Editorial: General was a leader in an army that helped to prevent civil war in Northern Ireland

There are a number of telling elements to our story on page eight about the death of General Sir Mike Jackson.

The ex head of the British Army was hailed by the Home Office minister Dan Jarvis, who served with Sir Mike and described him as an “outstanding, inspirational and charismatic leader”, and a “true airborne legend”.

That is quite a tribute from a Labour minister. While Labour governments, particularly since Tony Blair, have been keen to emphasise their strong credentials on defence, the party is more likely to allow criticism of the forces when it comes to their service in Northern Ireland.

Mr Jarvis’s remarks chime with other glowing tributes. The army, while much reduced in size, is still one of the UK’s ​most admired institutions. Its leaders are usually officers of the highest calibre: smart, dedicated, wise, brave, thoughtful.

The thoughtful side to Sir Mike is another telling aspect to our report: He is right to hail Operation Banner, which helped prevent civil war in Northern Ireland. He is also right to say that force will not defeat paramilitaries.

The leaders of the UK understood this perhaps from the moment troops were despatched to Ulster in the 1960s, and certainly by the early 70s. Sir Mike had a role in the Parachute Regiment at the time of the Ballymurphy killings in 1971, amid the chaos created by the IRA. He had a senior role at the time of the tragic and very wrong killings in Bloody Sunday.

Critics of the army dismiss his record on account of that. Yet the Army rarely got big things wrong in the Troubles. Politicians and military leaders understood that the situation would escalate if they were not restrained. That is a reason why more than half of the killings by soldiers happened pre 1975, in the turbulent first six years of a terror campaign that lasted 30. Overall, this province is fortunate that such a well-led military helped keep the peace.