/rant on
Being the son of a life serving RAF pilot I have to agree about the commimtment, focus and sheer determination of the people involved in both vocations.
My father flew helicopters and was posted to Belfast twice during times I could remember as a child. I cannot say it was pleasant. The people were pleasant and none of them wanted to be in the middle of a poor situation. The forces had no axe to grind with either side on a personal or professional level however the situation became ignorant and ugly, probably causing the escalation that led to so many deaths. He hated each and every day and said they had no place in that problem. For every soldier there are usually 4 or 5 others suffering mental torture waiting for them to come home, or something else. I say that without meaning to neglect the people who live under the conditions imposed on them by the situation.
I believe the lions and donkeys model is now different. I know people attending officer training and I would employ them happily. They have to be smart in many ways for the new military. The question is who gives them orders, and in turn who gives them orders. Politics cannot understand Force, it is oil and water.
I work a lot with the NHS and am proud of the fact there are still people involved who have a real drive to do something good. We go out of our way to enable them and wreck our profit on most of the deals in order to contribute to a service often milked by vendors. Paul Duffy of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (the largest trust in all of the UK and NI) is one of the most pro-active IT directors I have ever worked with. They have won 6 awards in the last two years for the project and have shown private sector hospitals the way it should be done. Yet we don't hear about this.
When did the press stop promoting good examples, reporting on leadership that works and creating an environment that people entering the workplace really aspire to. Instead I watch the new generation becoming more apathetic by the day.
Good news is out there and it is only in our own personal actions that we can make a change to the situation. I think we should have an open season on politicians rather like game but then I have a biased opinion
/damn my soapbox appears to have collapsed.
/rant off
