Prince Harry Visits SoCal To Train For Afghanistan Combat
SAN DIEGO (CBS) — The Southland is getting a visit from a special visitor from across the pond.
KNX 1070's Brian Ping reports Prince Harry of Wales is stationed at the California border city of El Centro for military training.
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The prince of Wales will be among 20 British Army students attending a two-month military helicopter training course at the Naval Air Facility.
He and the class will fly Apache helicopters and fire missiles, rockets and cannons in the final phase of training before deployment to Afghanistan, where the Prince has already served,
The desert environment in and around the border city will closely replicate what the third in the line of succession to the throne of England and his fellow soldiers will be facing in combat.
The U.S. commanding officer at El Centro says Harry will go by "Captain Wales" and will be treated no differently than any other British pilot.
Perhaps Harry's biggest challenge: finding ways to spend his off-time in the sleepy town with a population of 40,000 people. While the troops will be permitted to leave the base, they won't be allowed to cross into Mexico.
