London: Prince Harry's dreams of taking on
the Taliban in an Apache helicopter in war-ravaged Afghanistan
are said to have been shattered after his instructors told him
that he is not suited to fly the chopper.
The third-in-line to the British throne is feeling
somewhat downhearted after being told he is unlikely to fulfil
his dream of fighting the "Terry Taliban" (in Afghanistan) in
an Apache, the 'Sunday Express' reported.
"He had hoped to become a top gun Apache pilot but
he's been told that the instructors feel he is not suited to
the Apache," a source was quoted as saying.
Instead the Prince is likely to be trained to fly the
more sedate lynx when he moves soon to his next posting at the
Army Air Corps base at Middle Wallop in Hampshire, the British
newspaper said.
"Even as a Lynx pilot there's no chance he'll be
returning to the front line until 2012 at the earliest," the
unnamed source was quoted as saying.
Two years back, Prince Harry had served the British
Army in Afghanistan. He was working in Helmand province as a
Forward Air Controller -- responsible for providing cover for
frontline troops -- and also involved in clashes with Taliban.
He was in fact involved in a frontline fire-fight with
the Taliban fighting alongside Gurkha troops some 500 metres
from enemy positions.
But, he was recalled after the news of his four-
month deployment in 2007, which had been kept secret because
of a Ministry of Defence agreement with media houses, was made
public after the news leaked out overseas and on the Internet.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, November 01, 2009, 17:58