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New details have come to light giving context to Prince Harry’s revelation that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his tours of duty in Afghanistan.
In an excerpt from his leaked memoirs Spare published by yahooThe 38-year-old Duke of Sussex paints a picture of a reality in which he and his companions did what they thought was necessary for the good of humanity.
Harry said: “I was part of six missions that ended in the loss of human life, and they were all considered justified… I considered them equal.”
He left his time in the army with a clear conscience and only one regret: that the job was not done.
‘I had questions and qualms about the war, but none of them were moral. He still believed in the mission, and the only shots I thought twice about were the ones he hadn’t taken.
Prince Harry pictured doing pre-flight checks early in the morning in the cockpit of a helicopter.
Prince Harry pictured next to an Apache helicopter on October 31, 2012. He revealed in his memoir that all the deaths were recorded on video, which was later played back and analysed.
In the new excerpt, Harry, known as Captain Wales during his service, also detailed how each kill was caught on camera and reviewed at length after each mission on a wall-mounted plasma TV in a weapons tape room.
“Every death was on video,” he said. The Apache saw it all. The camera in his nose recorded everything. So after each mission, there would be a careful review of that video.
Squad commanders would review the footage to make sure none of the soldiers had made a mistake, misjudged, or misjudged something on the spur of the moment.
Harry claims that it was a time when all the soldiers feared, that he was haunted by the fear of harming a civilian.
The prince’s frank admissions have also made him dangerous to Westerners who remained in Kabul. Animal charity chief Pen Farthing revealed on Friday night that he had been forced to flee the city for fear of retaliatory attacks.
Harry pictured during his second tour of duty at Camp Bastion, southern Afghanistan, in 2012
Prince Harry in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan in 2008
His revelations marked the first time Harry specified the number of insurgents he personally killed during his time in Afghanistan, where he was in both 2007-8 and 2012 and flew an Apache attack helicopter during his second tour.
In the memoir, Harry acknowledged that many of his fellow soldiers could not accurately say how many people they killed during the war.
But he said he made it a priority to keep score from the moment he arrived, to stay accountable and to keep his conscience clear.
The prince was first posted to Helmand province as a forward air controller in 2007, but his first tour of duty was cut short when an Australian magazine mistakenly broke a media embargo.
He returned in 2012 with the Ministry of Defense publicizing his second deployment on the understanding that the media would allow him to continue the job at hand.
Harry sitting in an armored vehicle in Helmand Province in February 2008
After learning to fly Apache helicopters, Harry was posted to Camp Bastion in southern Afghanistan in 2012, where he stayed for 20 weeks.
During his 2012 tour, Harry helped provide helicopter support to the International Security Assistance Force and Afghan forces operating throughout Helmand province.
Based at Camp Bastion, the 662 Squadron Army Air Corps, to which he belonged, flew over a hundred deliberate missions during 2,500 flight hours, providing surveillance, deterrence and, when required, close combat capabilities, as well as security tasks. escort for other aircraft. .
Captain Wales qualified as a co-pilot gunner in February 2012.
He was posted to the 3rd Army Air Corps Regiment, part of the 16th Air Assault Brigade, to gain more flying experience and operate the Apache in a series of exercises before deploying to Afghanistan in September 2012.
Harry trained to fly in the front seat as a mission or aircraft commander, but most of the time he operated the Apache’s sights, sensors, and weapons systems.
Upon his return to the UK, he was praised by colleagues and superiors for being “at the top of his game” during the tour.
He received no special treatment and worked, ate and slept in the same basic conditions as the other pilots. It was, in his own words, “as normal as possible.” I’m one of the guys, they don’t treat me any different.’
Revealing how many enemy combatants he killed could raise fears for his personal safety, as Prince Harry has long been considered a terror target due to his royal status and military ties.
Prince Harry on patrol in the deserted city of Garmsir, southern Afghanistan, in 2008 on the left, and during his deployment in 2012 on the right
It comes amid an ongoing legal battle with the Home Office over not giving Harry and his family full police protection when they visit the UK.
The Taliban have already mocked Harry and described him as a “loud-mouthed loser” for his revelation.
In the summer of 2021, the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan with a lightning offensive that swept across the country in a matter of weeks, toppling the Western-backed government set up by the US, UK and their allies.
Government leaders fled the country as Western coalition forces withdrew, culminating in the collapse of the Afghan army and the capture of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15, 2021.
Despite promising a more progressive regime than when they were last in power in 2001, the Taliban have eroded the rights of women and minority groups in the country, most recently by banning women from attending university, a move which drew fierce condemnation from the international community.
The Duke of Sussex pictured in Helmand Province during his first tour of duty in 2008
Harry also faced criticism from UK military veterans and MPs over the content of the upcoming book.
Former UK national security adviser Lord Darroch told Sky News: “I would have advised him not to get into the kind of details.” I understand and appreciate how he has justified to himself what he was doing, but he personally would not have gone there.
Former British Army Colonel Richard Kemp said the Duke of Sussex’s writings amounted to a “betrayal of the people he fought with”.
Former Royal Marine Ben McBean, whom Harry hailed as a “hero” after losing an arm and leg in a bomb blast during the war, urged the duke to “shut up”.
Mr McBean tweeted: ‘I love you #PrinceHarry but you need to shut up! He makes you wonder the people he hangs out with. If he were nice people, someone would have told him to stop by now.