One of the greatest privileges of being your Member of Parliament is getting the opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of brave veterans who served our country.
It is always an honour to place a tribute in the Constituency Garden of Remembrance outside the UK Houses of Parliament to mark the lives of those across the Scottish Borders who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
I also feel very lucky to be able to play a small part in local Remembrance Day services. This year, I joined the memorial march in Coldstream and laid a wreath on behalf of the UK Government in Birgham.
People in the Borders always attend these events in huge numbers, which is really great to see.
We owe our thanks and gratitude to all those brave veterans who served bravely and gave their lives for our country. Armed Forces veterans fought and sacrificed their lives to protect our way of life. They gave their tomorrow for our today. As the words of the poem go, we will remember them.
Remembrance Day is an annual reminder of the sacrifice that veterans made for our country. But I'm proud to pay tribute to selfless service men and women all year round.
I recently had the privilege to join two veterans from the Borders, former Royal Military Police Officers David and Fiona Deacon from Selkirk, as they attended a prestigious reception to honour veterans at Number 10 Downing Street.
I've also been delighted to visit great local organisations supporting veterans as they transition to civilian life, for instance the First Light Trust in Hawick and Royal British Legion branches across the Borders.
I am also always more than happy to support our local Champion for Armed Forces and Veterans, Councillor John Greenwell, with the great work that he does.
On a national level, last year I was happy to see the UK Government publish its new Veterans' Strategy Action Plan, which helps men and women of the Armed Forces to thrive after leaving service.
It's also welcome to see the UK and Scottish Governments working together constructively to help former Armed Forces personnel, since a number of elements of support for veterans are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, such as healthcare.
If you are a veteran struggling to access any support services, please don't hesitate to contact my office. We will do whatever we can to help.
