Prince Harry's Afghanistan interview—Part 2

In this second part of Prince Harry’s interview he discusses how he entered Afghanistan in secret and how he came to find himself at the front-line Delhi base after initially being stationed somewhere much safer. He also discusses the difficulties, responsibilities and benefits of being a JTAC (Joint Tactical Air Coordinator) and whether or not he plans to return to Afghanistan once his deployment is over.

Interviewer: You all right?

Harry: Yeah, go for it. Yes. [laughs]

Interviewer: So how are you finding Delhi?

Harry: Delhi is fantastic. Started off a week in Dwyer, flew from Canada to Dwyer spent a week in Dwyer and then asked the commanding officer if I could spend Christmas with the Gurkhas because I had spent some time with then in England on exercise in Salisbury. And, yeah, everyone is really well looked after by the Gurkhas. The food is fantastic. Goat curries and chicken curries I probably shouldn’t have said goat curries. But it’s really good fun and, yes, really well looked after.

Interviewer: You said in an interview before you came out that you were very keen to get out on patrol. Were you surprised to be so far forward so soon?

Harry: Um, yeah, I suppose so. I was always hoping to get forward. The commanding officer was very, sort of cool about it and said, “Yah, I want you to go.” And obviously Mark, the OC down here was willing to take the responsibility and I got here on Christmas Eve. And going from “Bullet magnate” to “Anti-bullet magnet” most of the guys were pretty bummed that I was here because nothing was happening for the first few days that I was here. But things are picking up again now, ‘cause obviously it’s quite boring when nothing happens down here. [laughs]

Interviewer: So it’s not your typical Christmas day?

Harry: No, not your typical Christmas, but Christmas is overrated anyway so . . ..

Interviewer: What was going through your head when they said you were going down to Delhi? I mean obviously it’s got a bit of a rep for being right on the front line, hasn’t it?

Harry: Yeah, no, it has. I mean, when you know you’re with the Gurkhas I think there’s no safer place to be really. They’re all armed with Kurkris so when they run out of ammunition they just charge you with their “massive swords” as the enemy call them. I think the enemy thought they were Chinese at one point. Um, but yeah, it’s a hard one. It’s hard for anyone to understand I guess, especially for the ones who’ve been here for 3 months already, is the fact that, yeah, you can be up at Dwyer safe as houses but time just drags on when nothings happening and it’s so boring. Yet [points] you’ve got the 1O5 guns up there that are firing down here so, you know, you hear the bangs but you don’t see what’s going on. So it’s nice to get down here and actually be a part of it and to actually help. And obviously my job being a JTAC means I’m needed around the place as are other JTAC to support and help out troops that come into contact. [Come under fire]

Interviewer: Is it very different doing it in anger in the field then doing it in exercises?

Harry: Um, yeah--it is, it is. It is slightly different. A lot of the time the guys are engaging, sort of, invisible firing points because the Taliban are very good at hiding in their trenches. It is somewhat like I can imagine WWII to be like; as you saw on the JTAC Hill it’s just No Man’s Land. They pop up their heads, they poke their heads up and that’s it. And then if the guys are coming under a lot of fire then I call the Air in. And as soon as the Air comes up they disappear; jump down these holes or go into their bunkers. So it’s a very strange reality to be down in here.

Interviewer: As a soldier this is what its all about, isn’t it?

Harry: Yeah, this is what it’s all about. What it’s all about being here with the guys rather then being in a room with a bunch of officers. I’m in here with all the guys; we’ve got most of our artillery guy’s in there [points] basically doing a swap over with the other ones up on JTAC Hill. Sort of staying on/staying off a week because it’s quite hard graft up there—supposedly. It’s really—it’s good fun to be with just a normal bunch of guys, listening to their problems, listening to what they think. Just getting through everyday and just--yeah, it’s not painful to be here. You’re doing a job and to be with such fantastic people—the Gurkhas and the guys I’m sharing my room with—or our room with. It makes it all worthwhile if that makes any sense.

Interviewer: For a member of the Royal Family this is a fairly unique level of engagement, isn’t it, in military terms?

Harry: Uhhhh, you could say that. I’m not so sure. My history is pretty rubbish. Yeah, I suppose it is. But, you know, at the end of the day, I sort of—as you know—as I keep going on about, it’s very nice to be sort of a normal person. I think this is about as normal as I’m gonna get. Whereas the Gurkhas they’re all so friendly looking after me. And obviously they’re all fully aware of what the situation is and always keeping an eye open for me. Um, and then everyone else just gets on with their daily lives. You know, there are bigger things going on in the World and outside there on the frontline rather then, you know, worrying about—“well, look who’s here.”

Interviewer: Has there been any limitations put on what you can do because of your position?

Harry: No, not at all. As I said earlier I was expecting there to be some sort of limitation and I didn’t really know what I was going to be allowed to do. As I said, I was hoping to come down here for Christmas day to be with the Gurkhas. I don’t know why, it was just something I wanted to do to be with them because, well, they don’t—[laughs] I don’t know if they really celebrate Christmas that much but, we had some fantastic games that we played and I was expecting them to say, “Yeah, you can be here a few days but then we’re gonna drag you back.” But all my wishes have come true. Managed to get the job done and I think there’s a few people who didn’t want me to come down here--maybe, possibly. But as far as everyone else is concerned I’m a JTAC—I’m a qualified JTAC—and therefore there are people who need Air to cover the troops, basically.

Interviewer: So this is compensation for any disappointments you may have had over Iraq?

Harry: Um, yeah, you could say that. It’s a completely—it’s a totally different thing. The commanding officers were very clever about it. The main problem was being a troop leader and putting so many guys under risk in Iraq. I think now that I’ve come out here it’s proved the point that if its done the right way and kept quiet in certain areas then it can be done. So far as I’m concerned I’m out here as a normal JTAC on the ground and not Prince Harry.

Interviewer: And certainly in the sky. We spent a lot of time over Dwyer with Corporal Baxter who spoke very favorably of your abilities when you got here. What’s he been like to work with?

Harry: [laughs] It’s funny you say that the fact that you’ve already managed to interview him. I never really knew Corporal Baxter at all until I got here. So I’ve known him for about a week, which probably just a little bit longer then you guys have. He turned up from—I think he came back down from the North with the commanding officer as a part of TAC; also they had a few vehicles that had problems. And I think—I think--he was expecting to come down here, not too sure. And I was going to be running the TAC up at Dwyer. Commanding officer said, “No, I prefer you gets some hands on and get yourself down to Delhi they need you down there.” So, yeah, I felt quite needed which was good. I got sent down here and he got held up there, which he’s really upset about. So I think maybe there’s a little bit of jealously going on there. But he’s fixed my radio for me so he’s a good guy to have on board despite being ginger and Irish. [laughs] It’s a beautiful mix. [laughs]

Interviewer: You’re Widow6-7 he’s Widow6-3 and he seems to have quite a lot of banter on the radio.

Harry: Yeah, it is. It’s important to have banter especially when its UHF “line off sight” which means no one else can listen to it. So it’s just me and him having a good banter. And obviously when the aircraft come over, as I said earlier, you’ve got them on task for 3, 3 and a half hours when you’re looking for possibly one or two enemy digging a trench. It can get quite tiring. And if your just talking, “Yeah, go to this point” and then put the radio down and then you’re just staring at a screen; it just sends you insane. So, yeah, I think it’s good to be relaxed and have a good chat. But when things are pretty hairy then you need to get your game face on and do the job.

Interviewer: The guys at Dwyer said to ask you about your chats with a Harrier pilot in particular.

Harry: Yeah, well, the Harrier—it was quite an entertaining evening. Um, and that’s all I’m going to say on that one.

Interviewer: [laughs]

Harry: Sorry to disappoint you.

Interviewer: That’s all right. It must be quite nice though being in a position where people don’t recognize who you are.

Harry: Yeah, it’s fantastic. I’m still a little bit conscious about the fact that, you know, if I do show my face too much in and around the area—luckily there’s no civilians around here because, as I said, it’s sort of a No Man’s Land. But I think up north when I do go up there on patrols in and amongst the locals I’m very wary about the fact that I need to keep my face slightly covered just on the off chance that I do get recognized which will put other guys in danger. Um, so, the Gurkhas think it’s hysterical that I’m called a bullet magnet when they’ve yet to see why. So they’re a little bit upset about that. [laughs]

Interviewer: Do you think there’s any sense that your deployment has put at risk or more at risk the people you’re serving alongside here?

Harry: Not at all. I’ve been—Mark has chats with me and we have a good laugh everyday. And Mark says--blows smoke up my ass—by saying the Gurkhas love the fact that I’m down here especially with this company because my father’s the Colonel in Chief—hope I got that right. [laughs]

Interviewer: We’ll check it out. [laughs]

Harry: [laughs] So they think it’s fantastic an I love them because they make me laugh so much so we’ve been having a really good time. But yeah, it is what it is.

Interviewer: Just getting down here you came from Brys, Candahal and Bastion that you came through; did you have to keep a low profile?

Harry: No I never went to Bastion; kept away from Bastion. I was put on an SF flight from Candahal to here. They were mid-op so I just hitched a ride to here. Chucked me out at Dwyer, as you know, Dwyer is in the middle of nowhere and as you saw on the patrol today some of the locals or the AMP [Afghani Military Police] they haven’t got a clue. They wouldn’t know who—I mean next door through these walls, its got holes in it—are the interpreters and they haven’t got a clue. Sit down have a chat with them, have a cigarette with them and, um, wish I could say have a beer but that doesn’t happen around here. So, yeah, it’s totally normal. Until you guys turned up I was a normal person. [laughs]

Interviewer: Sorry about that. Where did you do your theater trainings at Dwyer?

Harry: Well, I did my original in the theater training at—what as in once I got into theater?

Interviewer: Yes.

Harry: Yeah, no, I did it in Candahal. That was all kept very much under wraps. From a JTAC point of view the only thing you really have to do is do a couple of tests and a 2 hour brief I had from an American Lieutenant Colonel who was very nice. Then tic the box, “Right, you’re good to go.” Etcetera etcetera.

Interviewer: Since you’ve been out here have you had much contact with anybody back home?

Harry: Um, yep. Contact-wise back home everyone gets given their I think its meridian—not meridian—paradime card and you get 30 minutes a week or something. Which isn’t great. But the--I think it was Christmas week everyone was giving 15 extra minutes which was very nice. And there was a rumor about the Sun giving an extra 10 minutes—I refused to accept those 10 minutes. [laughs] But all the guys—everyone’s on the phone all the time trying to speak. I try to ring home and ring the necessary people whenever I can once a week maybe, otherwise I just run out of minutes.

Interviewer: They must be quite worried about you back home then?

Harry: Um, no I don’t think so. No one really knows where I am. I intend to keep it that way for the meantime until I get back in one piece and I can tell them where I was. At the moment I think they think I’m tucked away, wrapped in cotton wool. [laughs]

Interviewer: Your brother is going to be pretty jealous of you when he finds out.

Harry: He does know where I am. He, uh, he’s jealous anyway because I’m a JTAC and it’s one of the best jobs you can have in the Army. I think there’s a lot of people who disagree with that but I think there’s a lot of people who would agree. Mainly JTACs. But yeah, I don’t think he’ll be jealous. He’s a little bit upset that he can’t get out here and I can but I’m sure he’ll have his time whether its in a plane or on a helicopter. Aircraft--sorry. Jet.

Interviewer: When you’re on the net though as Widow6-7 and you’re talking to all these people up there—they have no idea who they’re talking to.

Harry: Well, supposedly not. I always have suspicions that there is one particular call sign that I was speaking to this morning has got a rough idea. Either that or we just get on really well. But it is slightly strange to be speaking to most of the pilots—you never know who you’re going to get. Sometimes their call signs change from the difference between Vapor4-1 to Vapor4-3 you know it’s going to be a Brit pilot. And then once they’re up in the air you can have a fantastic chat with them. But this Wizard call sign I’ve had for something like 5 days in a row now. And, uh, if he hasn’t worked it out then-- I’m sure he doesn’t care anyway—but if he hasn’t worked it out I’m sure when he gets home and sees this he’ll wet himself. [laughs] Especially after the post that he showed me from 16 or 30,000 feet that he showed me this morning.

Interviewer: Just talk us through what happened up on JTAC Hill today. The sort of roll that you were fulfilling there.

Harry: Well, uh, normally I would do it from back here. Obviously we got—we were on patrol. Just a normal routine patrol just to, you know, show a presence basically and say hello to the AMP; didn’t get much of a chance to do that because they are all so busy. Back onto JTAC Hill and, yeah, I mean, as I think Mark, the OC said, normally 4 to 5—7 to 8 contacts a day especially to a month ago or 2 weeks ago—that’s definitely what it was. It’s gotten very cool recently so the engagements have sort of subsided. However, my job is basically just to get Air up whether I’ve been tasked it the day before or on the day whether our troops are in contact or something like that. The Air is tasked to me—they check in to me once they come into the ros and then I’m basically responsible for that aircraft. Making sure it doesn’t get taken out by a 1O5 shell. It’s quite a big sky but knowing my luck it’s very possible to happen unless I keep on top of it. And, uh, and then basically they use their pod—all the imagery—which obviously is linked in to me and together we look around with the TV screen and search the area for any movement at all. Anything suspicious, any bunker systems any compounds that enemy have been seen in. Trying to get some sort of pattern of life. ‘Cause we know that they are being, sort of, funded by someone somewhere. Possibly by someone further down south around the Pakistan border. Ammunition and weapons are always being delivered by mopeds. So if we see a moped we follow that to a building and focus in and around that building. And if we see guys leaving with weapons—going to a fire point, engaging a JTAC then going back to that building then, well, that sort of, it all links in and ten you got to do what you’ve got to do.

Interviewer: Is it difficult?

Harry: Uh, well, I suppose bits of it are difficult. I think, you know, sitting in that room looking at the rover screen terminals, any JTAC will tell you, is a piece of piss really. It’s when you’re on the ground carrying all the kit and then you come into contact—you’ve got to type in the password--if your computer’s not on already, flip it open--get on the radio, get the jets in. And, yeah, you almost a bit like an Air Traffic Controller—you’ve got jets flying all over the place. And you’re trying to control them while looking at the screen while trying to show a presence of force with the jets to get the enemy to go to cover. To keep your guys in one piece and keep safe basically. So yeah, I think I’ve got, from a JTAC’s point of view, it’s a lot easier being in that room then it is for the guys up north running around with all their kit being shot at

Interviewer: It seems you’ve got a bit of a taste for this now. Can you see yourself still doing this in 5 years, 10 years time?

Harry: Well, I don’t know. We’ll see what the, um, the demand for me is here. As any JTAC, as I said, we are being pulled left right and center within any brigade. There’s not enough JTACs and more are being pushed through courses back at JTAC in England. And, um, if I’m not needed if we leave Afghanistan then I wouldn’t see myself carrying on. But it’s a job worthwhile, you know? You’re responsible for so many things. CASAVACing injured guys, getting water and food in. Making sure that gets in safely and out safely because obviously something like a helicopter is a big target. And then obviously your talking to multinational—you’ve got the French, you’ve got the Danes, the English—Brits, sorry—uh, and the American’s. You’ve got all sorts. And it’s a really good job. And I think if you spoke to the soldiers I think they’re very happy to have JTACs with them--if they do have them.

Interviewer: But you wouldn’t see yourself going back to Afghanistan again necessarily?

Harry: Well, who knows? If someone needs me I—I don’t really want to say I’m sure if someone wants me then I’ll definitely consider it. Unless I’m ordered to go in which I’ll have to go. [laughs]

Interviewer: You mentioned The Sun earlier. Clearly the tabloids have been gunning for you for a while. Now do you think this experience for you in Afghanistan is going to change how you’re regarded back at home?

Harry: Who knows? They’ve got their own opinions, they’re entitled to their own opinions and, uh, I’ll just keep on doing what I’m doing and—yeah.

Interviewer: Just one more Harry; what are you missing out here? What from home are--?

Harry: What am I missing the most? I should have thought about this before we started. Um, oh I don’t know actually, um, nothing really. It’s bizarre, you know. I’m up here now I haven’t really had a shower for four days I haven’t washed my clothes for a week and everything seems completely normal. [laughs] So I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what I miss at all. You know, music, we’ve got music, we’ve got light, we’ve got food, we’ve got drink—no I don’t miss booze if that’s the next question. It’s very nice just to be here with all the guys and mucking in as one of the lads.

Interviewer: That’s fantastic. Thank you.

Harry: [Nods]

Second Interviewer: Harry, I’ve got just two questions—sort of sound bytes. One of the things we’ve been learning about just from talking to you and some of your colleagues is this idea of de-confliction. You must get a lot of responsibility. Do you sort of feel that?

Harry: De-confliction with the aircrafts?

Second Interviewer: Yeah, the sense that your partly to prevent blue on blue [Friendly fire]?

Harry: Yeah, you’re there to prevent blue on blue with bombs being dropped on or near friendlys [Allied troops]. You’re also responsible for not dropping bombs—if you have to—on the wrong people. You know the rules of engagement are very strict, especially on the British—not unlike the Americans, but it’s different. And, um, there is a lot of de-confliction. There is a lot of pressure on all the JTACs, there’s a lot of pressure on all the soldiers as well for numerous reasons. No one wants to engage someone for the wrong reasons. If someone shoots at you then you are entitled to shoot back. You know, all I’d say—if any of the guys at all--Gurkhas, you know, Brit soldiers, anybody anywhere in Afghanistan, if they’re under contact and there’s a JTAC there and JTAC would say they they’ll do their utmost best to make sure that those guys and any single one gets home in one piece. And if you, uh, if you have to do what you have to do in order to succeed in getting your guys out in one piece then that’s the way it has to be.

Second Interviewer: So how do you sum up what it means to be able to come out here and do what you’ve trained to do?

Harry: I mean, I don’t think there’s any words to describe it. It’s just—it’s really nice to be out here. I mean, I’ve only been out here for a short time and I hope to be out here for a lot longer and go through it with everybody else. And it’s nice to see what it’s all like. My father’s very keen on me reporting back as the mole. So he’s got his, sort of, ends tied up. Yeah, as I say, it’s much better being out here and experiencing it rather then hearing all the stories of people coming back. And once I did the JTAC course there doesn’t seem like much point sitting back in England because once you’ve done the course you are supposedly an asset. And I hope I am an asset rather then a naws. [?] [laughs]

Second Interviewer: So that’s it?

First Interviewer: Very good. Thank you.

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