The Prince’s lame deployment isn’t all bad

After several conflicting media reports and a great deal of uncertainty, the British Ministry of Defense has concluded what many international observers have long assumed: Prince Harry’s deployment to Iraq as a Second Lieutenant Tank Commander would produce a sustained danger to both the prince himself and the squadron of troops with which he would serve. The 22-year-old, pretty-faced prince, third in line to the crown, has actually been trained to lead a 12-man team in four armored Stryker vehicles (tanks). However, following the May 16^th military ruling, Prince Harry will only be allowed to perform his duties along Iraq’s southern borders. The prince, who graduated from Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, has expressly stated that “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” and that he insists upon suffering no “special treatment” while performing his duty in Iraq.

Though the earnestness of Prince Harry’s assertion is admirable, other, more cautious assessments of utility in the Iraq war have prevailed. “There have been a number of specific threats – some reported and some not reported – which relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual,” says British General Sir Richard Dannatt. “These threats expose not only him, but those around him to a degree of risk I now deem unacceptable.” According to the General, the threats emerging from insurgents include intricate plans to kidnap Harry from his regiment, the Blues and Royals, as well as taunts boasting close links with British military informants who would help to map out the young Prince’s precise location.

British officials, aware that Harry’s presence would expose his regiment to well-orchestrated attacks, need to avoid another international embarrassment like the March kidnapping of 15 Royal Navy personnel by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. As CBS News affirmed, Prince Harry’s capture would be a “propaganda boost” to the Iraqi insurgents and a “huge morale hit” to the U.K. In a BBC News special – packed with benevolent comments from British officers and soldiers’ families in an attempt to soothe public criticism – the lack of support for Prince Harry’s deployment among soldiers’ family members was predictably glaring. Resentment seemed to replace awe.

“As a mother of a son who is in the military, I would be relieved that someone – in this case – Prince Harry – who had a huge price tag on his head, would not be around my child,” said Lucille Duggs, mother of a British soldier, “If someone was out to kill someone like Harry, you would not want innocent bystanders, like other soldiers, to be targeted. Too many have lost their lives already.”

Genna Tomlin, the wife of a British soldier, adds her concern. “Will he only be sent to safe places and have easy duties whilst others are expected to risk life and limb? If he is not allowed to do what other soldiers must, he should resign his commission.”

The Evening Standard, a prestigious British newspaper, confirmed that a team of Special Air Service men, comparable to America’s Secret Service, would be on stand-by to shadow the prince and intervene if the prince’s life was in immediate danger. To some, this does not sit well. “It would appear that Harry’s life is more valuable than my son or the other nearly 150 service personnel who’ve given their lives,” stated Reg Keys, the father of a soldier who also died in the Iraq war.

Predictably, conspiracy theorists are working hard to connect the dots. Might have Harry’s cozy redeployment resulted from Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recent resignation, a swell of British casualties, or the on-going British withdrawal from Iraq? Perhaps, but the greatest unanimity is found in the belief that Britain’s image would improve were Harry to serve in harm’s way. That image boost, argue military strategists like General Dannatt, is not worth risking a potential crisis involving the prince.

Thus, this episode is most interesting because it marks the beginning of Prince Harry’s maturation into a military leader, despite the safety of his Gulf missions. Gone are Harry’s younger days of smoking cannabis and slapping photographers. The boy who made millions of teenage girls swoon is transforming into a man.

This transformation has a long history within the Royal family. Harry will be following in the footsteps of his uncle Prince Andrew, a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War, Prince Philip, a sailor in World War II, and George II, who personally led his troops into battle to beat the French at Dettingen in 1743. And while Harry’s service might not rival in danger the missions of his predecessors, his sincere willingness to serve and his commitment to the Blues and Royals reflects well on the state of British Royalty.