‘TA is vital to support our regular troops’ (From The Northern Echo)

‘TA is vital to support our regular troops’

7:22am Monday 16th June 2008 in

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The Duke of York visited the region at the weekend to mark the centenary of the TA.

In an exclusive interview, he talks to Nicola Fenwick about the TA's importance, Afghanistan and his connections with the North.

PRINCE Andrew was in the region in his capacity as Colonel in Chief of the Yorkshire Regiment, based in York.

Fresh from a trip to Afghanistan, where he witnessed the "vital" work of the TA soldiers, he knows how important they are and believes the regular Army could not exist without them.

He said: "The current pace of operations means that the regular Army are pushed, to say the least, to be able to sustain themselves in a suitable fashion.

"In order to do the things that they have been asked to do operationally, they need enhancement in terms of numbers and in terms of skills.

"The TA have a huge range of skills that the regular Army does not sometimes possess. So the TA is vital to the work that the regular Army does when it is deployed on operations."

He said the TA troops in Afghanistan were carrying out the full range of military duties and were no different from regular troops on the front line.

He said: "They are doing the full range of military duties, just the same as any other front-line unit would.

"One of the reasons that they are able to do that is that they have been allocated early enough in order for them to be able to do all the training, so they are as competent as anyone in the frontline.

"Without the TA, the regular Army could not function operationally and I am tremendously impressed with the commitment, the loyalty, the discipline, the dedication - not only of the members of the TA, who are volunteers, do not forget, in this - but also the employers."

He said it was the employers who made it possible for the TA troops to carry out their duties at home and also serve overseas for extended periods by allowing the volunteers who make up the TA the time away from work.

He said: "Without the support of the employers, the TA could not exist in the way that it does. I am tremendously grateful to employers and the community for allowing these people to serve and have that opportunity."

He also urged men and women to consider joining the TA because of its vital role.

He said: "It is so vital and that was brought home to me so clearly in my visits around Afghanistan last week."

The timing of his trip to Afghanistan was all the more poignant because it was in the same week that the death toll of British troops there reached 100.

He said: "I think the troops are doing an amazing job and I think it is also fair to say, and right to say, that my thoughts and prayers, particularly this weekend, go out to the families of the soldiers who have been killed in the 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment."

The prince visits Yorkshire up to eight times a year, and he spent a lot of time in the area when he learnt to fly at RAF Leeming.

He believes that as Duke of York, he has a responsibility to ensure that Yorkshire and particularly York are recognised.

But there was one thing about Yorkshire he did not know. When asked whether he had sampled the Yorkshire Regiment's own beer, Yorkshire Warrior, he drew a blank.

He said: "I do not drink. But no, I did not know, and they had not sent me a bottle."

He paused for a moment, then laughed and said: "But I suspect they will now. There will be one in the airplane by the time the day is over."

With that he left to make history - becoming the first member of the royal family to attend a royal salute at York in order to celebrate the Queen's official birthday.