I’M NOT HERE TO JUDGE
They did what they were trained to do, without question or fuss
And the last thing they expected, was to be thrown under the bus
They may have made decisions, with no official charter
But the right to trial by jury, goes back to the Magna Carta
Struggling through the fog of war, the lines were never clear
And things that looked apparent, were not as they appear
For it seems the old adage, today still holds true
The innocents are punished, for the actions of a few
Ribbons worn with honour, by those we all could trust
Are now discarded memories, fading in the dust
With so many deployments, since the days of Desert Storm
They became blinded by reality, as surreal became the norm
Through the “killing fields” of Uruzgan, they made their deadly roam
A hostile land and people, eleven thousand klicks from home
With the spirit of their fathers, courage they did not lack
No stranger to the danger, as long as someone had your back
All those tormented souls, who stood so proudly tall
When they were pushed to the edge, no one knew how far they’d fall
The Last Post was sounded, to make a final salute
But when they found their haven, the nightmares followed suit
The one thing the service taught me, while jumping through its hoops
There’s one law for the hierarchy, and another for the troops
One principal I live by, on which I will not budge
A fair go for everyone, because I’m not here to judge
Tomas ‘Paddy’ Hamilton
7 March 2021
FILE PHOTO (October 2010): A Special Operations Task Group soldier turns on his Peltor active hearing protection before boarding a helicopter in Afghanistan. Photo by Corporal Chris Moore.
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