By Ciaran Woods
IT was the longest military campaign ever undertaken by the British Army, lasting more 38 years and over that time it led to the deployment of almost 300,000 soldiers based in more than 100 locations across the North.
'Operation Banner' was the name the British Army gave to role in supporting the police during the Troubles – and it officially came to an end this week at midnight, Tuesday, July 31, 2007.
In Strabane, the family of Charles Breslin, shot dead with two brothers by the SAS in 1985, described it as something that "should have happened a long time ago", They said the community had been scarred by British army actions.
Joe Breslin, whose brother Charlie was shot dead in 1985, said, "I'm glad to see them going, and it's just not soon enough. It's hundreds of years too late. Thirty-eight years ago they weren't welcome. It's sad that they stayed as long as they did."
The 1985 killings came at a time when tensions were running high in Strabane, with the harassment of young Nationalists a common complaint.
Joe said, "They caused a lot of grief not just to our family but to many families. It was just years of torture and harassment from them. It's not completely away yet, but hopefully some day it will be."
On the Unionist side, a former UDR man, now a DUP MLA, cautiously welcomed the folding up of Operation Banner.
Shot by the IRA during the 1981 Hunger Strike, Allan Bresland felt that the British army should never have been called in.
The Sion Mills man said it's ironic that the very people who initially wanted them, the Nationalist community, couldn't wait to see the back of the British Army.
Operation Banner began as a military support for the RUC and later the PSNI. In a statement to MPs last week, British Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth announced that August 1 would mark the "beginning of a new era" in Northern Ireland, with military levels similar to those in Britain.
Less than 5,000 military personnel now remain in the North, with limited responsibilities to support the PSNI. Mr Ainsworth also said that many military helicopters will stay, but will be mainly used for training and supporting civil authorities.
Tyrone is now a completely demilitarised zone, and not many tears are being shed about that.
