By
Rebecca English
Last updated at 10:50 PM on 7th March 2012
Prince Harry yesterday scaled down a military exercise in Jamaica out of respect for the families of servicemen killed in the worst land attack the British Army has ever suffered in Afghanistan.
The prince, who recently qualified as an Apache attack helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps and hopes to be deployed to the front line himself later this year, had been due to abseil down a rappel tower with the Jamaican Defence Force at Up Park Camp, Kingston.
A sombre looking Harry, 27, did, however, take part in a live firing exercise during his visit – and more than proved his metal – although the engagement had a very different feel to the more lively events of recent days.
Action man: Prince Harry, with a pair of ear plugs protecting his hearing sizes up a target range at the Up Park Camp in Kingston, Jamaica
Prince Harry donned protective chest armour and a helmet before picking up a standard issue M4 rifle to fire live rounds with other Jamaican Defence Force soldiers at Up Park Camp, Kingston
A St. James’s Palace spokesman said: ‘His Royal Highness will now just watch the action at the rappel tower rather than take part. The reason being, Prince Harry does not wish to take part in a military activity which would be deemed peripheral to an Apache pilot, on this day when the focus for the British army should be on its core professional roles and of looking after the bereaved of those tragically killed in Afghanistan.’
Dressed in desert combats and boots with his sky blue Army Air Corps beret, the prince donned protective chest armour and a helmet before picking up a standard issue M4 rifle.
Harry, who makes no secret of his distaste for photographers, provoked gales of laughter when he asked loudly whether ‘anyone with a camera wants to stand the other end’, and gestured towards the targets at the other end of the range.
At one point, the Prince got down on the ground to fire his 5.56mm calibre bullets, which can shoot at distances of up to 300 metres, at a target 25 metres away
Prince Harry jokingly asked whether ‘anyone with a camera’ wanted to stand at the other end by the target
The prince was firing his 5.56mm calibre
bullets at a distance of 25 metres but the rifle can shoot at distances
of up to 300 metres.
It was clear that Harry, who admits that the military ‘is his life’ was at his most comfortable as he lay down, took sight and fired.
Confidently strolling away, wiping his face with a red handkerchief, Harry looked pleased at his result – and with good reason.
He scored an almost perfect 39 out of 40 on his 25 metre silhouette and eight on target hits to the head of a second target featuring an armed attacker being disarmed by a dog.
Near perfect score: Prince Harry scored an almost perfect 39 out of 40 on his 25 metre silhouette
Quite a shot: The Prince also managed to get eight on target hits to the head of a second target featuring an armed attacker being disarmed by a dog
Corporal Gavin Anderson : ‘Yes it was a near perfect score.’
On
his arrival earlier in the morning he had been greeted by Chief of
Defence Staff, Major-General Anthony Anderson, at the Mess before having
breakfast with JDF officers.
Amongst their number was a former Sandhurst cadet, Lieutenant Kayon Mills, who trained alongside the prince in the same platoon.
The pair hugged each other in greeting and Harry asked him ‘what have you been up to?’
Lieutenant Mills said ‘After Sandhurst I came straight back here.’
On the mark: Prince Harry’s showed off his shooting skills with several head shots on this terrorist target after the live-firing exercise at the Up Park Army Camp
Another of Prince Harry’s targets, which he scored an almost perfect 39 out of 40, impressing fellow soldiers
Clearly Harry remembered him well as the royal asked ‘still working out?’ and touched his left bicep.
Harry
turned to the officers around him and made them laugh by saying:’ This
guy used to be enormous, he used to work out so much’ and puffed out his
chest and arms to illustrate his point.
The Jamaican officer said later: ‘I haven’t seen him since 2006 it was great catching up.
‘At Sandhurst he was one of the guys,
hardworking always giving 100 per cent, he knew when it was time to
work and when it was time to celebrate.’
Soldiers of the Jamaican Defence Force help Prince Harry remove his protective bullet proof vest after the close-quarter battle simulator
Keeping his cool: Prince Harry wiped down his face with a red cloth after shooting at the firing range in the blazing heat
Sources said yesterday that Harry was ‘devastated’ to hear of the latest loss of life in Afghanistan.
Because
Harry only holds the relatively junior rank of Captain, he decided it
was not appropriate to make any public comment about events in the
warzone.
However a spokesman for the prince confirmed he had been made aware of the deaths after waking, and took a personal decision took change his schedule.
Harry, who is nearing the end of a week-long tour to mark his grandmother’s Diamond Jubilee, was due to fly to the traditional tourist resort of Montego Bay later in the day.
Prince Harry looked sombre during a ceremony at Up Park Camp in Kingston
Old friends: Prince Harry meets fellow Sandhurst trainee cadet Lieutenant Kayon Mills during his visit to the Up Park Camp
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Prince Harry does not wish to take part in a military activity which would be deemed peripheral to an Apache pilot, on this day when the focus for the British army should be on its core professional roles and of looking after the bereaved of those tragically killed in Afghanistan.’… Firing a machine gun but??? I dont get it…The abseiling looked pretty hard though. Guess Harry is better at firing a gun.
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What an embarrassing specimen,Geez if the argies think all us britts are like this wet flannel they would simply book a vacation to take them to the Falklands and take over the place.
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Jamica is a great country and it’s people have a lot of nature. Been there in 1960 and never forgot the experience ,one jollification after another. Prince Harry being a nature person will be well respected and always remembered by the Jamician people.
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He has a sincere smile.
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At 25 metres you can hardly miss. Setting he targets at 100 metres gives a better indication of who the hotshots are. Good for Harry, serious when he needs to be.
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That’s only 80 odd feet in ole money, god damnit!
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Firstly RIP 6 brave lads who sadly lost their lives today.
Nice article, and kudos to Harry and William, When I look at our greedy and sleazy politicians, these two lads are REAL ambassadors for the UK, they have their late mothers charisma and are liked the world over (well apart from Argentina !).
Best of Luck !
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He’ll make someone a lovely King. What a shame it isn’t due to be us. I bet Canada snaffles him and leaves us with the weak link.
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I’m curious. Why does Prince Harry travel the world for all these training missions? He was just here in California training a short four months ago, now he is in the Caribbean. I ask because I thought that persons in military training, such as the ones I know here in California, are stationed at a base and that is where they train. Yes, they can be transferred to a different base for specialized training purposes, but I have never seen them travel around the world constantly. Just wondering….
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At least he wasn’t shooting animals this week.
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