Prince William's Service in the Royal Air Force


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Part of me is overjoyed that William can finally carry out the training he has been given. But there is a part of me who feels sorry for all the other men and woman who do the same job as William but don't get such national recognition for what they do. I know William is getting all the stories in the paper because he is a Prince, and maybe he wished he didn't get them.
But isn't every rescue worker a Prince to those who they rescue?
 
^Thanks for posting that article here too wasn't sure where to post it so I posted it in the " William, Harry and the press" thread. The quote comes from the upcoming Sky One documentary. Shame I won't be able to see it as usual hopefully it's put up later on youtube or something...
 
wbenson said:
Prince William: 'Let me serve in Afghanistan' - Telegraph

Prince William, who is serving as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, wants to be allowed to join British troops in Afghanistan.

Is that allowed? Him being the heir to the heir and all that plus imagine if he were somehow captured- I feel for him though that he might not be able to fight with his commrades .....
 
Is that allowed? Him being the heir to the heir and all that plus imagine if he were somehow captured- I feel for him though that he might not be able to fight with his commrades .....

More than likely he won't be allowed to fight, but he should be because he has been allowed to gain military training for no other reason than for him to do something.
 
Prince William: 'Let me serve in Afghanistan' - Telegraph

Prince William, who is serving as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, wants to be allowed to join British troops in Afghanistan.

I don't believe for a moment that this will be allowed.

William would attract even more fire onto any british soldier, in the vain hope that it might be William. There would be so many resources allocated to protect him, that it will seriously influence the work the soldiers are doing.

Not to mention that he is about to get married. - And eventually produce more heirs for the throne.
That's too important for him to be allowed to serve in Afghanistan.

He is high profile target as it is, no need to transport him even closer to people armed with guns and bombs, is there?

I don't see the problem. Serving in the air rescue is a very commendable and valuable contribution to his country. He doesn't have to go to Afghanistan to prove anything.
 
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Then he shouldn't have been allowed to do military training in the first place.
 
Then he shouldn't have been allowed to do military training in the first place.

He will need some affilliation with the armed forces.

I'm not 100 % certain of the British constitution, but isn't the monarch also the commander in chief?
As such it makes perfect sense for him to complete military service. That doesn't have to include frontline service. - Not least in our day and age where the combat troops constitute a minority within the military.
 
Yes the monarchy is Commander-In-Chief, some affiliation IMO doesn't mean a total of nearly 10 years training for him to just automatically become Commander-In-Chief.
Prince Harry has managed to complete frontline service and he is 3rd in line to the throne.
 
Yes the monarchy is Commander-In-Chief, some affiliation IMO doesn't mean a total of nearly 10 years training for him to just automatically become Commander-In-Chief.
Prince Harry has managed to complete frontline service and he is 3rd in line to the throne.

Why not?

He needs to fully understand how the military system works, in order to better perform his duties as a monarch, when the time comes.
That doesn't necessarily mean frontline service. In many countries that would be a problem, as for many countries the nearest thing they came to a war was serving as peacekeepers. (A highly political task, so almost certainly a no, no for a royal).
Andrew served in Falklands War, but Charles didn't serve in Yemen or Northern Ireland, which would have been an option. (That these theatres of operations were highly political and volatile is another matter).

Harry is to put it brutally, a spare. Personally I respect him for serving, but I would also have been against it, if I was British. Royals are bullet magnets. Bullets however, have a tendency to miss their targets and hit those nearby instead...
And as you know he was immediatly pulled out, once his cover was blown.

If William was to serve anywhere near Afghanistan, litterally thousands would do anything to have a go at any British soldier in the hope of hitting William, and that sort of goes against the purpose of the soldiers being there in the first place.

No, every life William and his crew save with their helicopter home in Britain is worth it all, in my opinion.
 
Lumutqueen said:
Yes the monarchy is Commander-In-Chief, some affiliation IMO doesn't mean a total of nearly 10 years training for him to just automatically become Commander-In-Chief.
Prince Harry has managed to complete frontline service and he is 3rd in line to the throne.

3rd being the key- and was very top secret and wasn't there for the whole time either. William and Charles can't fly on same plane together because 1 must be available so there always an heir so I doubt they'd let William go especially since Charles is getting up there and the Queen could outlive him

Didn't Andrew go on active duty at one point but not Charles?

In the US VP Joe Bidens son went to Iraq and many were very upset because should he be captured it would like a trophy same with PW IMHO
 
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Harry is to put it brutally, a spare. Personally I respect him for serving, but I would also have been against it, if I was British. Royals are bullet magnets. Bullets however, have a tendency to miss their targets and hit those nearby instead...
And as you know he was immediatly pulled out, once his cover was blown.


Harry was pulled some 7 weeks after his cover was blown by New Idea here in Australia - hardly immediately.

If the millions are to be spent on training these guys then they should be able to serve fully and if they are killed, captured or executed so be it. They are plenty of other members of the royal family.

If they aren't going to serve fully then they should be told that they can't join the military.
 
Iluvbertie said:
If the millions are to be spent on training these guys then they should be able to serve fully and if they are killed, captured or executed so be it. They are plenty of other members of the royal family.

If they aren't going to serve fully then they should be told that they can't join the military.

I believe in does serve just at home not abroad , is that right?please correct me if wrong. Also it's not just about him being killed/captured- it would be a huge trophy to the enemy and may bring plp to their cause or even endanger other soliders because the enemy wishes to capture/kill such a famous person
 
If the millions are to be spent on training these guys then they should be able to serve fully and if they are killed, captured or executed so be it. They are plenty of other members of the royal family.

You don't expect me to take that serious, do you?

It's my opinion that those who demand that someone should go to a war zone, should go themselves.
 
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If the millions are to be spent on training these guys then they should be able to serve fully and if they are killed, captured or executed so be it. They are plenty of other members of the royal family.
QUOTE]

You don't expect me to take that serious, do you?

It's my opinion that those who demand that someone should go to a war zone, should go themselves.


My point was that if they are to be trained then they should serve fully. No one forced them to join the military but having done so they shouldn't be protected from the same service as their fellow servicemen and women.

As for serving in a war zone I didn't get the chance due to us not having anywhere for reservists to serve when I was in the military - not through lack of desire but through lack of opportunity.
 
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Harry was pulled some 7 weeks after his cover was blown by New Idea here in Australia - hardly immediately.

If the millions are to be spent on training these guys then they should be able to serve fully and if they are killed, captured or executed so be it. They are plenty of other members of the royal family..

Wow! Just.....wow. :sad:
 
My point was that if they are to be trained then they should serve fully. No one forced them to join the military but having done so they shouldn't be protected from the same service as their fellow servicemen and women.

As for serving in a war zone I didn't get the chance due to us not having anywhere for reservists to serve when I was in the military - not through lack of desire but through lack of opportunity.

Fair enough, I can respect that opinion. I still disagree, not out of consideration to the royal, but because a royal endanger the lives of others and can worsen a situation. - if his/her presence is known.

I served in Croatia myself in the 90's, which is why I reacted strongly.
 
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As others have noted, there are a few considerations to be taken into account on this issue.

Though William might want to serve in a war zone exercising his skills, and would earn respect for being willing to be exposed to the same risks as his colleagues, which could help him in his future role, his presence is likely to expose them to greater danger because he could be a target for extremists. So, on balance, I think their interests should be put before his wishes. I think the same probably applies to Harry, now, too.

One could also argue that because these two can't be sent into dangerous zones, other servicemen will have to be sent in their stead and their lives risked more than if William and Harry took their turn, so perhaps they shouldn't be in the services at all and that the expensive training they have received should have been provided to others.
 
Then he shouldn't have been allowed to do military training in the first place.

Honestly, even if he's gone through the training just to take a job on the home front, it frees up another soldier (or sailor or airman) to go to Afghanistan. So he is still contributing to the effort.
 
William's job is a fairly dangerous one, even though he's working in the UK and not in Afghanistan. He's responsible for people's lives, both those of his fellow crew members and those whom they're attempting to rescue. He's doing real work and not playing at being a soldier.
 
William's job is a fairly dangerous one, even though he's working in the UK and not in Afghanistan. He's responsible for people's lives, both those of his fellow crew members and those whom they're attempting to rescue. He's doing real work and not playing at being a soldier.

Exactly! He is doing an important job which saves lives.
 
William's job is a fairly dangerous one, even though he's working in the UK and not in Afghanistan. He's responsible for people's lives, both those of his fellow crew members and those whom they're attempting to rescue. He's doing real work and not playing at being a soldier.

Precisely!!

My cousin is a Sea King pilot in the Cdn Armed Forces and she will defend William whenever she hears, to her, such stupid comments. Being a Search and Rescue pilot is one of the more dangerous jobs in the Military and it's not just a place holder kind of a thing for William to do. He is doing very real and very dangerous work, which he should be applauded for.

That some think his training's a waste of money...I just can't believe that. I'm sure that group that was stranded on that cliff face that he helped to rescue during his Training were more than happy to have him serving.
 
Precisely!!

My cousin is a Sea King pilot in the Cdn Armed Forces and she will defend William whenever she hears, to her, such stupid comments. Being a Search and Rescue pilot is one of the more dangerous jobs in the Military and it's not just a place holder kind of a thing for William to do. He is doing very real and very dangerous work, which he should be applauded for.

That some think his training's a waste of money...I just can't believe that. I'm sure that group that was stranded on that cliff face that he helped to rescue during his Training were more than happy to have him serving.


However other SAR pilots are able to be sent to Afghanistan but William isn't.

That is a way more dangerous service than Wales. Because he can't go someone else has to do extra service there.

By the way - in Australia the job he does is done by the Air Ambulance not the military.
 
However other SAR pilots are able to be sent to Afghanistan but William isn't.

That is a way more dangerous service than Wales. Because he can't go someone else has to do extra service there.

By the way - in Australia the job he does is done by the Air Ambulance not the military.

The bottom line is this. Whether you agree with it or not, England is not going to send William into war zones. He is the second in line to the throne, and whether or not you think he is expendable, others do not.
 
I think something that's also worth mentioning is what the future King William having hands on, day to day experience serving in the forces will mean to his fellow soldiers. William will one day be their Commander in Chief and I think the majority of servicemen and women will greatly appreciate having someone whose connection to them is not just ceremonial. There's no doubt in my mind that when William, (and Harry), attends a memorial service for British war dead he's experiencing it in a way a civilian couldn't and that every soldier who sees him knows this. IMO anyone who thinks otherwise is underestimating the bond that links soldiers together.

I also get the impression that some think that because William can't serve abroad, or at least not in a dangerous area like Afghanistan, that the forces have somehow not gotten a return on their investment. Leaving aside for a minute the weirdness of trying to quantify something like that, let's try to do the math. No, William can't go abroad. But is it possible, just maybe, that the forces might get a tiny bit of free publicity when a very high profile, very well thought of British prince is seen conducting himself well in the military? I think if you asked the big guns in the RAF, for example, they'd say William is worth a hundred times his weight in gold.
 
I think something that's also worth mentioning is what the future King William having hands on, day to day experience serving in the forces will mean to his fellow soldiers. William will one day be their Commander in Chief and I think the majority of servicemen and women will greatly appreciate having someone whose connection to them is not just ceremonial. There's no doubt in my mind that when William, (and Harry), attends a memorial service for British war dead he's experiencing it in a way a civilian couldn't and that every soldier who sees him knows this. IMO anyone who thinks otherwise is underestimating the bond that links soldiers together.

I also get the impression that some think that because William can't serve abroad, or at least not in a dangerous area like Afghanistan, that the forces have somehow not gotten a return on their investment. Leaving aside for a minute the weirdness of trying to quantify something like that, let's try to do the math. No, William can't go abroad. But is it possible, just maybe, that the forces might get a tiny bit of free publicity when a very high profile, very well thought of British prince is seen conducting himself well in the military? I think if you asked the big guns in the RAF, for example, they'd say William is worth a hundred times his weight in gold.

Excellent points. I completely agree with what you are saying. William isn't just biding his time doing what he has to do. He truly enjoys it and wants to make a difference. It isn't his fault he can't serve where he may be needed most. He was born into the destiny he has and has no choice.
 
I think something that's also worth mentioning is what the future King William having hands on, day to day experience serving in the forces will mean to his fellow soldiers. William will one day be their Commander in Chief and I think the majority of servicemen and women will greatly appreciate having someone whose connection to them is not just ceremonial. There's no doubt in my mind that when William, (and Harry), attends a memorial service for British war dead he's experiencing it in a way a civilian couldn't and that every soldier who sees him knows this. IMO anyone who thinks otherwise is underestimating the bond that links soldiers together.

I also get the impression that some think that because William can't serve abroad, or at least not in a dangerous area like Afghanistan, that the forces have somehow not gotten a return on their investment. Leaving aside for a minute the weirdness of trying to quantify something like that, let's try to do the math. No, William can't go abroad. But is it possible, just maybe, that the forces might get a tiny bit of free publicity when a very high profile, very well thought of British prince is seen conducting himself well in the military? I think if you asked the big guns in the RAF, for example, they'd say William is worth a hundred times his weight in gold.

Absolutely.

If William, and Harry too, just attended Sandhurst and then became honorary colonels they wouldn't have the same affilliation with the servicemen in the military and they wouldn't get the same respect.

I can also say with certainty that the same servicemen would not respect William less for not going to Afghanistan.

Nice to see you around, Camelot23ca :flowers:
 
I agree that the military gets publicity but is it worth the amount of money that they spent on training. What about his tours of duty with all the services? There was no real point in that. He could have gotten the experience and training with just one. Just for the record I recognize that all the services have something different to offer I was just thinking about taxpayers money.
 
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