It's been reported today that Prince Harry has been with British Forces in Afghanistan for the past 10 weeks you can check out the story here http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article858375.ece?CMP=KNC-powersearchSEM1&HBX_PK=prince+harry&HBX_OU=50 I as just wondering what you guys thought about this i.e. a prince on the front line and the media blackout that amazingly managed to last 10 weeksbefore an online American news website broke the story?

I give him a lot of credit for going. It's a shame that the media had to break the story.

Wish the media would sometimes see that keeping something quiet is more important than breaking a story.

Seems like he just wanted to do his job and from the pictures was having a good time hanging out with the Gurkhas.

Paul

Really wish the story hadn't broken. We have a long history of Royal Princes doing their duty, the previous one being Prince Andrew (the Big A), who saw active service during the Falklands conflict.

I am sure that as a trained soldier the last thing that Harry wanted was for his service to be made public, as it will almost certainly result in him being pulled out of the action, and away from his squad.

Much respect to ALL service men.

Andy

Good on him for doing the job like he wanted to and a Gitmo holiday (indefinite duration) for the media monkeys who blew the gaff.

David

One sees royals all over the world with a chest-full of medals. Harry deserves his now,as does his grandad & his uncle Andy too. How many of the others deserve theirs? because I will never forget the bollocking I got when I asked how many machine-gun nests the queen had taken out single handed, lobbing grenades everywhere. I think the people who leaked this are the scum of the earth because they can´t really say that they have no idea what consequences are involved. Similar cases in the U.S. during the Vietnam war saw the publication of missing lists published with photos names & their actual "trade", for which some special forces operatives suffered so although freedom of the press sounds great in theory,in practice it brings nasty repercussions. They should know when to STFU.

Soldiers are meant to go into battle and he did his job. It is just horrible the story was leaked and he is to be withdrawn. He, along with all others who serve their countries, is a true hero. BZ Harry!!!

And now, thanks to the press, they're yanking him out of country:

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/general/2008/02/28/Britain.Prince.Harry/

You know he's PISSED!

Mike

harry went to Afghanistan,,,,,, well as a soldier so he should ! and the media who reported this i totally agree with whats been said. the thing that gets to me is the MASSIVE media coverage, i doubt if he was allowed into action tho. i cant see the military staff or the royal family allowing this to happen, he went did his job and was dropped in the crap by the media but i cant help think of our lads who don't have this luxury and will stay until the end of their tour. if they die or get wounded they will not get a quarter of the space he did . i spent 18 yrs 7 ms in HM forces and lost a LOT of mates Falklands gulf 1 ulster Afghanistan Bosnia and Africa and a few other places in between , what I'm getting at is do you think its right that he gets pulled out , or should he stay and do his duty too queen and country along side the men he commands ? after all he knows the risks, as does anyone who has served in the forces . the one person i have much respect for is,Ross Kemp , after watching his programme about Afghanistan,,,,, he went through some serious firefights without a weapon. Ross Kemp ( RESPECT ,,,,,,,,,

I think the main reason they took him out of the country is because he would be a high risk target for the terrorists I would imagine sooner or later the media would have leaked the story

Would the prince be an officer?

He is a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry.

I think they had to pull him out after the news broke because A: he would become a prime target for the Taliban and B: if any other soldier died or was injured because of this the media would have a field day over it!

As far as the amount of coverage this story is getting, Prince Harry is a celebrity whether he or us like it or not! The British media make their money by reporting on celebrities because the vast majority of the general public will pay to read about them! The deal done with the media was that they could have access to the Prince while in Afghanistan but could only use this when he returned so there was always going to be a great deal of coverage at some point. Any reporting that is done about the efforts our forces are undertaking is a good thing in my mind.
To put it another way if Jordan or a so called celebrity like her has a boob job its in all the papers and magazines, if your wife or girlfriend has a boob job does that make the papers? No it doesn't, that doesn't mean her boob job is unimportant to the people who know her though. But if reading about Jordans boob job gives you a better understanding about a womans feeling about why she wants or needs a boob job then hopefully it will do some good?

This may be a bit of a ramble I'm afraid, I'm getting to that age where rambling on seems fine to me!
David

Being an Ex member of the Household Cavalry (Life Guard) I am pleased to hear and see that he upheld the traditions and standards of the regiment. They (the Sqn) are due to return shortly, but be replaced by more from the regiment, perhaps they can sneak him back in. I am certain he would like to go back.

Now living here in South Carolina I am also pleased to know that he was attached to one of our National Guard units.

They kept their mouths SHUT!

'I called him Harry'..
Prince and soldier.
Columbia lawyer talks about working with British royalty during Guard unit’s Afghanistan deployment


Lt. Col. Bill Connor, left, poses with Prince Harry at a remote base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The photo was taken on Christmas Eve.KABUL, Afghanistan — Prince Harry may be third in line to the British throne, but to Lt. Col. Bill Connor, a Columbia lawyer, the royal heir was just another second lieutenant.

And that was fine with the prince, said Connor, in Afghanistan with the S.C. 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.

S.C. 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 S.C. soldiers when they were on patrols hunting Taliban insurgents.

Connor described the unidentified base — where the S.C. 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 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 S.C. 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.” ***

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 S.C. 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 1½-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.”

The British defense ministry said Friday that Harry — his cover blown — was being immediately withdrawn from Afghanistan. News reports indicated the prince would return home.


Keith.

It's a shame the press had to be blabbermouths.
Harry has returned to the UK, according to the latest news, But William is suppose to deploy soon on a Royal Navy ship, maybe he will fair a little better with the blabbermouth press.
I don't drink, so I'll hoist a mug of Borvil to salute Harry.

Got to agree Tony,
Harry wants to,Harry says, as I am am sure you know once you accept the Kings/Queens shilling the MOD instruct you via orders were and how you will serve(but you can request)Harrys done a ten week tour bet the rest of the boys wish they could. Dont forget were also sending TA soldiers out there some of whom have become casualties and others have returned home to find they have lost their jobs>And yes Iam sure he and his bro will attend the various occassions when medals will be worn sorry to sound bitter but hes a part timer did you see the pictures of him playing on the 50 cal so he has had media attention while hes been out there.

i agree harry would be a prime target, but no more than some others , if a target or targets presented themselves the order of priority for us was radio operators, snipers, sustained fire gunners ( gpmg ) , and command and control staff, if he wants to wear the uniform then at least do the job to the full,,,,, as Phil so rightly stated TA soldiers did the job and some came home and are told , sorry mate we had to sack you,,,, would you call that a hero,s return ? i personally know 4 TA guys who did op telic and came home to no job,,, 2 are now divorced and 1 took his own life . these soldiers never had a sas bodyguard to protect them ! its these people who are the unsung hero's of any war. i have 3 hero's in my life , my wife and 2 children , they deserve every medal and award i won for putting up with my long past ptsd . thanks Phil for understanding my rantings. and answering my original question ,OK thats it rant over !