Photo Credit: Action Press / Rex Feature
After just over two months in the U.S. Prince Harry or “Captain Wales” has completed Exercise Crimson Eagle, the final stage of his Apache Conversion to Role Course.
The prince boarded a plane home to the U.K. on Sunday, after he explored LA for a few days.
What’s next? Harry will be assigned to one of the Apache squadrons within the 16 Air Assault Brigade, and continue to train for four to six months in his home country, said the British Embassy in Washington. If all goes as planned, Harry will be ready for deployment to Afghanistan late next year.
Harry’s Apache training in the U.S. involved environmental training, live firing, and tactical exercises. The prince should now be an expert at handling the Apache helicopter, which is designed to hunt and destroy armored vehicles during military combat. Among other ammunition, the helicopter hosts rockets, Hellfire missiles and a 30mm chain gun.
When the Prince wasn’t partying in Las Vegas or relaxing in LA, he split his time between the El Centro Naval Air Facility in California and the Gila Bend Air Force Auxiliary Field in Arizona.
In El Centro, Harry focused on aviation environmental training and judgmental training during various tactical scenarios, according to the British Embassy in Washington. He also learned handle an Apache in mountainous and desert conditions. This included learning how to make dust landings and limited power training in the day and night.
It was in Gila Bend that the prince took part in live firing exercises on the Barry M Goldwater Air Force Range complex, according to the British Embassy in Washington. This was the final assessment of his weapons handling and combined months of rigorous training in a simulator.
Harry began his Apache training in July 2010 with the Army Air Corps in Middle Wallop. He then continued his training at Wattisham Airfield, in Suffolk, in April, 2011. It was in Suffolk that the prince begin his Conversion to Role Course.
