Double amputee war hero who inspired Prince Harry to start Invictus 'disagrees' with Duke's claim British press did not cover stories of wounded in Afghanistan as Colonel says his popularity is dwindling with veterans

[MamoruHisaishi]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12466191/Afghanistan-war-hero-prince-harry-british-soldiers.html

Thank you pilates and thank you jeffgoldblum. It’s really disheartening to feel I can’t even share a news article without getting criticised for it and then for my feelings to be outright dismissed or minimised. I can’t even express my opinions on certain celebrities without being called names or other put downs.

👍

I would have liked a bit less focus on Harry speechifying as it interrupted the flow of the veterans stories at times (IMO), but it's a hard balance to strike, as without Harry there wouldn't be the same level of interest. Overall I think NF got it right

Totally agree; even ignoring the behaviour of the ghastly Mail, I too would like to see less of Harry's ceaseless complaints and emphasis on himself, but I recognise the value of having a "big name" to front what's an incredibly worthwhile cause

I just wish the big name was someone else, less blind to their privilege

@MamoruHisaishi
Your posts are always polite and informative. Carry on.

i think I read a report somewhere that mentioned about the Invictus games, that although it did a good job in highlighting the veterans plight, in the long run it didn’t have much of an impact or could even be somewhat detrimental for the vets involved. I can’t remember the reasons they came up with for their conclusions. I can try to find the report, it was an interesting read.

I tend not to trust anything that's published in The Daily Mail, to be honest. Is this information corroborated by any reputable newspapers or other reputable media?

Mamoru

Querying the DailyMail story and not agreeing with it is OK. This is a discussion forum, we can't all feel the same. Having a different opinion is not 'derailing'. We are all entitled to our opinions. Yours and mine might differ, but it is your prerogative to have yours. Ditto me.

I am only answering you because you quoted me.

And I am not reporting anything.

I would really like to read the report the OP has said about.
That Invictus doesn't do any good, that in the long run it is of no benefit. When hundreds of times over, veterans have said it has saved their lives, it has helped them beyond measure, it means so much. There are loads of links saying this but I don't want to clog up this thread. Some were linked earlier on in the thread.

I can't believe that Invictus has no benefit at all when the participants say completely the opposite.

I'll look forward to reading that report.

Has it been released yet? If so is anyone watching as not showing up on the top 10 in Netflix ?

yup, the top 10 you see is august 21-27, this was released 30th.

Genuinely surprised about that, MamoruHisaishi; it's not for me to say what'll help vets and what won't, but to this layperson the initiative looks to be nothing but good

Are you sure the piece wasn't about the much more controversial BetterUp which has been shoehorned into Invictus?

Agree

@MamoruHisaishi you can post what you like when you like (within guidelines) so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is a complete lack of awareness amongst a certain cohort of mainly Harry supporters in their posts. They seem to run their own rule book on what can and can’t be posted which is often very ‘flexible’ across the various threads depending on who the Royal is that’s up for discussion and who the poster is. I find giving an eye roll and ignoring works best for me, that’s if I can actually be bothered to read or post much on this Board these days as it ends up being a re-hash of the usual nonsense.

Anyway enough said I’m off for a spot of lunch.

I have looked and I don't see anyone saying you can't post something. Its criticism of the source mostly. the thing is, when you post something, people are allowed to disagree with or criticise the thing posted, or the source of the topic. which is what I've seen here. If that makes people feel they can't post I am not sure what to say, because its the nature of a forum.

That would seem a loss to see you go, @StormzyinaTCup, since IIRC yours have always been among the more measured posts; you also avoid attacking others and race baiting, which has surely got to be a plus

There are definitely cases of people saying posters should stop posting on certain threads if they can’t post something “positive” or can’t stick rigidly to a topic. This has happened recently on another thread.

Indeed @smilesy , I believe some posters have been redirected here!
Shame the advice only goes one way .

yes I see this happening here. if you question the op or disagree. its bullying! and lots of random posts about bad pro posters. the place is turning into the echo chamber the non pros didn't want.

I do think(back to thread) that if you ask people from Invictus there will alway be some who love Harry and some who don't , because they are individuals and not a hive mind. @Iwantcakeeveryday showed that by posting differing views.

What do you mean, who has redirected us?

I think you're referring to the insensitive posts regarding mental health and MNHQ asking not to derail. I don't think its wrong to ask people to be mindful on threads of sensitive topics like mental health, PTSD and suicide.

What I was referring to that you quoted, was this thread and the repeated claim the OP was told she can;t post something. Obviously things not in guidelines will and have been removed, but other than that I don't see anyone telling OP she 'can't post' here. That was what I was referring to.

He’s so self absorbed. It’s embarrassing that he’s still droning on about himself and his hard life.

I always enjoy your posts @MamoruHisaishi
Posters are jumping on the fact the article is from the DM but it is based on what senior , highly respected military personnel have said .
I think Invictus is a wonderful initiative and probably the best thing Harry has done . Obviously I expected him to be interviewed however why oh why does he always drag his late mother into it ? Surely it should solely concentrate on the brave , injured veterans ?
Why say the British media didn’t cover the conflict in Afghanistan when there were pages and pages and TV reports about it ?
Why say he had no support when he himself praised his brother and others for supporting him ?

Why say the British media didn’t cover the conflict in Afghanistan when there were pages and pages and TV reports about it ?

I suspect he meant its effects on the vets themselves rather than the actual conflict, so I just googled the Mail - god help me - and found many articles on exactly that

Strange that this has gone unnoticed, and even if folk (understandably) don't want to click on the Mail I expect other media have done the same

The team for this IG has 59 members, and I think it's been similar for each time it's been held (except the first, in London, where there were over 100). Of course Invictus also supports training (in RL and on online platforms such as Zwift) and the IG Foundation says in 2022 it helped 235 people - but the website is contradictory in places. There may well be substantially more.

But for context:

I'm not sure how many served in total in Afghanistan - BBC reported a total over 70,000 (with over 450 fatalities). Iraq about 53,000 (sources vary, which is why it's hard to be sure.

The military charity SSAFA says it helps around 66,000 people per year (all veterans, not just those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq)

Invictus Games is however an excellent initiative, and it definitely helps to keep the ongoing needs of veterans in the public eye, even though its actual reach is quite small compared to other military charities.

No, I’m not referring to those posts. I’m
referring to posters who said that other posters should not post anything negative. Nothing to do with the posts about PTSD.