Heroes who remain unsung

On December 8, personnel from the Armed Forces of Malta’s C Special Duties Company and the Maritime Squadron who participated in the second Vessel Protection Detachment as part of the EU mission Atalanta in the Indian Ocean were awarded the Dutch Commemorative Medal Peace Operations and the EU Atalanta Operation Medal.

Their participation was highly praised by Brigadier Martin Xuereb who finished his speech with these words: “In front of me today I have a group of officers and men who unsolicited and enthusiastically have taken heed of these words and have walked the talk or, in this case should I say, sailed the talk”.

Similar praise came from then Parliamentary Secretary Chris Said who described the awarding of the medals as an honour not only for these men or for the AFM but for the entire country.

At present, AFM personnel are deployed on EU operations in the UK, Uganda, Georgia and Greece. In the past, other operations were carried out in Kosovo and also in Lebanon.

I find it rather ironic that while these men were awarded medals by the Dutch government and the EU, no honours were forthcoming from the Maltese side! If the Maltese government really appreciates their service abroad it should immediately rectify this situation. If anything it would encourage others to participate in such operations.

I also believe that this rather awkward matter should be settled sooner rather than later as it is placing the AFM in an embarrassing situation in such ceremonies.