The 27 year old Capt. Harry Wales, as he is known in the military, will undertake a four-month combat tour as a gunner for an attack helicopter. "Prince Harry, like any soldier, considers it a great honour to represent his country wherever it chooses to deploy him," St James's Palace said in a statement.
The prince's previous posting as a battlefield air traffic controller in Afghanistan in late 2007 and early 2008 lasted only 10 weeks. It was cut short after his secret deployment was made public. With that, he became the first member of the British royal family to serve in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, flew as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands conflict with Argentina in 1982. Britain has around 9,500 troops in Afghanistan, mainly based in Helmand province, and has suffered 425 deaths since the start of operations against the Taliban in 2001.
That will keep him busy for some time
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