Remembrance

[K K Rossokolski]

Earlier today I had a very pleasant 2 1/2 hours drive down (and back)to our Naval Air Station, to attend a memorial dedication tied in today with the usual Remembrance Day ceremony. Lovely warm day, parade, usual stuff which the RAN always does without fuss and a "missing man" formation perfectly in synch with the completion of the "Reveille" after the minutes silence. The best part was as always seeing old comrades, old friends, and getting to chat...maybe exaggerating a tiny bit.... with some of the wonderful young people who defend our country, and its values, of which more and more seem to me to be vanishing.
I joined, in 1964, a Navy which was in many ways very different fom todays', yet I feel much more at home with these kids than I would with many of my own age.
A lot of "corporate speak" has been imposed on the ADF over the years, much of which has rightly disappeared, but some I do like...in particular the RANs' formal values...
COURAGE, HONOUR, HONESTY, INTEGRITY, LOYALTY.
That to me is not a bad basis for a decent life.