Prince's visit to troops in Afghanistan dismissed as PR exercise

IT WAS hailed as the conclusion to his training with the RAF, but British troops yesterday criticised Prince William's secret flying visit to Afghanistan as nothing more than an expensive public-relations exercise.

Soldiers, along with commentators and anti-war campaigners, suggested the trip was being used to generate good press coverage in the wake of controversy over his piloting military helicopters to visit his girlfriend, Kate Middleton.

He flew a Chinook helicopter from RAF Odiham in Hampshire to Miss Middleton's family home 16 miles away in Bucklebury, Berkshire on 3 April.

Eight days later, he piloted a Chinook to London, picked up his brother Harry and then travelled to the Isle of Wight for a stag party.

Yesterday, Andrew Bergin, a spokesman for the Stop The War coalition, described the trip as a "shameful waste of public money" and accused the Ministry of Defence of using troops in Afghanistan to try to "cleanse" the prince's image.

He said: "The MoD and Buckingham Palace are manipulating the media to try to cleanse the prince's joyriding, tarnished image.

"It belittles the real problems soldiers face in Afghanistan. The resources devoted to this trip would have been better spent providing decent equipment for the troops and aftercare for injured soldiers. It is a shameful waste of public money."

The official purpose of the trip was for the prince to familiarise himself with RAF operations in a battle situation.

Prince William also flew back with the body of a soldier killed in action. Trooper Robert Pearson died earlier this month when his vehicle hit a mine.

Clarence House insisted Prince William was "honoured" to be a member of the aircrew that repatriated Trooper Pearson's body. He met the family of the soldier at RAF Lyneham.

Ken Wharfe, a former royal protection officer, said Prince William would have been in no real danger during his visit to Afghanistan.

He said: "There is an element of risk, but there would be no way security officials would allow it to happen … it would be pretty well sterile while he was there.

"I'm slightly sceptical about this. I think the cynics among us will say it's an attempt to cover up the Chinook jollies."

Max Clifford, the leading publicist, agreed, stating that the Afghanistan trip had been "a good public-relations exercise".

He said: "Certainly, this will get them some good headlines, I imagine."

The prince's trip received a mixed response on the British Army Rumour Service (Arrse), a popular military internet forum.

Many contributors praised Prince William, with one suggesting that he would not have wanted to be overshadowed by his brother Prince Harry's ten-week tour in Afghanistan.

But "Devil-Dog" thought the trip "smelt like a PR operation" and another user questioned the cost of the fleeting visit to Afghanistan.

"OldTimer" wrote: "He spent THREE HOURS there at a time when there is a shortage of kit. Just what did this little PR exercise cost the British taxpayer?"

Prince Charles and the Queen gave their consent to the trip.

During the exercise, Prince William flew a C-17 Globemaster military transport plane, which left RAF Brize Norton on Sunday, arriving in Afghanistan the next day.

He spent three hours chatting to personnel at Kandahar before flying on to Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar. The whole trip lasted about 30 hours.

A Clarence House spokesman described the trip as a success.

An RAF spokesman said: "The prince had travelled on a scheduled operational flight that was going to the area." He said that the trip had been in the pipeline for more than a year.

Last month, Prince William was presented with his pilot's "wings" by his father, the Prince of Wales.

WILLIAM WILL SEE SERVICE ON LAND, SEA AND AIR

FOR Prince William, known in the RAF as Flying Officer Wales, his current duties are part of the conclusion of a four-month attachment with the RAF.

The secondment was designed to teach him about the service's ethos, traditions and military role as he prepares to head the armed forces, even though he is highly unlikely to serve alongside his comrades.

He is spending time attached to all three armed services in order to get to grips with other areas of the military. This will give him a broader experience – a tactic similar to one used for his father.

The prince is following in the footsteps of his father, who completed his flying training course in August 1971 and graduated that year as a flight lieutenant.

Prince William's uncle, the Duke of York, also took to the air and served his country in a flying role, piloting Sea King helicopters during the Falklands War in 1982.

Prince Andrew used his aircraft as a decoy target, trying to divert deadly Exocet missiles, which sank a number of British ships, including the Atlantic Conveyor.

Next month William will undertake a number of official engagements, followed by some leave, before beginning an attachment with the Royal Navy at the beginning of June.