Posted on 04/23/2006 2:39:38 AM PDT by MadIvan
Prince Harry has threatened to quit the Army if commanders refuse to send him to the front line.
He told senior officers before recently passing out of Sandhurst as a Second Lieutenant: ‘If I am not allowed to join my unit in a war zone, I will hand in my uniform.’
Harry, 21, and third in line to the throne, has previously talked of his desire to see action with his comrades and the prospect of him walking out on the Army if he is not allowed on to the front line has turned a theoretical problem into a nightmare for the Palace and Ministry of Defence.
The embarrassment for the Army caused by him quitting would be matched by uproar at the notion that while ordinary citizens are allowed to that their main problem is not whether Harry can take the pressure of coming under fire in action – but whether the lives of the men fighting alongside him will be more at risk because he is regarded as a ‘trophy target’ by insurgents.
One experienced commander said: ‘Second Lt Wales will, as far as is possible, be treated like any other officer but there has to be a line drawn as to whether the men he leads might experience extra danger due to his presence. Decisions will be taken by commanding officers based on an accurate risk assessment at the time.’
In talks between the MoD and Clarence House, it has been suggested that if Harry is deployed to the front line he should be given a safe role, acting as a liaison officer at a military HQ well away from the action.
But sources close to Harry said last night: ‘He will go bananas if he is given special treatment. He doesn’t want to let the rest of the lads and lasses down by opting out. He was always the first to volunteer on exercises.’
In the final weeks of his Sandhurst training, Harry took part in an exercise in which he acted as commanding officer and sources say that his performance was ‘outstanding’.
The mobility of the Blues and Royals’ light Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles will be a great value in Afghanistan and senior commanders say the Cavalry unit could be sent to Helmand province to support Paras in what is regarded as one of the most dangerous parts of the world.
Harry would command a troop of 11 men who would drive into the front line in their Scimitars.
He would lead his men in searching possibly booby-trapped buildings, hunting down insurgents and providing escorts and combat support to infantry operations.
Harry would be required to command his Scimitar team and remain on the ground, although all troop commanders are expected to do their stint in the operations room, which involves logging events, co-ordinating patrols and directing support where needed.
The Household Cavalry – made up of the Blues and Royals and the Life Guards – is one of the most active units in the British Army and its most senior and oldest regiment.
It has troops attached to the Paras and the Marines, took part in the invasion of Iraq and has since deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Next month, a squadron of the Household Cavalry will go to Afghanistan in support of 16 Air Assault Brigade. A second squadron is on standby to deploy to Iraq this year and another is preparing to back 3 Commando Brigade when it departs to Afghanistan later this year.
D Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) supported 16 Air Assault Brigade during the initial battles in the Iraq conflict. HCR also deployed two squadrons to Iraq in 2004.
A high percentage of its officers serve in the SAS and its squadrons support both the Royal Marines and the Parachute Regiment. The Household Cavalry’s Scimitars spearheaded the advance across the Falklands in 1982, led the way in Bosnia and were first into Saudi Arabia in 1991 before the first Gulf War and again in Iraq in 2003.
Elements of the Blues and Royals and the Life Guards have regularly deployed to Iraq and three Cavalrymen have been killed. They were Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, Lance Corporal Karl Shearer and Lieutenant Alexander Tweedie, all from the Blues and Royals.
Three years ago during the battle for Basra, Trooper Chris Finney of the Blues and Royals, who was just 19, won a rare George Cross for gallantry for saving his comrades after their Scimitar came under attack, by mistake, from American bombers.
Young men of Harry’s rank have regularly lost their lives in Iraq. Only a week ago, Lt Richard Palmer, of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, died after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb near Ad Day, north-west of Basra. In July 2005, Second Lt Richard Shearer, 26, from Nuneaton, of the 1st Battalion, Staffordshire Regiment, died with Privates Leon Spicer and Phillip Hewett in a roadside bomb blast north of Basra.
Harry will be only the second Royal since the Second World War to be posted to a battle zone.
The other was Prince Andrew, who flew Sea King helicopters in the Falklands War. A Clarence House die for their country, members of the Royal Family are considered too important to risk. It would also reopen the debate about Britain’s role in engagements such as Iraq which are widely unpopular and considered by many to be illegal.
The Mail on Sunday revealed last year that the Palace and MoD were holding crisis talks about how to handle Harry’s future military role.
However, his ultimatum has now raised the stakes. It will also increase the urgency of deciding how to treat Prince William who is due to leave Sandhurst in December, presenting Royal and defence officials with the same dilemma about how near the front line he should be allowed.
Harry’s unit, the Blues and Royals, will deploy to Afghanistan this year and he is likely to join them there next year. Senior Army sources say
A reasonable concern, I must say.
Nonetheless, I hope something is worked out so that the Lieutenant can see action with his comrades. Good for him!
Prince Harry does seem to have more 'character' and gumption than most of the Royals.
Same here. I do have some mixed thoughts on him being assigned to the front lines though. Does it expose his fellow troops to an elevated risk based on his status? I think that's a valid question.
LMAO.......Good one
I'm betting he's not the first Jr. officer who threatened to quit if he wasn't sent into action. Nobody at that age wants a desk job.
Now I know he's not Charles kid.
Not for the heir and the spare.
Not in England.
BUMP
His resignation does not have to be accepted (and Her Majesty's consent is required for such termination) but it is generally held that an Commissioned officer should be permitted to resign their Commission unless special circumstances apply.
I'm not qualified to judge here; I never served. Having said that, I do believe that if I were in his unit, and really believed he was sincere, I wouldn't care about the extra risk. Just knowing that this guy wanted to be there would motivate me to take extra care not to let anything happen to him. That and not wanting history to show that I was on the squad that let Harry get captured or killed.
Being third in line for the throne just about guarantees that you cannot do anything much you want to.
Of course, I should add to this that when I threatened to resign my Commission in a fit of pique at the age of about 22, I was informed by my immediate superior that if I tried it, he'd kick me so hard, my arse would be above my eyebrows. Once he had my attention, I was treated to a very impressive instantaneous lecture of the responsibilities of a Commission and not treating it as if it was just another job. I was in full agreement after five minutes, though the lecture went on for at least fifty.
. . . which gets me to my pet peeve. People are outraged when there is a "friendly fire" incident - but the fog of war asssures that such incidents will occur. Indeed, when you are inflicting a hundred times the casualties on the enemy as he is on you, you want your bombers to be aggressive enough that they will end up killing about as many of your own troops as the enemy will.But high-profile casualties such as Pat Tillman or, Heaven forefend, Lt. Wales are treated as scandalous.
I suspect that they will send him but also send an SAS team to baby sit and be his official taster, so to speak.
I doubt that there is any false bravado in this. Just a desire to accept the same dangers as his peers, and not want to be protected just because of who his father is.
"Prince Charles himself, being the Muslim-loving wannabe-tampon that he is,"
Superb!
The mobility of the Blues and Royals’ light Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles will be a great value in Afghanistan and senior commanders say the Cavalry unit could be sent to Helmand province to support Paras in what is regarded as one of the most dangerous parts of the world.
Harry would command a troop of 11 men who would drive into the front line in their Scimitars.
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