| Afghanistan: Prince William in surprise visit |
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| Written by Professor David Flint AM | |
| Monday, 15 November 2010 | |
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Prince William made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on 14 November 2010 to honour British soldiers who have died during wars, while Queen Elizabeth led the nation in honouring the war dead in London for Remembrance Day, according the Associated Press. Prince William was joined in Afghanistan by Defence Secretary Liam Fox. Mr. Fox said: "Remembrance Sunday is a time when the entire country stops to recognize the sacrifices made by the armed forces on our behalf. I am extremely proud that Prince William and I could come to Camp Bastion to stand alongside the men and women serving in Afghanistan today. I pay tribute to them, and everyone who has served before them in this conflict, and others on behalf of the freedoms that the British people enjoy."
"I would advise, or I would be part of the advice, which would go to her majesty, that right now he shouldn't. He's not trained to go out there so it's actually a slightly academic issue. Prince William's doing a fantastic job already in the air sea rescue world which has its attendant risks and which is hugely valuable. However, with Prince Harry, who spent ten weeks serving in Helmand in 2008 and is known to be keen to return to the front line, it is a different matter. "Harry, now he's not the immediate heir to the throne and his particular skill set – flying Apaches, is an area where there is less risk attached. "Lets see how his training goes, his reports of Apache training are very positive but he has to pass all that and if and when we reach that stage then we'll have to take a decision based on the situation at the time and I can't prejudge that. "He wants to go (to Afghanistan), my sense is, as a soldier, I am absolutely with him. We'll have to look again once we know if he is qualified to go. The omens are good in that respect, he is doing terribly well." |
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