Military veterans warn Invictus Games is at ‘risk of terror attack’ amid Harry’s Taliban kill claims
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The Invictus Games could be under threat of terror attacks after Prince Harry boasted of killing 25 Taliban fighters, military veterans have warned.
Admiral Lord West, former head of the Navy, told the sunday mirror: ‘The Invictus Games are very tagged for him, so I would have thought the threat level there would definitely be higher.
‘There will be serious security problems because of what he said. The Taliban will read it thinking there is a prince who calls us all chess pieces and is only too happy to kill us.
“And there will be a lot of people, I’m sure, in the Islamic State and other terrorist organizations, who will think that this is something that needs revenge.”
The Duke of Sussex is the founder of the Invictus Games, an international sports competition for wounded military veterans that launched in 2014.
The next competition will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, in September, but military experts say additional measures may need to be put in place to protect veterans.
It comes as Harry’s comments were condemned as a “terrible mistake” by the grieving father of one of his comrades from Afghanistan, who committed suicide after returning home.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hug Lisa Johnston, a former military amputee medic, as she celebrates with her medal at the Invictus Games venue in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, April 17, 2022.
File photo dated 27/02/08 of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt (front right) with Prince Harry (back centre), Dean Smith (back left) and other members of their battle group on deployment to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Mr Hunt, who was mentioned in dispatches for his courage in locating roadside bombs while serving alongside Prince Harry in Afghanistan, has been found hanged after suffering years of nightmares and sleepless nights.
Derek and Maria Hunt, parents of Nathan Hunt, Royal Engineer, who took his own life in January 2018
File photo dated 27/02/08 of Warrant Officer Nathan Hunt during his deployment to Helmand province, southern Afghanistan
Derek Hunt, whose son Nathan served as a bomb disposal expert in Harry’s unit in 2008, said: “Many soldiers and veterans will find his comments about killing very upsetting, and perhaps [they] it can even cause some people to have flashbacks of their time in combat.
It comes as a former army mental health expert told the Mail on Sunday that he had been contacted by angry former patients who read about the Duke of Sussex’s comments in his forthcoming memoir, Spare.
In the book, Harry violated an old military custom by going into detail about shooting at insurgents from his Apache gunship. He said he rationalized the killing by viewing enemy combatants as pieces on a chessboard.
Nathan Hunt, a Royal Engineers NCO, is said to have saved Harry’s life on numerous occasions when he discovered hidden roadside bombs buried by insurgents.
But he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from the war and took his own life in January 2018 while still serving in the military.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Invictus Games in The Hague on April 17, 2022
Shortly thereafter, Harry wrote a moving letter to Mr. Hunt and his wife, Maria, in which he wrote: “Mourning can be a long and hard road. Please know that you and your family remain in my thoughts.’
Hunt, also an Army veteran, said his son would have been “disappointed” by Harry’s comments about killing insurgents, adding: “A lot of those still in the service or who are veterans would have spent years trying to forget the fact that they killed”. people.
“Taking someone’s life is a very difficult thing to live for most people, it’s not something to brag about. That’s why they never talk about it.
“My son Nathan never told us what he had seen or done because he knew it would upset us and he didn’t want to relive it.
He suffered from nightmares from what he had witnessed and also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Harry’s boasts about killing people and taking them off the battlefield won’t sit well with many people and will bring back a lot of bad memories.
‘I really can’t understand why Harry has done this. It’s thoughtless. He doesn’t seem to have given it any consideration.
Unpublished photograph dated 12/12/2012 of Prince Harry at Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan where he served as an Apache helicopter pilot/gunner with 662 Sqd Army Air Corps
Prince Harry wields a 50mm machine gun aimed at Taliban fighters on January 2, 2008 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Taliban fighters patrol along a street during a rally by people to condemn the recent protest by Afghan women’s rights activists, in Kabul on January 21, 2022.
Leading military figures have already criticized Harry’s comments, expressing concern that they may “trigger” trauma for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Last night those fears were confirmed when news broke that veterans with mental health issues who had seen news reports about Harry’s claims had asked professionals for support.
Former Army Major Cormac Doyle, a mental health nurse who served for 25 years and specialized in treating service personnel with mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder, said: “I’ve already had calls from many of my former patients who are very upset by what Harry has said.In all my years serving and treating the troops, I have never heard anyone talk like that.
Harry is meant to be a mental health activist, so what he said was badly thought out. This is not what I expected of him as a member of the royal family, but also, more importantly, as a former army officer. The words have implications, and it has upset many people who are mentally struggling.
It will be a devastating blow for Harry, who has spent years building his reputation as a mental health activist.
Taliban fighters keep watch outside the Kabul airport on August 31, 2021.
A member of his squadron (name not provided) shows Prince Harry the Apache flight line at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, from where he operated during his tour of duty as co-pilot gunner.
One Guards officer said: ‘Most of us have spent the last decade dodging probing questions from drunken dinner guests with the bloody fascination of the hardest part of service life.
“By revealing his war account in such a public way, he will certainly bring to light many of the ghosts of this conflict for other veterans.”
Former Army Major Wayne Owers, 52, a highly decorated soldier who was discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder, said: “As an activist for mental health awareness, you have to be very aware of the impact your comments will have on those he apparently goes out of his way to support.” Harry’s comments are insensitive and unnecessary.
Trevor Coult, an honor sergeant who received the Military Cross, warned: “There’s a reason most veterans don’t like to talk about what they did in combat and that’s because it takes them back to a very dark place. “.
“For a so-called mental health advocate to speak like that is shameful and his words will trigger many bad memories for many traumatized veterans.”
Falklands veteran and former Royal Marines Master Sergeant Jeff Williams, 64, of the Veterans United Against Suicide support group, added: “For many veterans, this will bring back terrible memories of killing and losing friends in combat.”
“I am surprised that Harry, who is supposed to be a mental health activist, has not realized this. He is rude in the extreme.
Last night, a spokesman for the veterans’ charity PTSD Resolution, which has helped more than 3,500 people cope with PTSD, said the organization was working to “manage” the fallout from Harry’s book.