Prince Harry in Afghanistan for second tour of duty

Prince Harry in Afghanistan for second tour of duty
Prince Harry arrived in Afghanistan on Friday on a four-month military deployment in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.
Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and third in line to the British throne, is a captain in Britain's Army Air Corps.
Looking relaxed if slightly tired, Harry gave a thumbs-up Friday after a long journey on a troop carrier flight from England to Britain's Camp Bastion, a sprawling desert base near the southern Afghan town of Lashkar Gah.
Capt. Harry Wales, as he is known in the military, wore his combat uniform and joined his 100-strong unit – the 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps.
As part of the Apache's two-man crew, Harry will be both a co-pilot and the gunner responsible for firing the Apache's wing-mounted aerial rockets, Hellfire laser-guided missiles and 30mm machine gun.

The Ministry of Defence said his second tour of duty “has been long planned and the threat to him and others around him thoroughly assessed”. “Any risk posed by Captain Wales’s deployment, based on capability, opportunity and intent of the insurgency, has been, and will continue to be, assessed and has informed the decision to deploy him.” Harry completed his training as a pilot of the powerful Apache attack helicopters in February and was posted to an air assault brigade to gain further flying experience and to operate the aircraft on a number of exercises.

The prince, the youngest of the two sons of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles, had appeared to have shaken off his label of the “playboy prince” when he visited the Caribbean earlier this year and charmed his hosts. But a game of strip billiards and a ‘race’ against Olympic swimming star Ryan Lochte in Las Vegas in August put him back on the front pages for all the wrong reasons.

He made light of the incident when he appeared at a children’s charity awards event in London on Monday, telling the audience he was “never one to be shy in coming forward”.
Harry qualified to fly an Apache helicopter in combat early this year, after doing some of his training over the deserts of Arizona and Nevada. He won an award as the best co-pilot gunner in his peer group during training.

The Camp Bastion complex, near the large U.S. Camp Leatherneck, is one of the busiest airfields in the world, with more than 28,000 people working on site, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
While stationed there, Prince Harry will be part of the Joint Aviation Group, which provides support to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and Afghan forces in the region.

Prince Harry in Afghanistan for second tour of duty