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Welcome
Hello, I'm Andy McNab. I'm so pleased that so many of you are enjoying logging onto Battleseen. It’s a great success. A big thank you too for those of you who have shared your videos, stories and experiences on the site. Keep 'em coming! It's your contributions that really bring home what it's like to be out on the frontline or to know that your loved ones are out there fighting. In fact, it would be great to hear more of your views and experiences. It doesn't matter if you are in the Army, Navy, Airforce. Or even a family member back home. If you are sending us video, what about sending us the story behind it? Your stories are important to us.
I want to hear from all sorts of bloggers. Maybe there are some civilians reading this who are witnessing what is happening. Any freelance reporters who want their work on the web? Here is the place to log it. I'm sure lots of other Battleseen fans would agree that the more information there is, the more we get to understand what’s happening.
For this reason, we have just launched a Blog area so we can all chat some more. Take a look at it, by clicking on the Blogs link above and give us your feedback on anything you feel strongly about. I will be writing a regular blog with my own views and opinions on what’s happening on the frontline, so keep checking back.
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Prince Harry's been there and got the T-shirt
Nowadays, I think of Harry as a soldier first, and a Royal second. After being on operations in Afghanistan, he will shortly be awarded a medal to say that he has been there, done that, and got the T-shirt.
I am pretty sure he really will have the T-shirt too, as most units get one printed up during their tour. I bet Harry is feeling pretty good right now, and so he should. He has been lucky enough to have served as a professional soldier on the front line, and only relatively few ever get that opportunity.
I'm not just talking about the fighting part of operations, although that is no mean feat in itself. I am talking more about a real sense of being part of something much bigger than yourself. I guess, it comes down to a feeling of belonging.
Harry will have sat in the middle of the desert sharing ration pack instant white tea out of the same mug as guys from housing estates from all around the country. He will have picked up a shovel and borrowed someone's toilet roll to go behind his wagon, just like every one else. It isn't very royal, but it is very soldier.
It doesn't matter if you are black or white, rich or poor, you are all soldiers. And you are all in it together. Harry is now part of that tribe that makes the army so special. I know because I have been a soldier myself for 18 years, in both the infantry and the SAS.
My first operational tour as an eighteen year old was in South Armagh. I was excited even before I got there. I was to become a "bayonet" - a real fighting soldier. I too received my first campaign medal to show I had been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. Ours had "University of Crossmaglen" emblazoned across it. Nowadays, I am a regular visitor to the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, (ITCC) in North Yorkshire. All infantry recruits, from the Guards to the Paras, are trained there and it is Europe's largest military base.
Everytime I visit I see that nothing has changed when it comes to the emotion and excitement of soldiering. Every single recruit I meet there is excited that the battalion they are about to be posted to will be sent on operations. They will actually get to do the very thing they have been training to do every since they joined the Army – fight. I am sure Harry felt that same excitement when he was told he would be deployed to Afghanistan.
I have been to both Afghanistan and Iraq in the last twelve months, and every soldier I've ever met there says exactly the same thing: 'Nightmare tour – but wouldn't have missed it for anything.' I bet Harry is now saying the same thing. I don't think for a moment that this experience will turn Harry into the perfect role model. Like everyone else back from a tour, he will want to get "downtown" and enjoy himself after ops. And why shouldn't he? He has certainly earned it.
But the big difference now is that next time Harry gets rolled out for a state occasion with his dress uniform on, he will be able to stand alongside any soldier, from any army, with credibility. Like most Royals, he will undoubtedly have a whole array of medals pinned to his chest, but now there is one lump of metal dangling from it that means more than all the rest put together. Because that's the one that says, "Been there, done that – got the T-shirt."
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Prince Harry in Afghanistan
I received the following statement from the Ministry of Defence last week.
I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story
without consulting us. This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible
attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a
small number from overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us
over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations. After a lengthy period of
discussion between the MOD and the Editors of regional, national and
international media, the Editors took the commendable attitude to restrain
their coverage. I would like to thank them for that and I do appreciate
that once the story was in the public domain, they had no choice but to
follow suit.
What the last two months have shown is that it is perfectly possible for
Prince Harry to be employed just the same as other Army officers of his rank
and experience. His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been
exemplary. He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same
risks as everyone else in his Battlegroup. In common with all of his
generation in the Army today, he is a credit to the nation. In deciding to
deploy him to Afghanistan, it was my judgement that with an understanding
with the media not to broadcast his whereabouts, the risk in doing was
manageable. Now that the story is in the public domain, the Chief of
Defence Staff and I will take advice from the operational commanders about
whether his deployment can continue. I now appeal to the media to restrain
from attempting to report Prince Harry’s every move and return to our
understanding.
Q: What has Harry been doing?
A: Prince Harry deployed to Afghanistan just before Christmas to join the
Household Cavalry Regiment Battlegroup operating in Helmand province as part
of Task Force Helmand. He has been employed as a Joint Tactical Air
Controller (JTAC). JTACs are responsible for the movement of aircraft
within their areas of responsibility. This responsibility ranges from the
safe movement of helicopters delivering supplies through surveillance
operations to calling for, or clearing the use of, air delivered munitions
in support of ground forces. JTAC operations can be undertaken from HQ
locations within Forward Operating Bases and from field locations. The JTAC
role is entirely appropriate for an officer of Prince Harry’s experience and
seniority and one for which he successfully completed the necessary
training.
Q: Have Taliban been killed as a result of Harry’s work?
A: He has been part of a communication chain that has relayed the necessary
information to aircrews tasked with providing air support to troops on the
ground. We are unable to confirm whether there will have been Taliban
casualties.
Q: Have any civilians been killed in the action in which PH was involved?
A: No.
Q: Where is Harry now?
A: Harry has been deployed at a number of locations in Southern Helmand. He
is now serving at a different location in Helmand from that currently being
shown, though for obvious reasons we are not prepared to give further
details.
Q: Will Harry now be pulled out of Helmand?
A: As the CGS said, the chain of command is considering this matter and will
decide in due course.
