I can understand the post and recognise it as a genuinely supportive stance. The problem is that the majority of the British public feel detatched from our service folk. Quite the opposite to Israel where everybody knows a serving soldier or a reservist. Or for that matter is a reservist! There are a number of reasons as I see it.... The armed forces are much smaller in numbers. They are all away fighting in distant lands fighting wars which do not have widespread support. The media is all powerful and generates too many distractions. An example: My 23 year old son came home last night and remarked (With considerable annoyance and indignation)" We've lost 14 poor sods in a Nimrod yesterday, another squaddie today and the Canadians lost a lad to (un)friendly fire but all I've heard on the radio all day is people talking about this bloke who got stung by a fish!" This from a civvie whos only time in uniform was as an ATC cadet, but it was enough to engender that link and sense of kinship with our servicemen and women. Unfortunately that is the exception. You did a good job in the cold war, perhaps too good. People do not recognise the link between our lack of war at home with having efficient armed forces who are prepared to do the job. I think the biggest danger is that the majority of people will come to see you as the people who go and fight overseas and have no real purpose as part of UK society.
The banter was as good as ever, but I think that this Cymru chap has a point. Message ends.