Story highlights Harry will be treated like any other soldier and is proud to serve, palace spokesman says

His presence in Afghanistan is expected to boost morale among UK forces

"He will be in a difficult and demanding job," a commander at Camp Bastion says

Scandal hit the prince last month after he was photographed naked in Las Vegas

Prince Harry arrived in Afghanistan on Friday on a four-month military deployment in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot, Britain's Ministry of Defense said.

Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and third in line to the British throne, is a captain in Britain's Army Air Corps.

He will be stationed at dusty Camp Bastion in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province -- considered a Taliban heartland -- with the 100-strong 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps.

The austere conditions will be a far cry from the more luxurious lifestyle he enjoys when on leave in the United Kingdom -- or on his widely covered trip to Las Vegas last month, where a scandal broke after he was photographed naked while partying in his hotel room on what turns out to have been a predeployment vacation.

Photos: Prince Harry through the years Photos: Prince Harry through the years Britain's Prince Harry smiles as he attends a ceremony for the 2015 London Marathon. The engagement of the prince and American actress Meghan Markle was announced on Monday, November 27. Hide Caption 1 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave a London hospital with newborn baby Harry on September 16, 1984. It was their second son. Hide Caption 2 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry is held by his mother during this family photo with his dad and his brother, Prince William, in 1984. Hide Caption 3 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry, left, and William play on rocking horses at Kensington Palace. Hide Caption 4 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry sticks his tongue out, much to the surprise of his mother, at Buckingham Palace in 1988. Hide Caption 5 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Prince Charles and his sons pose outside a country house circa 1990. Hide Caption 6 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry, left, and William wave to the cameras during a 1991 tour of Canada. The caps were given to them by the crew of the Canadian frigate HMCS Ottawa. Hide Caption 7 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Princess Diana and her sons visit Thorpe Park, a theme park in Surrey, England, in 1993. Hide Caption 8 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Princess Diana's brother, Earl Spencer, offers Harry a reassuring arm during her funeral service in 1997. Hide Caption 9 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Prince Charles and his sons enjoy a ski holiday together in 2000. Hide Caption 10 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry takes part in the traditional Wall Game at Eton College in 2003. Hide Caption 11 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years In 2003, Harry stands between some artwork he completed while studying at Eton College. Hide Caption 12 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry holds an echidna at Sydney's Taronga Zoo in 2003. Hide Caption 13 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry takes part in a 2005 Trooping the Colour event with fellow cadets at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England. Hide Caption 14 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry, far left, joins a photo for his father's second marriage in 2005. After Harry, from left, are his brother; his father; his stepmother, Camilla; and Camilla's children, Laura and Tom Parker Bowles. Hide Caption 15 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry and Queen Elizabeth II share a joke on his father's wedding day. Hide Caption 16 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry takes part in military training in 2005. In February 2008, the British Ministry of Defense announced that Harry had secretly been serving in Afghanistan with his Army unit on a four-month mission. The next day, he was withdrawn for security reasons. Hide Caption 17 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry and his girlfriend at the time, Chelsy Davy, watch a rugby match in London in 2009. Hide Caption 18 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry joins Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2012. Hide Caption 19 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry smiles after playing rugby at a beach in Rio de Janeiro in 2012. Hide Caption 20 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry receives a royal salute from the honor guard at the Garden Island naval base in Sydney in 2013. Hide Caption 21 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry plays rugby with children as he takes part in a coaching session in London in 2013. Hide Caption 22 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry flies in the back of a Spitfire in this undated photo released in 2015. The flight was to promote his Spitfire scholarship, which offers training for wounded service members. Hide Caption 23 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry and his father attend a 2015 memorial service for the Battle of Gallipoli, a World War I campaign that took place a century earlier. Hide Caption 24 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry, William and Catherine take a photo with US President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama after the Obamas arrived at Kensington Palace in 2016. Hide Caption 25 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry sits with Hayley Henson, left, and her daughter Emily during the Invictus Games in Toronto in September. Hayley is married to British paralympian David Henson, and young Emily was sneaking bites of the prince's popcorn. Harry founded the Invictus Games, an international sporting competition for injured service members. Hide Caption 26 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry watches wheelchair tennis with his girlfriend, Meghan Markle, at the Invictus Games in September. Hide Caption 27 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry smiles as he speaks to veterans in London in November. He was attending the official opening ceremony of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey. Hide Caption 28 of 29 Photos: Prince Harry through the years Harry and Markle take photos at Kensington Palace to announce their engagement. Hide Caption 29 of 29

Prince Harry served briefly in Afghanistan four years ago, but he was hurriedly withdrawn amid safety fears when news of his deployment to a small forward operating base leaked.

The media are allowed to report on his deployment this time, although the timing of his arrival in Afghanistan was kept under wraps.

Prince Harry, a captain in Britain's Army Air Corps, arrived in Afghanistan on Friday for a four-month deployment.

"He's approached the deployment with a range of emotions like any other soldier and feels both pride and anticipation as he deploys for a job he's trained for, for so long," a St. James's Palace spokesman said.

"Prince Harry, like any soldier, considers it a great honor to represent his country in Her Majesty's armed forces wherever it chooses to deploy him."

A palace source said the prince, who turns 28 this month, will be treated just the same as his fellow soldiers.

The queen and Prince Charles have been fully briefed on his deployment, the source said, adding that Charles was immensely proud of his son.

Harry qualified to fly an Apache helicopter in combat early this year, after doing some of his training over the deserts of Arizona and Nevada. He won an award as the best co-pilot gunner in his peer group during training.

The Camp Bastion complex, near the large U.S. Camp Leatherneck, is one of the busiest airfields in the world, with more than 28,000 people working on site, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.

While stationed there, Prince Harry will be part of the Joint Aviation Group, which provides support to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and Afghan forces in the region.

Capt. Jock Gordon, commander of the Joint Aviation Group, welcomed Prince Harry to Camp Bastion -- and appealed for him to be allowed to get on with his job.

"Working together with his colleagues in the squadron, he will be in a difficult and demanding job, and I ask that he be left to get on with his duties and allowed to focus on delivering support to the coalition troops on the ground," he said, in remarks quoted by the Press Association news agency.

The Ministry of Defense said Harry's squadron would "provide surveillance, deterrence and, when required, close combat attack capabilities as well as escort duties for other aircraft."

Since Harry qualified in February he has been gaining additional flying experience with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, the statement said.

"He has been trained to fly in the front seat as the mission commander, a role that equips the operative to fly the aircraft from the back seat but the majority of the time involves operating the Apache's sights, sensors and weapons systems," it said.

Harry was withdrawn only 10 weeks into his last deployment to Afghanistan, amid concern that knowledge of his presence there could expose him and his fellow troops to greater risk.

This time, he is based in a more secure military complex, and Apache helicopters are a target for Taliban attacks regardless of whether Prince Harry is piloting them or not.

His deployment is expected to be a big morale boost for British forces in Afghanistan and may go some way to restoring his public image following last month's scandal.

The prince hit the headlines after he was photographed naked while in his swanky Las Vegas hotel suite with friends and a group of women they had met.

The images were widely published on the Internet and by Britain's best-selling tabloid newspaper The Sun , prompting questions about media invasion of privacy.

Other UK media outlets respected a request by St. James's Palace not to publish the images, one of which showed Harry using his hands to shield his modesty, while another showed his bare bottom.

The Press Complaints Commission, the UK newspaper watchdog, said Thursday it had received about 3,800 complaints from the public about the decision by The Sun to publish the images -- but none from palace officials.

"The Commission is in continuing dialogue with Prince Harry's representatives but as yet has not received a formal complaint," the commission said in a statement.

While the body appreciates the concerns raised by members of the public, an investigation without the consent and involvement of royal officials would be "inappropriate," the statement said.

Before the drama over the photographs, Prince Harry had won praise from the UK media in recent months for embracing a more central public role in support of the queen in her diamond jubilee year.

This included representing his grandmother at the Olympics Closing Ceremony and on a royal tour to the Caribbean.