SRENNAPS, I think you misunderstand. I'm happy to do public duties so that the old and bold can meet the current generation, and I'd have loved to have been somewhere more public yesterday. Of course we already did public events long before this armed forces day idea, for example I'm on duty every remembrance day (which I'm proud and very happy to do), and I'm also working at countless other days when the public are around in numbers... RIAT, other air shows, public events in London. I'm far from unique in that respect, lots of us get involved in such events. On some of those occasions we actually volunteer!
What I object to was that this was the previous Government's idea for US, for the armed forces, supposedly so that the public can show their appreciatation, along with my colleagues yesterday I saw none of that, we just worked hard in a very out of the way place on what would otherwise have been a much needed day off.
I wonder how many other servicemen and women were working yesterday, not necessarily meeting the public, but facilitating the whole day for them. I met just over 20 such servicemen and women yesterday, none of whom met a member of the public.
Hopefully I've made my point clearer this time.