Bruce Anderson: Peace-keeping in Macedonia is the right job for the Army

'Brigadier White-Spunner is the luckiest man in the British Army, for he has the most interesting command'

For a second, Brigadier Barney White-Spunner looked disconcerted as a wave of singing poured through his window. All was well, however. He realised that the briefing was not being interrupted by some belated English football celebrations. It was merely a church parade, and they were singing "To Be A Pilgrim". The British Army had only just arrived in Petrovac, near Skopje, but the rhythms of garrison life were already imposing themselves on the Macedonian countryside.

The Brigadier and his men have come to Macedonia to help in the implementation of a fragile cease-fire. Earlier this year, it seemed as if Macedonia was sliding into an ethnic civil war. In the mountains to the west, a heavily armed Albanian Muslim minority had risen in rebellion against the central government. Over the years, many guerrilla forces have tried to dignify their cause by calling themselves a liberation army. But the National Liberation Army (NLA) of the Macedonian Albanians was worthier of the name than most. In discipline and martial spirit, it was at least the equal of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM).

So there could have been a brutal conflict, which would have ruined this little country. At present, Macedonia has a functioning economy and cultural monuments. It is an aspirant member of both Nato and the EU. After a couple of years of warfare between the NLA and ARM, it would have become a blasted, bloody ruin: a Balkan Chechnya.

Confronted with such a prospect, both sides drew back and a peace deal was negotiated. The Macedonian government agreed to a new constitution – though it has still to be rectified by parliament – which guarantees full civil rights for Macedonia's Albanians. In return, the NLA agreed to hand over its heavy weaponry. Both sides then asked Nato to police the first phase of peace. Nato concurred, and 15 nations provided troops for Operation Essential Harvest. But four-sevenths of the entire force came from Britain, which also supplied the commander, Barney White-Spunner.

Brigadier White-Spunner is the luckiest man in the British Army, for he has the most interesting fighting command: the 16th Air Attack Brigade. As its name suggests, this is a strike brigade. In any conflict, it will be in the thick of the action. It has the capability and the training to arrive at any front-line rapidly, and to hit hard once it gets there. To lead, animate and inspire such a formation requires the right commander – which is why Brigadier White-Spunner was such a good choice.

A large-scale, humorous, charismatic fellow, he is an expert huntsman who has pursued the fox avidly and written fine prose on the subject. But – as the fox hunting articles reveal – there is also a large-scale intellect. This is a man who has devoted 25 years' hard thought to the profession of arms, winning the admiration of some formidable judges in the process.

A few years ago, Barney White-Spunner was military assistant to the then Chief of the Defence Staff, Field Marshall Peter Inge. That is a post reserved for the brightest youngsters on the fastest track upwards, for it gives them a fly on the wall experience of the demands, stresses and glories of the highest command. Those who worked for Peter Inge paid for the experience, for there have been few more implacable bosses in the post-war British Army. Barney White-Spunner passed the Inge test, which led some observers to wonder whether he himself might be a future CDS.

But the Brigadier could do nothing without his men. Though this is a multi-national force, its ethos is British. In assessing the various foreign detachments, our junior officers and NCOs employ one simple criterion: are they good enough to serve alongside the British? Thus far, we have been pleasantly surprised.

I heard nothing but praise for the Czechs, the Germans – and above all, for the French Foreign Legion. La Légionne has been working particularly close with the British. Recently, it issued its first ever operations order in English. Members of the second parachute battalion found themselves under Legion command for a few hours last week; there was no friction. Those two exceedingly tough sets of men found no problem in working in harmony and in mutual respect.

Two para forms the bedrock of Operation Essential Harvest. Naturally enough, the men have christened their headquarters Arnhem, named after that doomed, notorious assault in 1944. Arnhem consists of two disused factories: a former jam factory and a former peanut factory. The paras immediately christened them the fruit farm and the nut house. "Could this be a factory too far?" enquired Corporal Paul Ingram, a 20-year veteran of 2 para who might be the second most considerable military philosopher in this theatre of operations, after the Brigadier himself.

I had asked a para officer which of his men I should talk to. He suggested Cpl Ingram, but added that he would probably refuse to speak to the press. Even so, I succeeded in attracting his attention. It turned out that he had served under H Jones, VC, at Goose Green. But he was reluctant to admit that this was anything exceptional, though he was worried about the state of the contemporary army.

Cpl Ingram had joined the paras from a hard background, no education and little prospect of a job. In an age of full employment, he wondered whether the regiment would still be able to acquire tough enough recruits. "The Army must remain different from the rest of society. If the day ever comes when we are just another part of a general social mish-mash, we will be unable to do our job."

I suggested to the Corporal that his worries might prove unfounded; that in every generation, British soldiers have been lamenting the poor qualities of their successors, who have no idea what hard training really involves.

"The paras have given you an education,'' said I. "They can surely toughen up a new generation.'' Cpl Ingram was unconvinced, but I suspect that he is mistaken. I could see nothing wrong with the young soldiers tucking into a lunch of chips, baked beans, hamburgers, a wedge of bread and an apple. Fit and enthusiastic, they were both thoughtful and well informed about their Macedonian mission, and were ready for any eventuality. No wonder Brigadier Barney had seemed so confident.

The first line of the John Bunyan hymn that they were singing at church parade is "He Who Would True Valour See.'' It is an appropriate text. Anyone who wants to see true, modern, technologically sophisticated valour should come to Macedonia and watch the British Army in action; soldiers who are keeping the peace and using their military skills to save lives.

Operation Essential Harvest may or may not work; there are formidable obstacles in its path. But after a day watching Brigadier White-Spunner's men in action, I decided to set aside geo-political calculations and just feel proud of being British.