Home Safe

Relieved father, Prince Charles and brother Prince William greet Prince Harry upon his return at RAF Brize Norton. Photo courtesy AP

Prince Harry is back home from mission in Afghanistan 2 months early. Why? Well read on..

Prince Harry landed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where he was met by Prince Charles and Prince William. The prince's tour was cut short after a news blackout collapsed, raising fears he would be targeted by the Taliban.

Dad is relieved upon seeing his son.

The Prince of Wales said he was pleased about his son's return and praised the efforts of all armed forces personnel.
Prince Harry, 23, a second lieutenant in the Household Cavalry, was flown out from Helmand Province under orders from the Chief of Defence Staff.
The prince's deployment was subject to a news blackout in a deal struck between the MoD and newspapers and broadcasters in the UK and abroad.

Particular frustration
The agreement broke down after the story appeared on influential American website The Drudge Report.

The Ministry of Defence said the safety of Prince Harry and his colleagues had been compromised. As the soldiers arrived to collect their belongings some were greeted by Prince Charles. Later the Prince of Wales told journalists: "I feel particular frustration that he [Prince Harry] was removed unexpectedly early because - apart from anything else - he had been looking forward to coming back with the rest of his regiment."
Prince Harry was sent secretly to Afghanistan in December but was ordered out of the country by defence chiefs on Friday.
Prince Charles said he had found it "quite difficult" to keep the secret.
"People kept saying to me 'you must be so frustrated about Harry not being able to serve abroad'" He said when he was asked where Harry was, he'd reply: "He's on exercise somewhere."
Pride
The Prince of Wales said he was now more aware of the stresses and worries of families with loved-ones serving in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We owe an enormous amount to those families of servicemen who endure so much and support their loved ones with such understanding. It makes a huge difference," he said.
"I also feel very strongly that we don't often appreciate what the people in the armed forces are doing, putting up with the most impossible conditions, very often in hazardous circumstances in heat or freezing cold, being shot at or rocketed at and goodness knows what else."
He said all armed service personnel were owed "an enormous debt of gratitude for performing their duty".
Finally Prince Charles said: "I've been incredibly proud of Harry and I promise you, equally proud of all the dedicated service given by all our armed forces."

What do you think about Prince Harry's mission in Afghanistan?

Have your say.

Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede - May 30th

Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede

I have received confirmation about our fallen Canadian Soldier.
Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede, a military Imagery Technician serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command (South) Headquarters at Kandahar Airfield, was killed when the helicopter in which he was a passenger went down at approximately 9 p.m. Kandahar time on May 30th, near the town of Kajaki, Helmand Province, about 95 kms northwest of Kandahar City. Master Corporal Priede was a member of the Army News Team from 3 Area Support Group, based at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick. His next of kin have been notified.
The other six military personnel (5 from the US and one from England) aboard the helicopter were also killed in the incident.

The Honourable Gordon O'Connor, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today "On behalf of the entire Defence community I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Master Corporal Darrell Jason Priede who died when a helicopter, in which he was a passenger, went down in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. I also extend my condolences to the families and friends of the six other coalition troops who died in this incident.Master Corporal Priede was a valued member of the Army News Team from 3 Area Support Group, based at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. He gave his life not only to protect Canadians and our national interests, but also to provide hope to Afghans for a better future.Master Corporal Priede was part of an international coalition working to bring peace and security to this troubled country. Canadians are forever proud and grateful for his service and for the contributions of all our men and women in uniform."

My thoughts and prayers are with their friends and families both here and in Afghanistan.

A Devestating Loss -

John and Roxanne, of Grand Forks, received a 'nightmare' visit early Thursday from army officials. One many of us brace ourselves for and dread.

Their 30-year-old son Darrell had died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan

John Priede sits looking at photos of his oldest son holding the Stanley Cup, snapped just weeks ago at his military base in Afghanistan.
Early Thursday, Priede and his wife, Roxanne, of Grand Forks were visited by army personnel, including a chaplin -- and plunged into what he describes as a "bad nightmare."
Their son, Darrell Jason Priede, a military photographer, was dead. The helicopter he was in crashed Wednesday outside Kandahar, near the town of Kajaki, they learned.
"It was totally devastating," he said in a telephone interview with The Vancouver Sun late Thursday morning. "I mean, it's just too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him on the news one day as a journalist or a newscaster. [That's] gone now."
Priede says his 30-year-old son, who volunteered to go to Afghanistan as a photographer, wanted to become a journalist.
"He was just the type of boy that when he put his mind to it, he just succeeded in what he did," he says. "He had that knack -- that thing about it. And he's going to be greatly missed now."
As Priede speaks on the phone, he says he's flipping through photographs he printed out of his son in Afghanistan, as well as images captured through his son's camera lens.
"He's holding the Stanley Cup as I'm looking at him right now ... I've got an eight-inch by 10-inch of him holding the cup and a few other photographs of him with his equipment -- and Kandahar coffee from Tim Hortons. Go Canada Go," Priede says, his voice breaking a little.
He pauses and adds: "I mean, like I say, in the time he's been there, he's done fabulous things."
A few days ago, Priede chatted with his parents via the Internet from Kandahar, using a video webcast: "We talked to him on video for about five to six minutes. Time was up so we had to go," Priede says.
"He was sitting at the booth looking at us and laughing and smiling as normal -- just talking about regular things."
He says his son, who joined the army 11 years ago, loved taking photographs and was doing what he wanted to do.
"He thoroughly wanted to show the people of the world what good Canadians and people are doing over there," says Priede. "It totally backfired but he loved what he was doing and he was good at it."
Darrell Priede, along with six American and British soldiers, died when their helicopter crashed about 95 kilometres west of Kandahar, just after 9 p.m. local time.
Some reports have suggested the helicopter may have been shot down by the Taliban, but Karen Johnstone, a military spokeswoman in Ottawa, said this hadn't been confirmed.
"The cause of the crash is currently under investigation," she said.
A release on the International Security Assistance Force website said units responding to the crash were later "ambushed by enemy fighters."
Capt. Mark Gough, an army spokesman in Halifax -- who works with Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in New Brunswick where Priede was stationed -- said military photographers, or "imagery technicians," play an essential role documenting the experience.
"His pictures spoke volumes [about] the work we're doing over there and are the window into our operations there," Gough said.
"Without guys like Darrell, without photos that they bring back and show back in Canada, people won't understand what we're doing over there."
Some of Priede's photos are posted on the military's combat camera website (www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca).
Although Priede served twice overseas in the Balkans as part of the infantry, this was his first time documenting the experience for the military, says Gough, who knew Priede personally.
"He volunteered to go. He didn't have to go," he says.
"In this case, it was something he'd always wanted to do. This was his first tour overseas as a photographer."
He says Priede had a talent for photography and was one of the best military photographers around.
"He was a quiet, unassuming guy. His work spoke for his abilities."
John Priede said he and his wife will fly to Ontario so they can meet their son's body when it arrives at CFB Trenton on Sunday. After that, they'll go to New Brunswick to be with Priede's wife, Angela. The couple lived near the base in Oromocto.
"It's tough. His wife is even going through worse I imagine," he says.
"They had lots of plans and ambitions."
They didn't have children yet, he says.
Priede says he learned a lot from his son.
"You can never fail if you put your mind to doing something," he says, of his son's outlook. "Have ambition and go and get what you want in life."
And that's what his son did, he says.
"He told us he wanted to do it. He wanted to show what good we're doing over there," Priede says.
"He's beautiful, too. Did you see his picture? He was."
A photograph of Darrell Priede, posted on the Defence Department website, shows a well-built man with broad shoulders, clad in army fatigues. Fingers on the shutter of his Nikon, he smiles at the camera.
In a statement Thursday, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, said Priede "gave his life not only to protect Canadians and our national interests, but also to provide hope to Afghans for a better future."

Seven NATO Soldiers Died in Helicopter Crash

As I awoke this morning to this news - I was truly saddened. (Please note there are currently unconfirmed reports of nationalities of the soldiers.)

I know what many family members are going through.. "the wait" ... while the heart races and .. yes the tears come easily.
Let's pray for and take those soldiers' families and friends and take them into our hearts today no matter which country they are from.... as they are all our family.. our military family.

Chinook Helicopter

Seven NATO soldiers died when their Chinook helicopter crashed on Wednesday in southern Afghanistan, the site of some of the heaviest recent fighting between Western forces and the Taliban.
Troops responding to the scene of the crash were ambushed and called for an air strike to eliminate the threat, NATO officials said.
NATO would not say immediately if the big, twin-rotor military helicopter was directly involved in a battle with Taliban guerrillas or whether it was shot down. The cause of the crash was under investigation.

"Clearly there were enemy fighters in the area," said Major John Thomas, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. "It's not impossible for small arms fire to bring down a helicopter."
The helicopter went down in the southern province of Helmand, Afghanistan's main opium poppy-growing region, where Western forces have clashed repeatedly with Taliban militants in recent months following a winter lull in fighting.
"The entire crew of five died in the incident. There were also two military passengers who died," ISAF said in a statement. "One Afghan civilian was injured by small arms fire after the crash."

ISAF did not release the nationalities of soldiers killed or wounded in Afghanistan.

TRADED AND FREE

Five Taliban Prisoners Freed

.....In Exchange for Hostage

Yesterday, 5 Taliban prisoners were released back to the Taliban in exchange for the Italian reporter they were holding hostage. The reporter, Daniele Mastrogiacomo had witnessed the decapitation of his Afghan driver being held during the two weeks in captivity. He is alive and safe now. On the other side, one of the Taliban prisoners did not wish to be released to the insurgients. Was this a good deal on behalf of the Afghan government? Will there be any repercussions?

Taliban Prisoners Freed in Exchange for Italian Reporter

1:15 AM KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Italy's deputy foreign affairs minister confirmed Wednesday that the Afghan government released five Taliban prisoners to win the freedom of a reporter who had been kidnapped in lawless Helmand province.Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who writes for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, was freed Monday after two weeks in captivity. He had been seized in southern Helmand province with his Afghan driver, who was beheaded, and his translator, whose whereabouts are unknown.Though the Afghan government called the swap "an exceptional case," the deal was sharply criticized."When we create situations where you can buy the freedom of Taliban fighters when you catch a journalist, in the short term there will be no journalists anymore," the Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, said during a visit to Kabul on Wednesday. more...