The BBC continues to do its bit for the war effort in Afghanistan .

On the day when Colonel Bob Seddon, of the Royal Logistic Corps, the unit responsible for defusing bombs, resigns BBC1 screens a programme by the widow of a bomb disposal specialist.

That’s one of those highly improbable coincidences life occasionally throws up.

Seddon, reasonably enough, is concerned that the British Army is coming under pressure to shorten the six year training period for bomb disposal experts. Most people would have second thoughts about doing the job after twenty years’ training. Psychologists describe this group as “sensible”.

British operations in Afghanistan are hindered by a shortage of appropriately skilled individuals willing to walk up to locally produced, booby trapped explosive devices. Looking at the problem laterally one possible solution might be not to go wandering round in a country where the locals are leaving lots of improvised explosive devices with the express hope that you’ll trip over one. This could be better in the long term than the Ministry of Defence’s offer of £50 000 to do an extra tour of duty, a sort of Taliban roulette.

If the pre-publicity for Panorama is taken at face value the programme is propaganda rather than investigative journalism. It is fronted by the bereaved wife of Staff Sgt Oz Schmid and puts the case that “the Army is failing in its duty of care to this tiny elite band of soldiers who are at the very forefront of the war in Afghanistan”. Just to hammer home the point that the  makers are in no way neutral the full title is “Panorama: A Very British Hero”.

Whether or not it’s possible to make a career in defusing bombs completely risk free is something of an open question. Mrs Schmid says that her late husband found the pace in Afghanistan "physically and mentally relentless" and Seddon says that some may “pay a deeper psychological price for the work that they’ve conducted."

These things are no doubt true. However in this case the journalists are allowing themselves to be used as boosters for the narrative of the civilising role of the British Army in Afghanistan. By doing that they are making certain that Mrs Schmid will not be the last grieving relative in this conflict.