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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