Watch out, Afghanis.......Harry's here!

 

Well, Capt. H. Wales,  Army Air Corps, slipped out when nobody was watching. The smelly socks didn’t get the story until he was already ensconced in Camp Bastion.

 

One would have thought that this would have been greeted with universal approbation and relief. Far from it!

 

Comments blogged to the story in the DT were frequently vile beyond all understanding; he won’t be doing any fighting; he will sit there surrounded by security men; it’s not dangerous anyway; he will only be photographed standing by a helicopter but never flying it, etc. And I thought that DT readers were reasonably intelligent and sensible people.

 

So let’s look at a few facts.

 

Helicopters are the most difficult aircraft to fly. In fact, they shouldn’t fly at all; common sense says that they should screw themselves into the ground! Harry passed out top of the form in his training against very tough competition, so he clearly has ‘the right stuff’ – a natural pilot.

 

He will be up the business end with a lot of noisy gear at his fingertips, and, make no mistake, he is going to see action alright.

 

‘They haven’t lost an Apache yet, so what’s the big deal?’ was one of the sour comments.

 

The Apache is a very, very strong aircraft. But helicopters have a particular vulnerability. In a fixed wing aircraft blowing a chunk out of the wing is most likely survivable. Knock a chunk out of a chopper’s rotor blades and you are toast. And the role of the Apache is close support to ground troops, so there’s a lot of stuff flying around (one of the most dramatic pieces of film to come out of Afghanistan was of a casevac helicopter pilot who was shot exactly between the eyes. It was deflected by his face visor and he got away with a head wound).

 

It sure beats strip billiards for excitement!

 

He may have a certain amount of difficulty in keeping his chaddis on, but there is little doubt that he is a good soldier, physically tough, courageous, and by no means the thicko that he has been  portrayed.

 

And yet we have had idiot voices saying ‘He should get a proper job!’

 

While I am at it, I will mention Fl/Lt. W. Wales RAF. He has been made captain of the aircraft, so he’s good. He is doing a very valuable job, and one that requires enormous skill and nerve. Doing a SAR at night in the Irish sea in bad weather is not for the faint hearted.

 

Both men are a credit to us all. Let’s stop the knocking, shall we?