Lt-Col Ash Jeyes brought his colleagues from the 16th Signals Regiment and Lt-Col Andy Carre paraded with the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment.
Mr Jeyes left the island at 19 to go to Sandhurst in 2004.
Mr Carre also joined up at 19, and served with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment for 14 years until he left the forces in 2006.
He then returned to the island as a civilian in 2013, before signing up for the reserves in 2018 and got more and more involved until he was selected for promotion and command.
‘I don’t have family who have been in the military, it was just one of those things from young age, I was wanting to join,’ said Mr Carre.
‘I was a bit naive I suppose, you assume you’re able to join, and then, as we both did, you went through a top selection process to get selected to go through the commission process, and then actually go through your career, which then has its own challenges as well.’
Mr Jeyes said that when he joined up, he too was rather naive, even though his dad had served in the military. When he left Guernsey it was his first time living alone at the Royal Military Academy and off-island.
Neither man attended university, which is something they said may have changed since they signed up. ‘I didn’t think about joining the army for a long time, and all of a sudden, there was a moment when I was about 16 or 17, I was thinking, what do I really want to do?’ said Mr Jeyes.
‘I wanted to work in a technical field, but I really love being outside and the physical aspects of the army, and it kind of came together.
‘Coming back here as a local, I think my upbringing in the island and island life has shaped me and has helped me to be successful.
‘We’ve seen it today, a sense of duty and public service that’s very at the centre of island life and really brought out through Liberation Day. That plays really well in being an army officer.’
The army was named number 1 of the top 100 apprenticeships in the UK, and both military men said that it was definitely worth young islanders considering a career in the army.
The Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment was in the island for a second Liberation Day, thanks to Mr Carre’s local ties.
‘I took over command six months before we came over last year, with a bit of flexibility to do what I want, and so I brought some troops over last year. Afterwards, they said it was the best thing they had done,’ he said.
‘Liberation is unique and very special, and for the troops to be able to be part of that specialness, it’s fantastic.
‘They’re all singing about it now, and they’ll all be singing about it afterwards.’
He said that a lot of the reservist soldiers who visited last May took time off work last week to come back again.