Harry Expected To Fit Right In In Iraq
Britain's Prince Harry, who is expected to deploy to Iraq later this spring, has begun his Army training.
And, from the matter-of-fact perspective of the British men and women already serving there, Basra will be an assignment the prince is well-prepared for, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.
Will Pope, who went to school with Harry, told a British reporter the prince will probably be taking over his tank.
"It's very much a case of learning things here when you get out here and, as long as he just does what he's told, he'll be absolutely fine," Pope said.
As the first ranking royal who'll be serving in a war zone in more than 20 years, Harry's training qualifies him to command a reconnaissance squad, Roth points out. His stature as third-in-line to the throne may qualify him as an object of curiosity, but the soldiers he'll serve with say that shouldn't last long.
"He is in a position where he is noticed, but … I just think, let him get on with his job," one said.Photos: Graduation Day
"When he gets out here, OK, I'm sure that sort of human nature would be to sort of be intrigued by seeing him about. But at the end of the day, he is out here to do a job," said another.
"He's just another bloke to me, and I'm sure he is to everyone else, just another officer in the ranks," said a third.
While rank has its privileges in the military, Roth observes, the British say royalty does not.
If his unit is deployed to Iraq, Harry will sleep and eat with the other officers and enlisted men and women assigned to Basra, which is exactly what he's said he wants to do.
"The last thing I wanna do," he said, "is have my soldiers sent away to Iraq … and for me to be held back home, twiddling my thumbs thinking, 'Well, what about Derrick? What about David?' "
On a troop rotation in May or June, the British say, he'll get his wish.