LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry has returned to Afghanistan to fly attack helicopters on the frontline just two weeks after he was photographed frolicking naked in Las Vegas.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Friday that Queen Elizabeth's
grandson would serve a four-month tour, based out of Camp B
"Working alongside his colleagues in the squadron, he will be in a difficult and demanding job," said Lieutenant Colonel Tom de la Rue in a statement.
The prince, known
in the military as Captain Wales, first served in Afghanistan in 2008 as
an on-ground air controller, but his tour was cut short after foreign
media broke a news blackout requested to protect him while on the front
line.
The MoD said the danger was less severe in helicopters.
"Captain Wales's deployment has been long planned and
the threat to him and others around him thoroughly assessed," the
ministry said.
The 27-year-old,
who is regularly in the headlines due to his penchant for partying, has
spoken out about his desire to return to active service.
"I would love to go back, I really would," he told ABC's "Good Morning America" TV programme in 2010.
"At the end of the
day you train for war, it's as simple as that. If we could be at peace
then fantastic, but if we're at war then you want to be with your
brothers in arms."
Prince Harry is the first member of the Royal Family to see active combat since his uncle Prince Andrew fought in the Falklands war.
Thousands of fellow soldiers as well as members of the
public posted naked photos of themselves on Facebook to show their
support for the prince after naked pictures of him with a young woman in
Las Vegas made news around the world in August.
Prince Charles, Harry's father and heir-to-the-throne, is "immensely proud" of his son's return to the front line, his spokesman said.
(Reporting By Alessandra Prentice, editing by Paul Casciato)
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