Homecoming parade

Soldiers from Glencorse Barracks will be marching through Penicuik tomorrow (Wednesday May 4).

They will make their way along the main road from Eastfield Drive to Penicuik Town Hall where Prince Andrew will take the salute.

The soldiers, just back from a six month tour of Afghanistan, set off at 12.30pm.

Whilst I'm glad that the soldiers all got back, I can't help but wonder why there is always so much hype when they return (or go away for that matter). It's dangerous and they put they're own lives on the line, but then so do the workers of emergency services and we don't see them parading down the street or getting medals everytime they survive making a rescue from a burning building - it's called the job they signed up to do...

I don't think so, musicman.
None of the emergency service workers are required to put their lives on the line in the way that the military are.
There is a world of difference between someone whose job is to defend his/her country (and I don't just mean this country) and who has trained in the full knowledge that he/she may be called on to go into harm's way on our behalf and police officers whose chances of ending up dead are remote. Even firemen, whose casuality rate has — admittedly — risen in recent years are only likely to be killed at the rate of 1 per 30,000-building fires.
Hardly equates with the threat to the armed services in battle conditrions, I wouldn't have thought.

If you feel that way, musicman, that's fine - you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, of course. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with a community showing its appreciation of their efforts and welcoming them back in such a manner. As pitsgate says, I'm sure those lining the streets yesterday for the homecoming parade do appreciate the efforts and sacrifices made by our emergency services too, but it's not really comparable to putting your life on the line day in, day out in Afghanistan.