Prince Philip with troops
Posted on 10/22/2006 12:57:51 PM PDT by pau1f0rd
Prince Philip with troops
The Duke of Edinburgh has paid a surprise visit to Iraq to see British troops serving there.
The 85-year-old flew to Basra to see soldiers from The Queen's Royal Hussars.
The Duke is the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief.
The Queen's Royal Hussars have been conducting anti-smuggling patrols along Maysan Province's isolated border with Iran.
They are due to complete their six-and-a-half-month tour in Iraq in a few weeks' time.
The Duke, dressed for the occasion in combat strip, told the soldiers: "It's a great pleasure to see you here.
"Everyone at home's been following what's been going on in this part of the world with a great deal of sympathy for those of you at the sharp end, who are trying to do your best to make life civilised and tolerable for the locals.
"You've done a fantastic job, and I hope you all get home safely and have some well-earned leave."
He spent around six hours on the ground meeting troops and being briefed on the current situation in the region by senior officers, before heading back to the UK.
One of the soldiers, Lance Corporal Dean Munn, 22, from Redditch, said afterwards: "It's good to see him out here in these hard conditions, taking the time to see us and how we're doing."
It was Prince Philip's first visit to see British forces in Iraq and followed his daughter the Princess Royal's recent expedition to see service personnel in Afghanistan.
His trip comes just two days after he finished a busy, whirlwind trip to the Baltic with the Queen.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: "He wanted to visit the troops and show his support and praise their achievements."
I do not imagine his job has been all that hard on his body.
Good on him!
Always nice to see them visit the troops.
I am sure his visit serves as a much needed and deserved morale boaster.
And it is good work, if you can get it.
85 year old! Damn! He really ages in a hurry, does't he?
If you sent the last 60 years hanging around the palace having people wait on you hand and foot you may look good for your age as well.
Maybe, maybe not. My job isn't easy but I wouldn't like his.
Much as I hate the House of Windsor/Hanover/SaxeCoburg (would love to see Harry and William get jobs in the real world), I always like Prince Phillip, not least for his entertaining use of politically incorrect commentary.
Gout, obesity, diabetes, etc. can be the result.
But Philip looks like all the posh living has NOT caused laziness. Looks in good shape.
I got give props to your Prince Consort Ivan and snugs he know where to give props to
Very, very nice of him (although, of course, it's probably part of his duty). I'm sure it's a great morale booster. Now maybe Queen Elizabeth can visit!
All those medalas on his dress uniform.. What they for again?
I liked what he had to say a couple of months ago when he explained some of what the thinking was in the WWII period. (He had 3 sisters in the Nazi party.)
He said that many at that time were initially attracted to the Nazi party because they hated communism so much. Of course he wasn't a Nazi but his dislike of communism came thru in the interview and I liked that.
Ah, you're a Jacobite? ;-)
On 1 May 1939, Prince Philip began his naval career at Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth as a Special Entry Cadet. In his training year, Philip won the prestigious King's Dirk and the prize for best cadet of his entry. The start of the Second World War meant that Prince Philip was soon on active duty.
In 1940 he served on HMS Ramilles in Colombo, Ceylon, as a Midshipman, patrolling the Indian Ocean and escorting troops from Australia to the Middle East. In 1941 he was transferred to HMS Valiant, a battleship stationed in Alexandria, Egypt. Philip acted as the searchlight control on the ship, helping to sink two Italian cruisers. Later service in the war saw Philip promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and serving during the invasion of Sicily. Philip was also present onboard HMS Whelp at the surrender of Japanese forces in Tokyo Bay.
Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh
Read the whole thing. Philip's been around.
OH wow I didn't know that about Prince Phillip
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