Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, has begun a four-month combat tour as a gunner on an Apache attack helicopter, AP reports.
Capt. Harry Wales, as he is known in the military, will start flying missions within 10 days in the Helmand province.
He 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, AP reports.
Harry, 27, made headlines recently for a Vegas vacation in which someone took pictures of him playing strip billiards.
In 2007-8 Harry served in Helmand for 10 weeks as an air traffic controller, but his deployment was cut short after it was made public.
In May 2007 Harry was prevented from beginning a six-month deployment in Iraq because the British military deemed the risks to his safety were too great.
Harry will be one of 100 members of the 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps stationed at Camp Bastion, a desert compound next door to the U.S. military's Camp Leatherneck base.
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