Prince William Deployed to Caribbean

For Prince William, who begins a two-month deployment in the Royal Navy on Monday, it will be the azure waters of the West Indies, on board the HMS Iron Duke, a frigate that will be on hurricane relief duty and counter-narcotics patrol.

Senior officers, somewhat embarrassed last month by revelations about William’s helicopter escapades as he was earning his Royal Air Force wings, stressed in a pre-deployment briefing that William will not receive special treatment during his Navy assignment, which will include shoreside training in Portsmouth before a five-week stint at sea.

“The rules that will apply to Prince William will be exactly the same as the rules applied to any junior officer,” said Rear Admiral Robert Cooling, assistant chief of Naval Staff. “I can tell you that the Royal Navy and the Iron Duke are very much looking forward to showing our future king what we do. It will be a real thrill and a privilege and not a pain for the ship’s company.”

He said William “commendably wanted to be as close to the front line as possible” but that officers decided he could learn more in a short time by serving on the Iron Duke than by being sent to the Persian Gulf, where the Royal Navy is engaged in a number of operations.

There was also concern that placing William, 25, in the Persian Gulf might have drawn unwanted attention from Britain’s enemies.

“We clearly wouldn’t have put the prince in the way of a particular threat, and we wouldn’t want his presence in a warship in a particular region to have drawn attention from those who might not wish him well,” Cooling said.

The prince is scheduled to spend time in every department on the ship, including weapons engineering, logistics, operations, and the ship’s helicopter flights. There will be no special accommodations for William, who is expected to bunk with other junior officers, and there will not be special security for the prince while he is at sea, Cooling said.

Source: USA Today.