Prince Harry Set For More Chopper Training
British Army commanders have selected Prince Harry to train as an Apache attack helicopter pilot, his office said Friday, but it probably will do little to boost the 25-year-old's chances of returning to the front lines in Afghanistan.
Prince Harry - who received his pilot's wings from his father, Prince Charles, Friday afternoon, has made no secret of his desire to return to Afghanistan.
The young royal - who was denied the chance to go to Iraq when the British army said it was too risky - served in Afghanistan in 2008 as a battlefield air controller until his time was cut short by a media leak.
Photos: Prince Harry in Afghanistan
Photos: Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy
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Photos: Prince Harry in New York
CBS News contributor Neil Sean reports that Queen Elizabeth II is against any plan to send the prince into a war zone, and not just because it would put a beloved grandchild in the line of fire. On a year-old frugality campaign, the queen thinks the security necessary to send Prince Harry into a war would cost the British people too much, especially in these belt-tightening times, Sean reports.
The headstrong prince apparently has the support of his father. Prince Charles. admits he sometimes worries about his son, but says, "He is his own man and I am full of admiration for him and what he is achieving in his career."
In a statement issued by his London office Friday, Prince Harry said it was a "huge honor" to learn to fly "an awesome helicopter."
"There is still a huge mountain for me to climb if I am to pass the Apache training course," he said. "To be honest, I think it will be one of the biggest challenges in my life so far. I am very determined, though, as I do not want to let down people who have shown faith in my ability to fly this aircraft on operations."
The prince, who is third in line to the British throne and is known in the military as Lt. Harry Wales, passed his basic helicopter training course last month.
That granted him the right to choose to apply to train on either the Apache, or the Lynx, a battlefield utility helicopter. Harry had indicated a preference for the Lynx, Sean reports, but Army Air Corps commanders judged that the prince's skills and flying abilities best suited the Apache, which was designed to hunt and destroy tanks.
Both helicopters are used primarily in war zones. The Apache has been extensively used in Afghanistan to assault enemy ground positions and fly cover for Chinook heavy-lift support helicopters.
Flying is in the family's royal blood: Harry's older brother, Prince William, is learning to fly search-and-rescue choppers. Prince Charles qualified as a helicopter pilot in 1974, and their uncle, Prince Andrew, flew a Royal Navy helicopter during the Falklands War.