Yes, it makes you realise that all our service personnel are carrying a much higher degree of risk than we normal folk would consider acceptable.
They all have my thanks and respect.
We all like to romanticise it Hamwich, but life in the forces, particularly navy and air force is in fact safer than civvy life. To quote from the offician figures " Overall, in 2015, the UK Regular Armed Forces were at a statistically significant lower risk of dying compared to the UK general population."
Some fairly ordinary occupations - truck driver for example - lead to shorter lives. And are more vital to us - try living without food!
So reality is its an interesting and exciting life for a young man with no extra risk at all. And just imagine the fun of driving a Typhoon. Got to be up there with a le Mans car. Wish my father hadnt talked me out of Dartmouth.
