Military History | How To Make War | Wars Around the World Rules of Use How to Behave on an Internet Forum
United Kingdom Discussion Board
   Return to Topic Page
Subject: Prince Harry has been secretly fighting in Afghanistan for 10 weeks, admits MoD
AdamB    2/28/2008 1:00:54 PM
Prince Harry has been secretly fighting in Afghanistan for 10 weeks, admits MoD 28th February 2008 Daily Mail 'This gives me my best chance to be normal' Prince was told by the Queen he would fight 'I would never want to put someone else's life in danger by being a bullet magnet' Harry has been 'a credit to his nation', says general Prince Harry has been fighting the Taliban on the front line in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence confirmed today. The 23-year-old Household Cavalry officer has spent the past 10 weeks secretly serving in war-ravaged Helmand Province and was there over Christmas. He has already directed one bomb attack, dismissed fears that he will be a "bullet magnet", and sworn he does not miss "anything". The deployment had been cloaked in secrecy under a news blackout deal agreed across the UK media to prevent details reaching the Taliban and endangering Harry and his comrades. But the arrangement broke down today after news was leaked out on the US website the Drudge Report. http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_04/princeharry10PA_468x649.jpg The Prince takes aim with a rifle in Afghanistan http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02_04/princeharry1PA_468x371.jpg Prince Harry, pictured here in Afghanistan, has been serving in the war-torn country for ten weeks, the MoD confirmed today Read more... Prince Harry: What am I missing? Nothing really Prince Harry: Send me to Afghanistan or I'll quit Army The triple threat to a Prince on the front line Australian magazine New Idea and German newspaper Bild also both broke the embargo on the news. As part of the deal a group of journalists had visited the prince in Helmand on condition that details would only be publicised once he was safely back in the UK. The deal was arranged after Harry's planned tour to Iraq last year had to be cancelled because of a security risk sparked by publicity. Harry had sworn to quit the Army if he was not sent to fight He later swore he would quit the Army if he was not allowed to fight. As the Prince flew out to Afghanistan in December he brushed off fears he would become a "bullet magnet", saying: "I just want to do my bit." "I would never put someone else's life in danger when they have to sit next to the bullet magnet," he said in an interview at Clarence House before he flew out to the war-torn country in December. "But if I'm wanted, if I'm needed, then I will serve my country as I signed up to do. "I don't think it's putting anybody at risk at all ... if I can get out there without anyone actually making it public - which is basically what's happening at the moment with the deal that's being made with numerous papers - things are looking up." The party-loving Prince also joked about the fact there would be no nightclubs in Afghanistan. Speaking before his departure he admitted the disappointment of being told last year he could not go to Iraq for security reasons made him wish he was not a prince. "I wish that quite a lot actually," he said. "William and I have said numerous times that there's a lot of opportunities that we miss out on - as well as we also got a lot of chances - for who we are. "But at the beginning of this year (2007), it was very hard and I did think, 'well, clearly one of the main reasons that I'm not likely to be going was the fact of who I am'. "So yes, I did think at that time that I wished I wasn't, but at the same time I'm very grateful for the job that I've got and the way that things are." He said he was pinning his hopes on a taste of normality away from the royal life he has known since birth. "I think dressed in the same uniform as numerous other people, thousands of other people in Afghanistan will give me one of the best chances to be just a normal person: with a helmet on, with a shemagh (scarf) with goggles on, whatever," he said. "As far as anybody else is concerned they will just treat me as just a normal officer out there, hopefully. "That will be massively important for me, it could be a turning point." He flew out on December 14, two months into the current winter tour. He spent several weeks working in Garmsir in the far south of Helmand Province, operating just 500m from front line Taliban positions. He has since left Garmsir to work in another part of Helmand Province, details of which can not be reported for security reasons. There is no immediate steer from the Ministry of Defence on the future of his deployment. Earlier this week a Royal Marine became the 89th British fatality in Afghanistan - the third killed there this year, and the second in one week. The marine was trying to disrupt Taliban fighters in the southern province of Helmand when he was caught in a bomb blast. The deaths followed a week of bomb explosions in southern Afghanistan, where the death toll from two days of suicide attacks rose to more th
 
Quote    Reply

Show Only Poster Name and Title     Newest to Oldest
Pages: 1 2
Jimme       2/28/2008 1:08:22 PM
So hes your new Hero I guess?
 
Quote    Reply

AdamB       2/28/2008 1:37:02 PM
And I'm not happy with those damn Americans revealing that Harry is in Afghanistan.  The British were trying to keep it a secret, probably because of security, but the Yanks decided to reveal all ona  website.
 
Quote    Reply

bob the brit       2/28/2008 3:50:53 PM

And I'm not happy with those damn Americans revealing that Harry is in Afghanistan.  The British were trying to keep it a secret, probably because of security, but the Yanks decided to reveal all ona  website.



yeah you naughty naughty americans! Adam, the press of britain only kept it quite because there was something in it for them, no doubt the tabloids will jump all over it now that the story has come out, that will show you how careless they are. don't ascribe the previous silence to 'securty reasons'. whle that is definitely why the deal was brokered, it certainly isn't the reason the press agreed to it.
 
Quote    Reply

PlatypusMaximus       2/28/2008 4:16:21 PM
It was the Aussies, then the Germans, then the Americans that outed him...get it right, ya damn Brit.
 
Quote    Reply

Mike From Brielle       2/28/2008 8:27:21 PM
What I found troubling was that in the other post the article mentioned his call sign.  I assume that the commo is LPI/ LPD and when he changes locations they will change his call sign but still that shouldn't (IMHO) have been given out.
 
Quote    Reply

eldnah       2/28/2008 11:36:05 PM
It is pathetic that the American press feels obligated to out Prince Harry; giving his unit and call sign borders on the criminal. As an American I offer my apology for our press's behavior. The left wing US media divulged terrorist communication monitoring and finance tracking that harm's America's position in its struggle against terrorism. The Prince should not take it personally. 
 
Quote    Reply

bob the brit       2/29/2008 9:41:35 AM

It is pathetic that the American press feels obligated to out Prince Harry; giving his unit and call sign borders on the criminal. As an American I offer my apology for our press's behavior. The left wing US media divulged terrorist communication monitoring and finance tracking that harm's America's position in its struggle against terrorism. The Prince should not take it personally. 


while the american/australian/german/[whoever's] press' behaviour is dissapointing, the brit tab's are no better. now that the story's in the open, they'll jump all over it.  
 
Quote    Reply

the British Lion    Jimme   3/1/2008 7:51:16 AM
"So hes your new Hero I guess?"

I hope that was a general comment against that muppet AdamB and not a backhanded slap at anyone who thinks Harry going secretly to
Afghanistan was a bloody brave and honorable thing to do?

B.L.
 
Quote    Reply

flamingknives       3/1/2008 9:08:06 AM
I would say that Lt. Wales going to Afghanistan is no more heroic or brave than any of the other 7,000-odd service personnel in theatre.
 
Quote    Reply

bob the brit       3/1/2008 9:57:12 AM

I would say that Lt. Wales going to Afghanistan is no more heroic or brave than any of the other 7,000-odd service personnel in theatre.
here here, but i'm glad he's trying to do his bit.

 
Quote    Reply
1 2



 Latest
 News
 
 Most
 Read
 
 Most
 Commented
 Hot
 Topics