Saluting outstanding acts of bravery

FEW moments in armed conflicts are as poignant as the recognition of outstanding bravery.

Yesterday brought a series of them as 20 soldiers from the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland were honoured for their bravery during Operation Panther's Claw, one of the biggest pushes against the Taleban. This was an encounter of particular danger, with soldiers in the rugged inhospitable terrain of Afghanistan fighting a largely invisible enemy, its presence often known only by the planting of lethal hidden explosive devices. In the face of these horrific dangers, our soldiers have distinguished themselves with outstanding acts of selflessness and bravery.

Yesterday, Amanda Binnie, the widow of Acting Sergeant Sean Binnie, told movingly of her pride at his bravery. He died while storming an enemy position to save the lives of two Afghan soldiers pinned down by enemy fire following an ambush. In doing so, he also saved a woman and her children who were caught in the gunfire. These fearless actions led to the posthumous award of a Mention in Dispatches, one of the military's highest and oldest forms of recognition for gallantry.

Sgt Binnie was one of 20 soldiers honoured for their bravery in that operation at a ceremony at Fort George, their base near Inverness. Seldom have so many soldiers been cited for bravery in a single ceremony. They set the highest example, not only to their comrades in the army, but to all of us.