Are you celebrating Armed Forces Day this weekend? It was created by Gordon Brown in 2006 to shore up support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet is now downgraded from a public holiday to a celebration of the forces.

Across the county there seems little sign of bunting. Perhaps our heritage of Frontline Kent or Unconquered Invicta extends to Spitfires and Romans, but not today’s forces.

The anniversary of the Dunkirk Little Ships was remembered here in Ramsgate, yet our role in Waterloo passed uneventfully this week in the town that provided many of the troops that defeated Napoleon.

And even last month, the VE Day anniversary was celebrated in Moscow with the first-ever parade of British troops in Red Square.

With Iraq having been fought to a standstill and Afghanistan this week reaching the grim milestone of 300 British soldiers dead, should this Armed Forces Day seem so forgotten?

In east Kent there are discussions to better support our troops on their return home, with free council tax and community benefits.

It’s something the French and Americans take for granted, but each war we seem to face the same problems of disastrous equipment and worse homecoming support.

Perhaps our celebrations should go further and remember the ‘forgotten war’ of Korea in 1950-53 – the first United Nations war. Or the ‘forgotten army’ in Burma during World War Two.

Last year, I wrote of the dangers of rogue nations after North Korea’s missile over Japan and reopening of nuclear reactor test sites.

Two months ago, we saw the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan with 46 deaths.

And the UN confirms reports of Burma’s military planning to develop nuclear weapons with North Korean technology and export it to other rogue nations, such as the Congo.

And all the while buying fighter jets from China to continue its civil war.

With British war graves stretching from Mandalay to Seoul, perhaps today is a day to reflect on the cost of appeasement.

The recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan show the threat to Kent comes from failing to develop aid and democracy in such nations.

The roll call of asylum seekers is the failed nations of the world: Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Congo and Colombia. What we do there rebounds here, yet nine years into Afghanistan we’ve failed to create basic schools, roads and hospitals to reverse what is described as a “broken 13th century society” – even with full support from all the major powers.

We seem to have concentrated on exacerbating a civil war rather than supporting military action with development aid.

In Asia, Cyclone Nargis was a missed opportunity to establish what the UN refers to as the Right to Protect and intervene in a nation against a failed government.

Presumably the Chinese and Russians now regret their support of North Korea, with its nuclear missiles within reach of Japan, Taiwan, Beijing, Vladivostock and US troops in South Korea.

If the price of democracy is eternal vigilance, there may be a few things worth considering closer to home: not just better equipment and support of our returning troops.

Why weren’t Kent’s farmers consulted on providing alternative crops and techniques for Afghanistan to stem the heroin trade?

Kent County Council could implement the UN ethical guidelines on investments.

And the 21st century surely requires adopting and adapting the UN Millennium goals with climate change and new society – and even leading the way in establishing the ‘House of Commons’ democratic assembly within the UN – as already voted by the EU and UN itself.

This Armed Forces Day might be a damp squib in Kent, but we should be grateful there have been only two mushroom clouds in Asia to establish the armistice of the last 60 years.

As for the future, there’s more we can do to ensure most of our troops are here and not over there.

• Tim Garbutt is managing director of Sincerity Agency, the green and ethical advertising agency in east Kent.