My late husband was a British officer. You never met a tougher wee jock bastard. He did two tours in Basrah, and then went off to Afghanistan. Before that he was in other places, always where there was fighting, and had the scars to show for it.
When his men ran half-marathons in the desert heat, he ran with them... AND HE FINISHED. He wasn't the last one over the finish line either. He went through the forces' toughest training. (From this you may be able to guess what his regiment was.)
He missed every important occasion in our lives, from the kids' graduations, to Christmases, to anniversaries. The only reason he was at our wedding was because he had to be.
I would trade a decade of my life if it meant that I could spend one more year with him. He was the best of men, and we are proud of him. He was proud of the forces.
I’m sorry I never had the opportunity to meet him. Sadly, I have yet to meet a British officer of your husbands type. I hope that’s just due to bad timing and pure coincidence.
You said he was proud of the forces. He had every right to be! They are tough professional fantastic soldiers. I wish that every British and American officer was of the caliber (calibre for you?) that you state he was. Unfortunately PC has corrupted every nook and cranny of even the most stalwart conservative organizations in both our nations.
thank you