The UAE Ministry of Defence’s announcement on Tuesday was a solemn one in which it revealed “the martyrdom of two members of the Armed Forces following a helicopter crash due to a technical malfunction while performing their national duty in the country today”.
So far since the start of the conflict, more than 230 Iranian ballistic missiles and nearly 1,400 drones have been intercepted and destroyed by the UAE. Eight cruise missiles have also been shot down. And yet, despite several regrettable deaths and injuries caused by these attacks – mostly among civilians – citizens and residents continue to live in relative safety. In between alerts from the authorities, life goes on.
This is largely thanks to the men and women of the UAE Armed Forces, as well as the security services, who risk their lives to bring down the ordinance launched at the Emirates in this war of aggression. Although these attacks are unnerving and distressing, many people will have been reassured by the words of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed who told all those in the country that they will be protected and by the role of all those on the front line keeping the Emirates safe.
Despite the military’s success in protecting the country, those mounting this defence understand full well that war is a difficult business and accept the risks. Nevertheless, for a close-knit society such as the UAE’s, the martyrdom of any number of service personnel has a considerable impact. The UAE has tasted this bitterness before, having lost young soldiers on active service in Yemen. Indeed, such sacrifices and resilience have been part of the country’s journey; Iran’s invasion of Greater Tunb in 1971 led to the martyrdom of a young police officer called Salem Suhail Al Dahmani, killed in the defence of his homeland as the leaders of the emirates were preparing to unite as the UAE.
His sacrifice, and those of personnel from across the seven emirates since, is remembered annually on Commemoration Day, a holiday established by the late President Sheikh Khalifa in 2015. The year before, the UAE introduced national service, a programme that has connected wider Emirati society more deeply to its armed forces. Such a connection will make this week’s events a keenly felt loss.
And yet, the work continues. Many soldiers do not have the time to scrutinise the geopolitics of the conflicts in which they are called to serve – they answer the call of duty. Over the past two weeks, the men and women of the UAE military have done just that, responding admirably to this unwanted and unwarranted war. The country owes them and their families a great deal.
