Prince William current events 22: May 2009-

[Mermaid1962]

William looks throughout the interview as though he'd like to be ANYWHERE else. Note his zinger to Harry, "Have you been off the ground yet?" Brotherly rivalry per chance?

Originally Posted by LadyS

Sky News has a short interview with William and Harry at RAF Shawbury.

Princes William and Harry Pictured Together For First Time Undergoing Military Training - Sky News Video Player

[Skydragon]

Prince William has spoken openly of his desire to fight for his country and dropped the strongest hint yet that he might still be given a frontline role.

Prince William says 'I want to fight in Afghanistan', as Harry reveals ambition to return to war zone | Mail Online

[ada]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

William looks throughout the interview as though he'd like to be ANYWHERE else. Note his zinger to Harry, "Have you been off the ground yet?" Brotherly rivalry per chance?

Yes, that was a beauty, effective too

[king of scotland]

I think William should be allowed to fight on the front lines. He was right in saying he didnt join to be mollycoddled, and that he wants to prove his worth on the battlefield, and get the experience he says a future commander-in-chief needs. I think he could go to Afghanistan or even Iraq, and be like a Reconnaissance helicopter pilot, or even Search and Rescue.

[Skydragon]

The princes were both at RAF Shawbury, near Shrewsbury, Shrops, to celebrate Harry passing exams on his way to become an army helicopter pilot.

Prince William angers bullying campaigners with ginger jibe - Telegraph

Harry said: "I think he's definitely got more brains than me, I think we established that from school. . . and his baldness. -- To which William retorted: "It's pretty rich coming from a ginger.

[Iluvbertie]

Originally Posted by king of scotland

I think William should be allowed to fight on the front lines. He was right in saying he didnt join to be mollycoddled, and that he wants to prove his worth on the battlefield, and get the experience he says a future commander-in-chief needs. I think he could go to Afghanistan or even Iraq, and be like a Reconnaissance helicopter pilot, or even Search and Rescue.

I think he should be allowed to serve on the condition that his serving will NOT in any way increase the risks to any other serviceman/woman. If he is killed so be it but if another service personel is killed because the target was William and this poor person happened to be there then I have a problem.

[Wisteria]

Originally Posted by Iluvbertie

I think he should be allowed to serve on the condition that his serving will NOT in any way increase the risks to any other serviceman/woman. If he is killed so be it but if another service personel is killed because the target was William and this poor person happened to be there then I have a problem.

Same here. If he wants to take exactly the same risks as the other young men then let him, if he is killed, well that happens in war, and it would be very sad but it won´t exactly finish off the BRF, there are plently of replacements.
My main problem is with all the personnel, which isn´t usually known to the public, that are put in place, and danger, to make sure these royal servicemen come to no harm.

If he is really going to go and serve on equal footing with his fellow soldiers well good for him, and the sooner he goes and gets it out of his system the better.

[Ella Kay]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

My main problem is with all the personnel, which isn´t usually known to the public, that are put in place, and danger, to make sure these royal servicemen come to no harm.

There's also the risk that having such a high-profile soldier on the ground could be risky to his entire unit, as he might be targeted specifically if his position were discovered, endangering the lives of those around him as well.

William surely knows the risks as well, and so I'm not sure why he continually expresses a desire to go anyway. Might it be partly because he wants to make sure that he doesn't look happy or relieved to be able to stay out of harm's way? Or to show solidarity with the other soldiers, sailors, and airmen he's been training with? I'm not sure. But I doubt very strongly, despite his desire to do so, that he'll ever face combat.

[Wisteria]

I agree Ella Kay, I think he is salving his conscience this way. I too doubt that he will ever face combat or be anywhere near it., Kings are not what they used to be in ages past.......

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

My main problem is with all the personnel, which isn´t usually known to the public, that are put in place, and danger, to make sure these royal servicemen come to no harm.

If he is really going to go and serve on equal footing with his fellow soldiers well good for him, and the sooner he goes and gets it out of his system the better.

Exactly, when Harry was in Afghanistan, he was guarded by the Gurkhas and on the whole kept separate from the rest of any unit, from the gossip I have heard, the areas he did patrol were 'safe' areas anyway. If it is even whispered that Harry or William have been deployed to Afghanistan (apart from a few men we are out of Iraq), the RPG's will be aimed at anything that flies, more so than now and of course the bases will be targeted even more.

My view, with sons and daughters serving, is that they should be taken off of training, given a nice little desk or be retired gracefully from the forces. If they can't do the same job as any other officer with the same conditions, they should stop playing at soldiers and stop getting paid for it!

[king of scotland]

Maybe the best way for William to serve on the front lines is deploy him in conjunction with the SAS. I think with the SAS he will be able to have anonymity, he needs, and the soldiers need.

[Myself1995]

I don't know - it doesn't seem like it has to be an either/or situation, since they both seem to want to serve in the military so badly. They can still be in the army ( navy, whatever - I forget which branches they said they were in) and serve overseas and not serve on the front line. I know several people in the military who aren't in Iraq or Afghanistan. That way, they can do their duty the same as everyone else and not further endanger the lives of everyone around them, which should be the first concern. Wasn't William doing practices awhile back trying to catch drug runners or pirates or something like that?

I have to say - I like them both, but seeing as they both have big targets painted on their back, I wouldn't want to be the one standing next to them in a battle, for fear I'd have one painted on my back, too.

[Ella Kay]

I think William's Search and Rescue decision was one of the best compromises, but I had understood that it was a domestic position and that's what he was training for at the moment. Are SAR pilots deployed to combat front lines as well?

[Wisteria]

Originally Posted by Myself1995

:

I have to say - I like them both, but seeing as they both have big targets painted on their back, I wouldn't want to be the one standing next to them in a battle, for fear I'd have one painted on my back, too.

Don´t worry it won´t happen, and why are they more precious than other people´s sons? If they can´t be real soldiers why did they join? Much better to cut a few ribbons somewhere and practice taking the salute when the real soldiers march past.

[Myself1995]

Don´t worry it won´t happen, and why are they more precious than other people´s sons? If they can´t be real soldiers why did they join? Much better to cut a few ribbons somewhere and practice taking the salute when the real soldiers march past.

I know it's not the same situation because they aren't famous, but I wouldn't want to be standing next to Joe Biden, John McCain or Sarah Palin's kids for the same reason. They seem like easy and likely targets, and I would feel like I was in more danger because I was standing next to them. But I'm not in the military, so maybe the people they are serving with feel differently.

[Skydragon]

Originally Posted by king of scotland

Maybe the best way for William to serve on the front lines is deploy him in conjunction with the SAS. I think with the SAS he will be able to have anonymity, he needs, and the soldiers need.

William is not a member, nor has he received the training to become a member of this elite unit, he is also in the RAF now.

Originally Posted by Ella Kay

I think William's Search and Rescue decision was one of the best compromises, but I had understood that it was a domestic position and that's what he was training for at the moment. Are SAR pilots deployed to combat front lines as well?

This is what William said -

I didn't join the forces to be mollycoddled or treated any different. I think as a future leader of the Armed Forces, it's really important you at least get the opportunity to be credible and to do the job I signed up for, as best I can. That's all I want to do. "The search and rescue role is now slightly different to obviously being able to go to Afghanistan, but it's still doing an important job.

[Ella Kay]

See, that's what I remembered, Skydragon. I thought he had come to terms with not being able to go to combat and settled for an equally important job with the military in a non-combat environment. I wonder what's made him suddenly go back to the "I want to go to Afghanistan" line?

[Skydragon]

I think that is the spin the media are putting on it. A simple remark that 'if Harry can do it, so could I', doesn't really equate to 'I want', IMO.

[Wisteria]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

I think that is the spin the media are putting on it. A simple remark that 'if Harry can do it, so could I', doesn't really equate to 'I want', IMO.

Very much like having a 27th birthday doesn´t equate to "he is getting married".

[lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by Skydragon

Prince William has spoken openly of his desire to fight for his country and dropped the strongest hint yet that he might still be given a frontline role.

Prince William says 'I want to fight in Afghanistan', as Harry reveals ambition to return to war zone | Mail Online

I hope William is allowed to go to Afghanistan abd Harry is allowed to return to fight. I understand who they are, but they are still soldiers, they should be allowed to defend their country and fight with there fellow soldiers.