Sandhurst to Afghanistan

From officer cadet in 2005 to Apache combat pilot in 2013 — the documented path, and the news blackout that shaped the first tour.

Sandhurst and commission (2005–2006)

Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005, following his brother William (who entered in January 2006). He was commissioned in April 2006 as a Second Lieutenant in the Blues and Royals, the senior regiment of the Household Cavalry. His passing-out parade was attended by Elizabeth II.

The first tour: Helmand, 2007–2008

By his account in interviews and in Spare, Harry expected to deploy with his squadron to Iraq in 2007; the MOD judged the risk — to him and to the soldiers around him — too great, and he remained in the UK while his squadron deployed. In December 2007 he deployed instead to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, serving as a forward air controller directing air support for ground troops, under the call sign Widow Six Seven.

The deployment was conducted under a voluntary news blackout agreed between the MOD and British media — a deliberate attempt to let him serve as a normal officer without making his unit a target. The blackout held for ten weeks until it was broken by foreign outlets in February 2008 (the Drudge Report is widely credited with the first breach). The MOD then withdrew him: the official reasoning was the heightened risk to his unit now that his location was public.

Retraining: the Army Air Corps (2009–2012)

Denied a conventional armoured-recce path by his profile, Harry retrained as a helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps. He qualified in February 2012 as an Apache co-pilot/gunner; the MOD stated publicly that he had been judged the best co-pilot gunner in his class — a matter of official record, not press claim.

The second tour: Camp Bastion, 2012–2013

From September 2012 to January 2013, Harry served at Camp Bastion as an Apache co-pilot/gunner with 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, flying combat missions. This tour was conducted openly — the MOD announced it in advance — and Harry gave interviews on his return describing the professionalism of his squadron and his respect for the aircraft. He described the Apache role as the closest he could come to the front-line soldiering he had sought.

What the record doesn’t cover

The MOD does not release operational details of individual engagements, and does not comment on individual actions in combat. Claims in Spare about the second tour therefore cannot be independently verified — this is stated explicitly on the Spare page rather than treated as either true or false.

Source notes

• Commissioning, training and deployment facts: MOD releases and statements, 2005–2013; contemporary BBC/Reuters/Guardian reporting.
• The 2007–08 blackout: MOD statements; the February 2008 withdrawal announcement. The “best co-pilot gunner” assessment: MOD statement, February 2012.
• Harry’s own framing of the tours: interviews (2013) and Spare (his account).