Prince William Airlifts Sick Infant Despite Security Threat
Prince William airlifted a sick child out of Northern Ireland last Saturday as part of his duties in the Royal Air Force. However, the heir to the British throne did so at a great risk.
According to a Royal Air Force spokesman, there was a definite security risk in the region where the rescue took place. William helped the sick infant get out of Antrim Hospital to one in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, reported Us Weekly. The prince has been with the Air Force since 2009 and has been a part of the Search and Rescue Force since 2010.
In the short two years since joining the Search and Rescue Force, William has made several notable rescues. Going simply by the name of Wales, those he rescued didn't even realize they were in the care of a real, live prince. In August he flew a helicopter that rescued two teenage girls stranded off the coast of Wales.
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William has also helped in the rescue of shipwrecked Russian seamen. It was a difficult rescue, given the bad weather; two men were reportedly airlifted safety, while another perished and five were reported missing in November of 2011, coastguard spokesman Jim Green told the BBC at the time.
William loves his job, but he will soon be confronted with the decision as to whether he will sign on for another tour of duty or retire and focus on royal duties. In May, a spokesman for the RAF explained that once William's tour of duty comes to an end in mid-2013, he "will have to make a decision in due course about his future career."
"His options include taking another duty of with RAF Search and Rescue Force; applying for a new position with the Armed Forces; or ending his military role and taking on full-time Royal duties," the spokesman added.
What will it be, then? One insider told Us Magazine that William "wants to give their child a somewhat normal life, and for that to happen, he has to remain in the armed forces."
His child with Kate Middleton is due this summer, and already William has had to forego military operations in order to remain at her bedside during hospitalization for hyperemesis gravidarum.
