"You do make a difference": First Sea Lord’s message to deployed personnel this Remembrance

The First Sea Lord has thanked Armed Forces personnel deployed around the world for their sacrifices on this Remembrance Sunday.

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins spoke to BFBS Forces News ahead of the Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, which will see the King lay a wreath and lead the two-minute silence to commemorate those killed in service of our nation.

“We've got 6,500 personnel from the Armed Forces deployed around the world today,” Gen Sir Gwyn told BFBS Forces News’ Sian Grzeszczyk Melbourne.

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"My message is really for all of them.

"It is that you do make a difference. You do help protect the nation. And what you do is vital to all of us.

"So thank you for your contribution. Thank you for the sacrifices you make to deliver every day for our kingdom."

More than 860 service personnel from the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines are on parade at Whitehall today, where the service chiefs will later lay wreaths at the Cenotaph as part of the National Service of Remembrance.

Gen Sir Gwyn also reflected on the dual meaning of Remembrance as both an individual and collective act.

"This is a moment of reflection. This is where I remember all the mates who are no longer with me, who served in particular in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families who we've left behind.

"But it's also an opportunity to remember the good times, and I think that's where the collective piece really comes in.

"It's an opportunity for us to come together and relive old memories, in celebration of this amazing opportunity that is to be in the Armed Forces, to feel this comradeship, to feel this collective sense of endeavour, so it's a day of really mixed emotions if I'm honest.

"On the one sense there is a reliving of a bit of loss, but on another sense there is this pride in being a member of the Armed Forces, of being a member of this exclusive club that we see gathering here today."