Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Cullen, the commanding officer of the Royal Irish Regiment's 2nd Battalion said that there will be a series of Ulster parades for the troops, as has been the case across the rest of the UK, and something the News Letter has been campaigning for.

He did not give details of whether the event would be in the capital, Belfast, which is where the News Letter has said a homecoming parade should be held.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster's Stephen Nolan Show, Lt Col Cullen said: "There will be a homecoming parade for our soldiers.

"They will march with their heads held high and they have every right to do so."

"There are plans for parades right across Northern Ireland and if they come off, as I suspect they will do, there will be a great opportunity for the public to go out on the streets and applaud their local soldiers.

"We all have to be realistic about this and Northern Ireland has come through a particularly difficult time in recent years and it will take time to heal wounds.

"All I am saying is that the individuals — forget about the politics — the individuals who have shown professionalism deserve to be respected for that."

Martin McDowell, whose son, Kyle, was injured in Afghanistan last week, said he was saddened that some people in Northern Ireland couldn't agree to the soldiers being welcomed home publicly when Catholics and Protestants were fighting side-by-side in Afghanistan.

Lt Col Cullen added: "We have soldiers from every part of Ireland — both the north of Ireland and the south of Ireland — and they are showing courage on an extraordinary basis, every single day in Afghanistan and I think that they deserve to have the respect shown to them by being able to march with their heads held high through Belfast.

"I'm not going to go into any details at the moment but any support we get for having parades and getting people to go to the parades to show their gratitude, is much appreciated.

"There is planning going on — it's not just vague planning; it's an awful lot of planning and at some stage in the future a date will be announced and details will be given out."

Many callers to the programme expressed strong support for a Belfast homecoming parade.

And one listener who contacted the programme, Darren, said he was "absolutely disgusted" at those who objected to the soldiers being publicly recognised.

"I have a lot of friends out there in the 1st and 2nd battalions and I think and pray every day for them," he said.

"What really annoys me is that there are people in this community who can't wait to slate out boys — every time all they want to do is poke fingers at them.

"It's just blind bigotry — that's all it is. They are out there trying to help people and you've got lunatics here who at every opportunity just want to have a pop at them."

Another caller, Margaret, said that her brother and four nephews are with the Army in Afghanistan,

"They're serving alongside Roman Catholics and out there religion doesn't come into it," she said.

"They deserve to be able to walk through Belfast or any other city with their heads held high.

"Families sit every day worrying, waiting for phone calls — these boys deserve this whole country to stand up and be behind them."

The News Letter campaign has received widespread support and an Early Day Motion has been placed in the House of Commons by First Minister Peter Robinson calling calls for Ulster servicemen and woman to receive the same welcome home as their counterparts in other parts of the UK.

Members of the public have also been pledging their support through an online petition on the News Letter website.

SIGN THE NEWS LETTER PETITION BY CLICKING HERE

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