Former soldier and now MP for Hemel Hempstead Mike Penning has been appointed Honorary Colonel of the 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, Army Cadet Force.
His first job was to present operational service medals to soldiers returning to Afghanistan during a homecoming parade.
Mr Penning, also Minister of State for Northern Ireland, said: “It is a great honour to have been appointed to this position and it was a privilege to present campaign medals to our brave soldiers.
“As a former Army Cadet, Grenadier Guardsman and medic in the Royal Army Medical Corps, I am deeply humbled to have been asked to take on the Honorary Colonel role.”