Prince Harry said that his time in Afghanistan has been the one of the happiest moments of his life. So far, he has expressed desire to return to fighting the front lines as soon as possible. For about ten weeks, Prince Harry had served in Afghanistan. However, it was subjected to a media blackout.
Recently, news came that he was already deployed. Prince Harry had been given the title of the “bullet magnet.” After news came that he was already deployed, Prince Harry was pulled out of the region out of fears that he could be targeted by the Taliban.
After he arrived back at the UK while landing in Oxfordshire, Prince Harry rejected the label of being a “hero.” He would say: “The bravery of the guys out there was humbling.”
Harry explained: “There were two injured guys who came back on the plane with us who were essentially comatose throughout the whole way…those are the heroes, those were guys who had been blown up by a mine that they had no idea about, serving their country, doing a normal patrol.
“I was a bit shocked …it is a bit of a choke in your throat because you know that it’s happening.
“There’s a lot of time when you are actually in theatre it isn’t even mentioned that much.”
Harry who is currently 23 said that he has no plans to leave the Army. He does have hopes of returning to Afghanistan. However, any future deployments of Harry would be evaluated by the risk he poses to troops that serve alongside and under him.
For this reason, Prince Harry’s deployment was subjected to a media blackout.
“I would have to be clear that the risks to the operation in the widest sense of the people deployed on that operation would be no higher than they would normally be in such circumstances,” said Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup who is the chief of Defense Staff.
It is unknown if and when Harry will be redeployed let alone redeployed back to Afghanistan. Stirrup has given the indication that it will depend on the risk Prince Harry poses, the risk of the situation, and the risks associated with the operations.
If and when should Prince Harry be redeployed, there is a high chance that this too would be subject to a media blackout.