"LONDON - Prince Harry will be serving as a soldier in Iraq by the end of the month, a British newspaper reported Saturday, though government officials called the story speculative.

The Daily Mirror newspaper — citing an unnamed senior military official — reported that Defense Secretary Des Browne is expected to announce Feb. 26 that the prince, who is third in line to the throne, will be deployed along with his regiment near Basra in southern Iraq.

A royal family spokesman declined to comment and the Defense Ministry called the report speculative, saying upcoming Iraq deployments had yet to be finalized.

The 22-year-old prince, known as Troop Commander Wales by his regiment — the Blues and Royals — has trained to command 11 soldiers and four Scimitar tanks.

The Defense Ministry has previously confirmed Harry could go to Iraq if his unit was deployed there, but said he might be kept out of situations where his presence would jeopardize his comrades.

Harry's brother Prince William, training as a troop leader within the Blues and Royals, cannot be deployed to war zones because he is second in line to the British crown.

Britain has 7,000 troops based in southern Iraq and plans to reduce numbers through the course of 2007, government officials have said.

Harry, who graduated last year from Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, said in a 2005 interview that he was keen to fight for his country.

"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," he said.

In joining the military, Harry followed a royal tradition: Charles was a pilot with the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and Harry's grandfather, Prince Philip, had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy.

Harry's uncle, Prince Andrew, was a Royal Navy pilot and served in the Falklands war against Argentina." -- Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070217/ap_en_ot/people_prince_harry_3

What if those at the top of our power structure had to see their children make the ultimate sacrifice in war?

(edit) ==================================================

I am sure this website is a favorite of a lot of you and has probably been here before, but I still think this is the best way to begin to understand what our troops do every single day. From the Sandbox:

"PIECES IN THE SNOW
Name: CPT B. Tupper
Posting date: 1/22/07
Stationed in: Afghanistan
Hometown: Syracuse, NY
Milblog url: www.myspace.com/42094372

The streets, the fields, the Market Bazaar, everything as far as the eye could see was covered in a coat of pure white. Overnight a snowstorm had passed through our corner of Paktika, dropping just enough snow to cover all the mud and dirt and garbage that paints the landscape of the town.

I stood on the main road of the normally bustling Bazaar, in an expanse of pure white, staring at a mysteriously vibrant pink and red object. Around me, there were no footprints disturbing the snow except my own. It appeared as if this strange object had been dropped from the sky. It lay there in simple repose -- thin fibrous strands splayed like a peacock's tail feathers along its top. At the base, a stiff stalk of white segments adorned with bright red dollops.

After the initial distraction of marveling at its intricate make up, I refocused on my original purpose in approaching it. I needed to identify what it was. Having now done so, I turned and walked back to my Humvee.

It was the neck stem of a human spine, blasted 150 meters in the air from the site of a suicide bombing minutes earlier. I had been in the middle of a slow, frustrating meeting with my Commander and our ANA counterparts, arguing over attendance numbers, when a very subtle vibration passed through our room. It was gentle and unassuming. With no one even mentioning the distant thud, we continued our conversation until one of my ETT Teammates ran into the room and yelled "We're rolling -- there's been an explosion in the Bazaar!"

Now I stood amid a chaotic scene. ANA soldiers and ETT's trying to organize a wide cordon around the blast site, with rumors spreading of a VBIED (car bomb) still in play, and the confusion of sorting out who was dead, who was wounded, and who was lucky.

These initial moments were pretty tense. Scattered in the road intersection were seven unoccupied vehicles. Any one could be a secondary explosive device positioned to kill the first responders, a classic enemy tactic. As we went about trying to get a grasp on what had happened and what needed to be done, we all were within the lethal blast radius of even a small car bomb.

I found myself nervous, but ironically fighting to contain a smile. I kept expecting a fiery white light to instantly wash me away. BANG! Torn Car metal. Flame.

When none of this transpired, I was happy as a kid on Christmas morning. And every second that there was no explosion, my grin continued to grow. I was just happy to have a few more seconds with no technicolor finish.

This reaction probably seemed out of place, given the random burned and twisted body parts laying around me as I walked through the scene. But no one noticed me. Each of us was in our own little world, trying to process the remaining risks and the results of this suicide blast.

The events up to this point were fairly easy to reconstruct. A lone suicide bomber had walked up to a group of ANA soldiers who had congregated at a street intersection outside of our Base. He detonated his explosive vest, which instantly scattered his mortal remains in a truly random pattern. Ground zero was a large blackened circle where he stood, which instantly evaporated the snow and burned the ground below it."

The Sandbox:
http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/

this is a total non issue. In Britan its the custom for the second son of the royal family to serve in the military.

In the US, its up to the individual, and there have been some famous presidential children to serve, Lt Gen George Washingtons step son died at Yorktown. His 3 great grandsons served in the Civil war, 2 as generals for the Confederacy, the other was only a captain.

President Teddey Roosevelt lost one son in WWI and another in WWII, Franklin rooselvelts son was one of the makin island raiders.

"WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., keeps a map of Iraq in his kitchen and tries to follow events on television, knowing that any moment could bring catastrophic news.

His son Brooks, 31, is in Iraq, a staff sergeant with the Army's 101st Airborne Division.

"The families recognize, more so than anyone, the very real nature of what is happening," Johnson said. "These are not video games."

Of the 535 members of [the 2003] Congress, at least seven have a great personal interest: They have children in the military who already are participating in the war or could be called to do so.

They include Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., whose 32-year-old son, Dan, is training reserve units in Georgia that are about to be sent to Iraq.

"If he could go, I would say good for you ... and we'll be proud of you," said Kline, a retired Marine colonel. "But there's a percentage of me that says he's my son and I'm glad he's here."

The number of federal lawmakers with children in the military has steadily declined since the Vietnam era, and some say that's too bad.

If more members of Congress had children in the military, they'd be less likely to vote for war, said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. He said that "the sons and daughters of the most privileged Americans are underrepresented or absent" from the military."
-- By Tom Ford, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

http://www.hurricane2005.com/03/04/naples/d930340a.htm

I dont think thats true, and I really hope its not.
National leaders should look at how something affects the whole country, not just one person, no matter how close that person is to them.

I dont think Lincoln would have made one decision any different if he had a son at Gettysberg.
And I dont think Franklin Roosevelt would have worried less about the raiders when they hit Makin, if his son want with them.

"National leaders should look at how something affects the whole country, not just one person, no matter how close that person is to them." I agree with you on this point. Whether it is a kid or a close business partner, one should weigh all of the country's interests before making a decision. I think that it is easier to understand how a military parent feels, however, if you are one.

You may also have noticed how poorly Veterans have been treated with fewer and fewer legislators among their ranks. It is important to be able to reflect, not only as a lawmaker, but as a human too. In my opinion, it takes all of your brain and a lot of different points of view to make the best decisions when tough choices are presented. If the American people are sacrificing, the leadership ought to as well. They must be of the people and by the people or they cannot truly lead the people.

yeau I have seen how poorly some libs treat veterans, calling them all sorts of names.

This administration has drasticly increaqsed veternans benefits. Much more than clinton did in his entire term.