Prince Harry Deploys to Afghanistan

[Wookilar]

Been skimming through a number of sites in relation to this. Now many are calling into question the ban agreed to and now the "debate" is beginning to rage across the ether..... just where do so many journalists get off? How dare they compare the worth of "their story" to the worth of a single human life let alone multiple ones? Do they just not get the reality of it?
I'd like to hear from the few upfront resident reporters on here what they think about this.....

ooohhhh look, a Royal is doing his JOB!!!! we have to watch because our lives are so unsatisfying and hollow..... makes me want to puke, especially when they try to wrap it up in freedom of the press crap.

Wook

 

[Yrys]

And he wore a "Wales" name tag going into Sandhurst....

... in case someone doesn't know who he is in his Britain school !

Wookilar,

for some of them, freedom of the press is superieur to the security of their country folks...

 

[the 48th regulator]

Didnt the Riothamus, King of the Brittones, lose?

And thanks to the current Government, he has been denied the chance to redeam himself....

He can always follow in his Uncle's Footsteps

dileas

tess

 

[FascistLibertarian]

The best thing about being white is you can change your last name and even if your Russian or German everyone suddenly assumes your anglo-saxon.  ;D

 

[garb811]

You know you're in trouble as a journalistic entity (if I can use such a term in relation to the Australian errr...publication) when you break a story of this significance and the "real" MSM only feels compelled to break their agreement after a month and a half when it gets picked up by the Drudge report... 

 

[Yrys]

AL-QAEDA bayed for Prince Harry’s blood yesterday.

A message on the terror group’s website said: “Ask God that he be killed by the Mujahideen.”Another described Harry as a valuable trophy of war, saying: “We ask God that the Taliban are successful in hunting this precious booty.” Meanwhile, fanatical cleric Anjem Choudary said Harry would be targeted by extremists and added: “He’s not brave.
“He has acted illegally and brought it on himself.”

BRITISH Muslims yesterday backed Prince Harry’s stint in Afghanistan.

Most arriving for Friday prayers at London’s huge Regent’s Park Mosque supported him. Someone who did not want to be named, said: “He is serving his country, which is my country. That is a good thing.”  A worshipper who gave his name as Mr Ali, 41, added: “I think it’s good that the future King’s son is doing this.”

It's a sad fact of life that we hear more often the first, and not the second ...

 

[tomahawk6]

Harry may actually be safer in Afghanistan.

 

[geo]

Harry wanted to do his service to Queen & Country, like any good soldier would.
Media exposure was always a concern - any kind of exposure created a risk that TB & AQ Kamikaze / IED makers would be gunning for him and the troops that served with him.

Harry was certainly not the first Royal to serve "at the front".....

 

[tomahawk6]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004253009_harrypal01.html

KABUL, Afghanistan — Prince Harry may be third in line to the British throne, but to Lt. Col. Bill Connor, a Columbia, S.C., lawyer, the royal heir was just another second lieutenant.

And that was fine with the prince, said Connor, in Afghanistan with the South Carolina National Guard's 218th Brigade Combat Team.

"I think he liked being around us and being treated like one of the junior officers," Connor said. "He called me Bill and I called him Harry."

Prince Harry arrived in Afghanistan in mid-December, serving with a British Army unit in Helmand Province.

South Carolina National Guard soldiers in Helmand first met the British royal around Christmas.

Harry, a battlefield air controller, called in airstrikes by coalition fighter-bombers to support the South Carolina soldiers when they were on patrols hunting Taliban insurgents.

Connor described the unidentified base, where the South Carolina soldiers and Harry were located, as remote with few amenities. "He sucked it up and we all smelled bad," he said.

Connor's wife, Susan, an Orangeburg, S.C., doctor, said her husband didn't tell her of his brush with royalty until a phone call Friday morning.

"It came as quite a shock," Susan Connor said. "I said, 'Why didn't you tell me?'

"He said, 'Susan, we were sworn to secrecy.' "

News of Harry's deployment to Afghanistan was embargoed under an agreement between the British defense ministry and major news organizations in that country.

British military leaders wanted to keep Harry's whereabouts under wraps to reduce the risk to the prince and his unit.




The embargo was broken after an Australian magazine and a German newspaper published stories saying the prince was in Afghanistan. The story also was posted on the Drudge Report, a U.S. Web site.

Although they were not legally bound, the South Carolina soldiers honored the news blackout, Connor said.

"Each knew he could have made much money with a tabloid yet didn't spill the beans," Connor said. "The Brit soldiers were under threat of court-martial to stay quiet, but our guys were on their own honor."

Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, chief of the Britain's Defense Staff, said Friday Prince Harry would be withdrawn from Afghanistan after news of his deployment was leaked, citing concerns that media coverage could put him and his comrades at increased risk.

Connor, who is chief of police-mentoring teams in Helmand, said he first met Harry on Christmas Eve, shortly after the prince's unit arrived in Afghanistan.

"This is an area that averages three, four firefights a day, so Harry was under as much threat as the rest of us," Connor said. "Helmand is the most dangerous province in the country. This is the heartland of the Taliban, the breadbasket of the poppy trade."

Trained as a tank commander, Prince Harry switched jobs after plans to send him to Iraq were scrapped because of concerns that insurgents there would target him or his unit. He became an air controller so he could deploy to Afghanistan.

Connor's teams, which include about a half-dozen troops each, entered villages to hunt down insurgent forces, relying on Harry to coordinate close-air support from coalition fighter-bomber jets.

Connor said he last talked to the prince a couple of days ago, before the story of his deployment became public.

Connor and his troops had just returned from a 1 ½-week-long operation in the field. Harry and his unit had stayed behind at their base.

"He was envious of us," Connor said. "He seemed to have a very aggressive posture."

 

[Mike Baker]

Prince Harry: My withdrawal is a 'shame'

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Calling his unexpected withdrawal from Afghanistan a "shame," Prince Harry expressed his disappointment Saturday at being sent home after the media's disclosure of his deployment.

I didn't see it coming, obviously it's a shame," the 23-year-old said. " I am so disappointed, I thought I could see it through to the end and come back with our guys and the colonel himself."

He added, "I suppose I think deep down inside it would be quite nice to have a bath ... but, no, I'd like to still be out there with the guys ... I would love to go back out. I want to go out very very soon."

Harry was welcomed home by his father and brother Saturday, a day after he was quickly withdrawn from deployment.

His father -- Prince Charles -- and his brother -- Prince William -- were waiting for Harry at the Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base near Oxford, England.

Prince Harry walked off an RAF transport plane, along with several dozen other British soldiers, at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.

Charles told reporters he was "enormously proud" of Harry and said he now understood what the families and loved ones of soldiers endured when they were serving abroad.  Watch as Harry arrives in UK »

He said: "As you can imagine it's obviously a great relief as far as I'm concerned to see him home in one piece."

The prince had been deployed in Afghanistan since December. Major news outlets had agreed to keep the information secret for security reasons, but a Web site broke the news blackout Thursday.

That prompted the British military to withdraw the prince for security reasons four weeks before the end of his 14-week deployment.

On Saturday, Harry said he was "surprised by the way the British media kept to their side of the bargain and ... I am very grateful to that."

He added, "At the same time it doesn't surprise me that once again it came down to media, foreign media, that's once again spilled the beans."

 

[1feral1]

Too bad the media dobbed him in, as it would have been good to complete his tour and return with his Regiment.

Good on ya Harry!


Wes

 

[klee519]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero. I wonder what did he do overthere.

 

[Mike Baker]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero. I wonder what did he do overthere.

Everything the normal soldier would do......

 

[helpup]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero. I wonder what did he do overthere.

It is a big deal, he is not your average soldier due to his background and there are more pressures on him and on others to protect him and the troops that he was/ will work with.  He could of easily not done the army or quit when he didn't get to go to Iraq.  He didn't and his superiors got him over to Afghan where if this did not get leaked he would be serving still.  It is not his fault that he was in country for such a short time.  Nor his call that he was returned early.  Hell I know of rank and file who return from tour after a shorter period.  I don't fault those individuals but I suspect you would.  As for what he did over there it is readily available on many differant sites including this one.  You might make a argument about privilege's he has but even to that I would say he is a Prince of England and 3rd in line.  So of course he would have some. 

BZ for Prince Harry for doing what he did and I hope he gets another chance to deploy. 

 

[1feral1]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero.

A 10 week vacation eh?

You got alot to learn in life.

Another live wire, another empty profile.

 

[aesop081]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero. I wonder what did he do overthere.

You know, its pretty funny......

For a guy who said :

i was in 96 and out 04, now decide to get back in and start basic all over again.

You managed to ask some really funny questions on this site and now you made an equaly stupid statement. Now, since your profiles says you are 22, say you have been in for 8 years ( ending 4 years ago) why dont you tell us which one of your stories is BS.

 

[Cardstonkid]

I am by no means a "Royalist", and one of the reasons is that these poor folks are born into a class of social slavery, imprisoned by the media and public scrutiny. It's not fair, Prince Harry seems to be a real standout and it is a shame he cannot do what he is trained to do. That being said, Kudos's to him for having the courage to do hard things and to bear such a heavy burden. I hope he can find a chance to serve as he and his government sees fit at a later date.

Although I have little use for the idea of Monarchy I have profound respect to the Queen as the symbolic head of the British Commonwealth for allowing her own family to bare a personal risk for the people they serve. She and her family are a credit to the people they serve.

 

[helpup]

You know, its pretty funny......

For a guy who said :

You managed to ask some really funny questions on this site and now you made an equally stupid statement. Now, since your profiles says you are 22, say you have been in for 8 years ( ending 4 years ago) why dont you tell us which one of your stories is BS.

Cadets maybe or as you say Aviator BS for the stories.  I just looked at his profile and whole lot of nothing there for a man to make comments such as he is making.  But I suppose people are entitled to their opinions.  Wasn't it Mark Twain who opinion-ed " I would rather be silent and thought of as a fool then to speak my mind and remove all doubt."  Or words to those effects.

 

[PMedMoe]

oh so big deal, spent 10 weeks vacation in Afghanistan and came back as a hero. I wonder what did he do overthere.

Have you been there?  If not, I suggest you keep opinions like this to yourself.

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

10 weeks as a  forward air controller  sounds like a dream job, wish everyone could do it...sorry  to see him sent home, too bad for his men and unit they have to get use to a replacement now.
wonder if he ever went to tim hortons over there.