Regards, Ivan
Posted on 05/11/2006 10:07:22 PM PDT by MadIvan
Prince Harry will begin the training this month that will prepare him for immediate deployment in Iraq, senior officers said yesterday.
For the next five months the newly-commissioned officer will take the troop commander's course in Dorset and get "up to his elbows in engine grease" while sharing a cramped and sometimes noxious tank with two others.
Extra security measures have been taken at the Armour Centre in Bovington where the prince will learn to lead a troop of four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles.
The training, which starts on May 22, will make Prince Harry qualified to lead his men into battle by October when he joins the Household Cavalry Regiment in Windsor.
Discussions are under way at a senior level to consider the security implications on sending the prince into Iraq where 109 British troops have been killed.
The Royal Armoured Corps has been on almost continuous operations for the past 10 years serving everywhere apart from Sierra Leone.
A squadron of Household Cavalry will deploy to Afghanistan next month and early next year another will be sent to Iraq for six months as part of 1 Armoured Brigade.
The decision how to use the prince, who has expressed a strong desire to fight alongside his men on operations, will be made by his commanding officer at Windsor, Lt Col Ed Smyth-Osbourne. "He is third in line to the throne and that brings with it certain implications. But Prince Harry is a troop commander and he has a job to do," said Col Jamie Martin, the chief of staff at the Armour Centre.
"Here he will be treated like any other officer and he will be addressed by me by his christian name and by others as Cornet Wales."
Cornet is a rank unique to the Blues and Royals and is used to address a second lieutenant.
"It will be a physically and mentally challenging course but one that will prepare him well for the future," the officer added.
Prince Harry will learn "the skills of a poacher" using his armoured reconnaissance vehicle and its surveillance equipment to be the eyes and ears of his commanders.
The eight-ton Scimitar, with a 30mm cannon and powered by a 4.2 litre Jaguar engine has been used extensively in Iraq for long-range patrols and will provide mobile armour for the lightly-armed troops in Helmand province in Afghanistan.
On the course the prince will learn driving and maintenance, signalling, gunnery and armoured tactics. When he goes to Windsor he will command a troop of 11 men including a "hugely experienced and wise" sergeant, two corporals and eight other soldiers.
Col Martin ended his briefing at Bovington by quoting a Second World War tank commander just after an engagement with the enemy. The anonymous officer said: "The 75mm is firing but the 37mm is firing traverse round the wrong way. The Browning has jammed. I am saying 'driver advance' on the radio set and the driver, who cannot hear me, is reversing and as I look out of the top of the turret and see 12 enemy tanks 50 yards away someone hands me a cheese sandwich."
Prince Harry should be prepared for things to be as chaotic, Col Martin added.
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Semper Fi!
Semper fi to you sir.
The big deal was that Harry was a potential kidnap target by the terrorists. He insists on going anyway...and has won my respect for doing so.
I'm glad you enjoyed your visit here - our American friends are always welcome.
Best Regards, Ivan
Send the twins to the Mexican border, maybe they could serve their country too.
If the Prince was killed fighting bravely in Iraq or Afghanistan, do you think that his funeral would be bigger than Princess Diana's?
Just a thought.
That's something I don't even want to think about.
Regards, Ivan
If I'm not mistaken, Prince Andrew served with Her Majesty's Navy during the Falklands in '82?
Young Cornet Wales has an admirer here, as well.
Regards, Ivan
Didn't the Prince of Wales' Uncle, Lord Mountbatten, serve in a combat position in WW II?
Yes. He commanded the 5th Destroyer Flotilla during World War II.
Regards, Ivan
That would probably be his uncle Andrew in the Falklands. I'm not aware of any member of the family having been in combat since then.
The Bush twins aren't American royalty; they're more or less private citizens, and they can live their lives without the comments of trolls, thank you. If you're so concerned, then YOU go.
Prince Andrew flew his turn in de-stealthed helicopter cover during the Falklands (sacrifical missile-defence).
Prince Andrew flew Sea King helicopters in the Falklands as live missile decoys. There were a constant cycle of helicopters airborne around the fleet 24/7 and when the missile alert went off, these brave pilots would position themselves between the fleet and incoming missiles to try to decoy them into hitting the chopper rather than a capital ship. A brave man amongst many brave men.
'British soldiers of today did they have to get permission to fire their weapon?'
British soldiers do not require permission to fire their weapon. They exercise professional restraint in their current peace-keeping role rather than believing a gung ho shoot and ask questions later approach is better long term. Their method is vindicated by their relatively low level of casualties considering the vehemence of many of the insurgents.
I don't know the details, but I am hoping that we are going to show very little restraint retaliating against Iranian anti-helicopter attacks.
I agree, but their mission is to support the locals in their move towards securing a democratic and safe state. Killing and alienating the locals in a bid to make sure you kill insurgents is counter-productive and at odds with their mission. Nothing gives the average British squaddie more pleasure than a no-holds barred attack mission, but being professional soldiers, they often have to put their personal wants behind that of the mission requirements.
Fair point, thank you Vectorian.
"Yes. He commanded the 5th Destroyer Flotilla during World War II"
He did a little more than that. He also ran Combined Operations and then was Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, puttng him on par with MacArthur and Nimitz.
One of the Bush ladies teaches in a charter school in the DC area and the other fine young lady worked with AIDS patients in Africa. Not all the battles are fought on the battlefield or the border.
Yes...good for him!
What a very admirable young man.
I hope the family is proud of him.
I know I am.
Iraq poses extra dangers for him.
I will keep him in my prayers.
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