- USA Today - LONDON — Britain's Prince Harry, third in line to the throne, will be sent to Iraq, the Ministry of Defense said Thursday.
Harry, 22, an army second lieutenant known as Troop Commander Wales, will lead 12 men from his Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry in four reconnaissance vehicles, the ministry said in a statement.
The orders raise the possibility that Harry could become the first member of the British royal family to see combat since his uncle, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, served as a Royal Navy helicopter pilot in the Falklands War against Argentina in 1982.
Harry, who graduated from Britain's military academy Sandhurst last year, told reporters in September 2005 that he wasn't preparing for a career in the military if he couldn't be sent to combat zones.
"There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country," Harry said.
...there has been concern that Harry's deployment would make him and his regiment a target in the eyes of terrorists there.
"Speculation about precisely where (Harry) will serve, or the exact details of his role, is potentially dangerous," the Defense ministry and his father's office at Clarence House said in a joint statement. As a result, they did not disclose exactly how and where Harry would serve and asked the media to respect that as a matter of "operational security."
prying1 sez: Good for Harry. The fact that he wants to stick with his team and is willing to go into the path of danger to do so shows that he is a man of good character. I think too that he realizes the real dangers to the entire world of cutting and running from Iraq. Doing so would only allow the terrorists to take over Iraq and it's oil fields. - May the Living God bless and keep him and his comrades safe.
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