What good is an army that appears to be embarrassed and ashamed of its own existence?

Every public organisation tells us that it must “look more like the country it serves”. This week these words were used to justify Theresa May’s reshuffle. They are also the thought behind the Army’s latest “refreshing” of its recruitment campaign – a series of computer-generated films, aimed at (separately) gay people, women, Muslims and people who want to be free to cry if they join up…

In these current Army recruitment campaigns, two things are almost completely missing. One is what the Army is for. The other is why a suitable person would want to join it. At best, the ads help to reduce negatives. At worst, they accidentally reinforce them by harping on them, or raise false expectations (I bet, for example, that it is not always all right to cry in the Army).

The purpose of the Army is to defend Queen and country, and, where necessary, fight and kill their enemies. In the “What We Stand For” section of the Army’s official website, “courage”, “loyalty” and “professional behaviour” are rightly mentioned, but fighting, killing, the Queen and Britain are not. Even the words “defend” or “defence” do not appear. Except for a phrase about being a “disciplined force”, the mission statement could apply just as well to schoolteachers.