For those of you that don’t know, I spent six months in the Falkland Islands this month as the media ops officer for the military contingent that has been down there ever since 1982 and the defeat of the Argentine Forces that had invaded and occupied British sovereign territory. Without delving into too much history and dwelling on the past inordinately, 256 British soldiers, sailors and airmen were killed in the conflict, which lasted only a short two months. Since the cessation of hostilities on the 14 June 1982, over 300 FURTHER British personnel that served in the conflict have taken their own lives, have committed suicide.

It struck me during those six months I was out there, that whilst the stories and feats of extraordinary luck and courage that the Falklands war produced were often amazing and often breath-taking, the short duration of the war meant that relatively few people were exposed to the horrors that must have faced them. The next logical step was to then look at what the British military, and in particularly the Army, are undertaking in today's world in terms of operations. Consider that in Iraq and Afghanistan we have had military presence on the ground for over 5 years; the Falklands conflict was 2 months.

Now I’m not a betting man (much!) and I’m no purveyor of statistics, but I would guess that the psychological impact that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will have taken on the men and women of the British Forces will be considerably greater, not only numerically but also in severity, than anything we have in the modern age at least, witnessed before amongst our own fighting troops.

It’s hard in today’s world to find a charity that means something. It seems that everyone is asking for money the whole time. It seems that there is a charity for every sort of affliction under the sun. It seems that the government is wallowing under the tide of misery and illness that seems to have beset our population. It seems that our health system and our ability to cater for the homeless, the abused and the ill is failing and no one can do anything about it.

Well, for me, standing in the snow, and bitterly cold wind that was snapping at my combats on the top of Mount Longdon, looking at the huge stainless steel cross erected in memory of the paras that died on the slopes of that hill, as the sun shot brilliant shards of purple, red and orange light at me from behind another hilltop as it died its daily death, I found my cause.

There are all sorts of military charities, doing all sorts of wonderfully admirable things, but Combat Stress is the ONLY charity that supports British ex-servicemen and women who have been profoundly mentally traumatised by harrowing experiences on active duty. It deals with people who have mental problems as a result of the conflicts that they have served in. It looks after those boys and girls that, but for the grace of God, could have been you. It looks afters those who are appear physically well, but can’t sleep for the nightmares, that can’t work for the flashbacks, that can’t trust or love. These are the people who have fought for you that you can go to work everyday, or the pub, or cinema.

Whatever your stance on the politics or legality of the wars, and however and wherever you choose to put your hard earned cash, please remember that this is our generation and the wars that will define it in our history, and the boys and girls fighting are our age and our peers. They are fighting on yours and my behalf; lets not turn a blind eye to your hard-earned liberty, and have it recorded in the history books as such.

Please, please, please sponsor me to my own personal Everest by clicking on the link and donating some cash to my epic endeavours, and in the process help to look after those boys and girls that helped to look after you, without you even knowing that they were.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: COMBAT STRESS will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support.