Our brave military men and women are in 44 countries from the Middle East to the Falklands, forced to spend Christmas away from their families this year
Some 10,000 British troops will spend Christmas away from their families this year – including the 130-strong crew of a nuclear sub.
The Vanguard submarine armed with 16 Trident missiles will be stalking underwater somewhere in the world.
Elsewhere our brave military men and women are in 44 countries from the Middle East to the Falklands.
Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard said: “They are supporting 60 different operations or serving on one of 21 Royal Navy vessels.”
Nearly a thousand soldiers are in the Baltic states where they were visited by Defence Secretary John Healey in Estonia last week.
Another 140 are in Poland ready to fight Russia if the Ukraine war spreads while others are transporting equipment to Ukraine.
And since the 1982 Falklands War, troops have remained on guard. Around 1,000 RAF, Army and Navy personnel are on the islands. They include the Gurkhas, four RAF Typhoon jets and patrol vessel HMS Forth.
Also in the southern hemisphere, icebreaker HMS Protector is researching the impact of global warming and tourism on the Antarctic. A total of 21 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels are either at sea or on five days’ notice.
Guarding our other remaining overseas territories, HMS Cutlass and Dagger is off Gibraltar while patrol ship HMS Medway is in the Caribbean.
In the Middle East, frigate HMS Lancaster and three minehunters protect shipping.
In Cyprus, RAF teams and troops are on standby to assist our allies. Last year Typhoons attacked Houthi targets in Yemen while Royal Navy destroyers shot down missiles and drones in the Red Sea.
Further east, HMS Spey is in Singapore and HMS Tamar in Australia.
And many of our personnel will be keeping the UK safe, including staff and aviators based at RAF Boulmer, Northumberland, and NATS Swanwick, Southampton, and Typhoon bases RAF Coningsby, Lincs, and Lossiemouth, Scotland.
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