Army chief 'humbled' by bravery

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As members of the 3rd Battalion returned from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Huw Williams, commander of the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, said modern paratroopers were a match for any British soldiers who had gone before them.

He said teenage boys volunteer for service knowing they would be fighting in foreign fields and facing death.

"They are a match for anybody who has gone before them in this regiment," said Lt Col Williams. "The Parachute Regiment has a 60-year history and the soldiers we have got today are as good as any generation. They are as good as the soldiers who fought at Arnhem or in the Falklands."

He added: "They are not angels. These men are an element of society that does a very dangerous job and it is humbling to be with them and in command of them.

"I have never once had to worry about them being scared. I know they are scared sometimes but that never prevents them going forward.

"These are young men of 18 and 19 going into situations where bullets are flying at them but they do not hesitate.

"They go into situations where other people would not go and they do that because they are disciplined and proud of their regiment."

Members of the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, were welcomed back to their base in Colchester, Essex, after the tour of duty.

Some 120 British soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the American government launched a war on terror following the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001.