It's (not so) Good to be (not quite) the King.

Not exactly cutting edge news, but some reflections on the whole débâcle with Prince Henry and Afghanistan.

It’s not every day that I find myself in sympathy with the rich and famous, but I can totally see Harry’s point of view here. He’s a soldier, and as one he wants to do his job with his mates and his troops, and in my commoner opinion, it’s the best thing he could do. A guy in his position (third in line for the throne) very much needs something he can call his own, and Harry’s time in Afghanistan was that to him.

The psychological aspects of it aside, the whole concept that combat troops in Afghanistan would give a red rat’s ass about having a (trained and competent) celebrity in their midst obviously didn’t originate from the guys he served with. The Taliban aren’t the Red Army, the SS or even the NVA (North Vietnamese Army); even if they were to make an extra effort to take out a scion of the House of Saxe-Cobourg-Gotha, their capabilities are extremely limited.

In fact, every effort they make to take out any specific NATO person or thing just gives us a chance to kill them more easily and in greater numbers. I am quite certain that if you could ask any of Harry’s fellow troops, they would say of any Taliban desire to come after Prince Henry of Wales, “let ‘em try”. Combat troops are not inclined in a combat zone to be too concerned about what the other side might like to do, more about what they can do.

Of course I have no idea exactly what’s going on in his head, but in a way he shouldn’t be too surprised that the brass aren’t willing to put him in harm’s way. His relatives and ancestors served, but few of them were allowed right on the front line, and with the nature of the current Afghanistan situation, there is no front line. Thus arrives the flap resulting in the weak-kneed decision (not his) to pull him home.

William is stuck with being the main event, and he’s the one who should have to deal with this sort of thing, not his younger brother. My main (only, really) point here is that Prince Henry and his troops would not have cared one bit that the Taliban would have made a special effort to bag that particular “chicken”.

Any of us “outside the wire” in Afghanistan had a bit of an issue with political high-rollers coming in with their fleets of helicopters and media circuses, because THAT attracts extra rockets, mortar fire, etc. Harry was, on the ground, just another subaltern and would have been difficult for the bad guys to pin down. Besides, he’s a FAC, and you might get a lot more than you can handle attacking someone like that…

The Brit troops are still as good as ever, but their leadership is wanting at the highest levels, and that is the source of this problem. Even if the word was out in Helmand that Harry was there, journalists are very easily kept at bay in that environment, and any reporter compromising OPSEC would be quickly looking for a new job.

Combat Arms troops are by inclination and training quite willing to get into a fight, and I can imagine the Prince’s frustration at being denied the opportunity to finish his tour with the guys. Hopefully he gets another chance or at least finds something else that he feels the same way about that his government won’t screw him out of.