered servicemen, says Lt Colonel Tim Collins (above) |
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self-confidence that General Dannatt's statement to the Daily Mail represents to soldiers and the families of servicemen who have felt increasingly beleaguered recently.
The battalion I commanded sent 110 men to reinforce the Paras in Helmand (left). We lost three dead and several seriously wounded. Yet when the Daily Telegraph listed the dead on the return of the battlegroup, they got Lance Corporal Luke McCullough's name wrong (they printed Murdoch). He only had one surname. He only had one life too.
As I contemplate him and the other lads killed - as well as the Ranger shot through the head, who lies in a coma in Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham (no doubt being despised for his service with the British Army by passing fanatics) - I wonder who is on the side of these soldiers. The answer is that their boss, the Chief of the General Staff, is - 100 per cent. 
FIRST POSTED OCTOBER 16, 2006
 The General speaks the truth
How Sarah Sands scooped Fleet Street
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