Don't you just wish they would pack up and go home?

Just been reading about the latest in a long line of troops shot dead by Afghan police, what caught my eye was one of the soldiers age....

Pte Wroe, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, joined the British Army two years ago. He was deployed to Afghanistan on July 1, shortly after his 18th birthday.

news.sky.com...

18 years old. What a waste. It's a waste whatever age, but when it is so young like that, it really gets to me. Yes i know you grow up a lot in the first couple of years of army service, but you still know so little of life. It annoys me beyond words that lads like this will never see what else is out there.

I remember teaching troops in N.Ireland back in the early 90's, and one thing i'll never forget was the eagerness of the young ones to experience their first contact. For some it was like they were finally getting a chance to see their fave movies and computer games come to life.

I had to say to a few of them that you're not going to realize how rubbish it is until you see your mate lying next to you.

This isn't a thread to discuss the age of soldiers, or whether they should be there or not, thats been done to death here already. I think i just get fed up of seeing it all the time, and the memories it brings back every time it happens.

In an ideal world, we'd just pack up and go home eh?



Such poignant words in this song...



CX.