Prince Charles Visits British Troops in Iraq

American Forces Press Service ^ | Feb. 11, 2004 | By Donna Miles

[Calpernia]

Britain's Prince Charles paid a surprise visit to Iraq Feb. 9, praising the British troops deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom for maintaining security in southern Iraq and supporting the war on terror.

British Embassy officials in Washington said the prince arrived at the Al- Sarraji Palace compound in Basra — once Saddam Hussein's palace and now an operational headquarters for British troops — for the first visit by a member of the British royal family to Iraq since the former dictator's ouster from power.

Some 9,000 British soldiers are serving in Iraq, with 4,500 of them based in Basra, forming part of the 20th Armoured Brigade.

Arriving in a Chinook helicopter, the Prince of Wales -- dressed in desert camouflage and wearing a black beret -- mingled with soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Wales, the Parachute Regiment's 2nd Battalion, and the Army Air Corps regiments and thanked them for their service in Iraq.

"This part of the world doesn't have much chance unless their armed force can learn a lot from your experience," he was quoted as telling the troops, "not only in the military, but in the hearts and minds."

The prince also presented the Wilkinson Sword of Peace to the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment for its peacekeeping efforts following the conflict in Afghanistan.

"I was enormously impressed by what you managed to achieve," the prince told the soldiers. "I hope you feel there is some sense of reward for the difference you managed to make for so many people who live in Kabul."

He also lauded the soldiers for setting up a football match in Afghanistan, saying British troops "have a great way of conducting that all-important hearts-and-minds campaign."

After his speech, officials said, the soldiers jumped to attention in a semicircle around the prince and gave three loud cheers, raising their berets in the air with each call.

Prince Charles also met with Iraqi officials to discuss political and economic issues in post-war Iraq. Among those he visited were Judge Wail Abl al-Latif, provincial governor and member of the Iraqi Governing Council, and Gabriel Qassab, the Catholic archbishop of Iraq.

[Calpernia]

Prince Charles visits British troops in Basra, Iraq, Feb. 9, becoming the first member of the British royal family to visit Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

[Calpernia]

Pro Military, Pro Coalition, Pro de-Baathification News!

Prince Charles visits British troops in Basra, Iraq, Feb. 9, becoming the first member of the British royal family to visit Iraq since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Private Mail to be added to or removed from the GNFI (or Pro-Coalition) ping list.

[Dr. Marten]

Troops! Meet Prince Charles the Fag.

[Dr. Marten]

BTW...I was taking the line from "As Good As It Gets", with Jack Nicholson

[Dr. Marten]

BTW...I was taking the line from "As Good As It Gets", with Jack Nicholson

[lilylangtree]

Camilla didn't accompany him? Guess the British military minister didn't want the soldiers throwing up at mess hall time.

[Salman]

He looks like an over-aged Alfred E Neuman.

[cyborg]

I confess. I laughed at him.

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[shaggy eel]

Arriving in a Chinook helicopter, the Prince of Wales -- dressed in desert camouflage and wearing a black beret

,,, the closest the armed forces allow themselves to get to metrosexuals on catwalks.

[cyborg]

LOL

[bernie_g]

To be fair to Prince Charles, he has every right to wear uniform. Not only as colonel in chief of many regiments (a ceremonial role) but because he has about a decade of military service behind him. He was in turn, if I recall correctly a qualified RAF chopper pilot (his brother Andrew flew some hairy combat missions in the Falklands), he did about 5 years in the Royal Navy, finishing up as a Frigate Captain and finally became qualified Paratrooper. In other words, he's every right to be proud of his military service.

This wasn't just a case of giving the royal family a free ride either, as you can see by comparing him with youngest brother Edward who rather embarassingly failed to qualify as a Royal Marine Commando.

[bernie_g]

Correction, I just checked. He was a minehunter commander, rather than the captain of a frigate. Even so, his military service is quite genuine, although unlike Andrew he wasn't on active service during a war. I also suspect Andrew only got a chance to actually get shot at because all the Army helicopters were on a ship that was sunk, and therefore the Navy helicopters saw far more use than expected. This meant that all the pilots they had were working flat out.

This is also why 2 Para, did such long marches through freezing bogs with 100-odd lbs of kit on their backs to reach the enemy positions. Which they then took at odds of 3-1 against, with very little ammunition, no heavy weapons and their bayonets. The CO and a Sergeant were both awarded posthumous VCs for mad lone charges on dug-in machine guns. The Argentines surrendered to their surviving XO at dawn.

You don't qualify as a Para, even if you're Charles, by turning up a couple of times and then collecting a badge.

[shaggy eel]

,,, Charlie would have had the tea and scones road in the military, rather than the usual grunt's experience of face in the mud, no sugar on the barbed wire sort of stuff. Don't tell me he went in at anything less than Captain.

[bernie_g]

You don't get the Para wings by eating scones. You have to jump out of some aeroplanes, which he quite verifiably did.

It seems that you are very determined to denigrate Charles' military service, and by extension, the British military.

I don't see how he could fake it, the media followed it closely while it was happening. Certainly when little brother Edward was doing the RMC training his face was in the mud quite a lot of the time. The media were unmerciful when he failed. Charles did the equivalent Para training and passed. Knowing what that involves, he has my respect.