Prince Harry's been there and got the T-shirt

[Andy McNab]

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."

[DeadLetterBox]

Spot on that is!

I can only hope the Belgian Royals will follow the example one day, but somehow I doubt that... Even if they would, their credibility wouldn't rise much! The pile of family scandels is just getting too big! lol

[robert@rmills06.wanadoo.co.uk]

andy totally go with your comments about prince harry,however i have reservations as to wheather it was wise to send harry to afghanistan,even though that was where he wanted to be and fair play to him.The point i'm getting at really is will this make harry more of a extremist terrosist target more so now than lets say being a royal anyway.Mi5 keep telling us they are struggling to keep up with growing numbers of fanatics in the uk they are watching,i just think they could of sent him to canada,cyprus anywhere but iraq or afghanistan.As the freaks are bound to use that one if they ever do try and go for harry.

[DeadLetterBox]

you got a point there.

But by keeping people who are a possible target, like Pr Harry, indoors, safely tucked away, wouldn't we be giving up some of our freedom and rigths? We allready do to some degree, I know that. But we must show Al-Qaida that we are not afraid to confront them, that we do not need to hide our high-risk-targets. Its all about pr, psych-war if you ask me. I bet Harry has been told about the pro's and contra's and that in the end it was up to him. But before he could decide, there would have been a lot of meetings taking place about this...

[SASbrit456]

I understand what you're saying but does that mean that you would recommend joining the army?

[DeadLetterBox]

Well, the army was good for me. And I would always recommend it to someone who is motivated to go.

If Harry really wanted to do this, then I think he did good, no matter what.

[J80LRD]

Alright Andy,

your right in what you say about our young prince Harry, he will get his medal and the t-shirt, and he deserves it, he didnt just do the bit of training required to get dressed up now and again and wear the medals you get for being a royal, he done his training and got out there, i think hes a fine example of what it means to be a british soldier, on the tv proggrame that showed him out there he summed it up when he said "im not the only one here who's lost a parent" like you pointed out andy theres lads out there fighting from all backgrounds and they all deserve their medals and t-shirts, and im sure they will all wear them with as much pride as Harry will, he's proved he's not just a royal, he's a man, a soldier!!!

[rafau]

Hello Andy

I'm not a British guy but glancing at this topic of Prince Harry in the Army I don't believe it is truth. Few years ago I saw the press article about British Royal Family. There was the information that both sons of Charles can not fly at the same airplane to avoid the risk of death of the Crown Heirs. Remembering this condition it is hard to believe if Harry can be sent to Afghanistan, can be captured for example and used for any kind of muslim propaganda. It sounds like bull...t.
Prince Harry is quite popular person worldwide but mostly known as a non responsible young man, having problems with alcohol and maybe drugs etc. etc. This is a very good solution to show the Britons that Harry is a good boy, true & brave soldier, good mate and every mother can only dream about such guy. In modern world there is a lot of possibilities to create such story that money can buy. So, I think all that story about Harry is false just to create a great vision of the Queen's Grandson

[DeadLetterBox]

haha, well wathever happened, the footage shows him in action, in the field. So even if its false, they got him out there to make the movie...

I don't think its a fake. There would be too much people involved that would have to keep their mouth shut. Whatever they get payed, I think the tabloids would pay more for such a story.

Keep your feet on soil lad, your bit in overdrive I think. ;-)

[rafau]

Hi Dude
Imagine that Harry is not allowed to fly the same plane as his elder brother or do same risky job simultaneusly with his brother - but he is allowed to walk in an Afghan Hamlet maybe being aimed by a Arabian sharpshooter. It is standard risk for an average soldier but for Queen's Heir is impossible to accept.
The video footage can prepared - it's not "The Titanic" production