Prince Harry to Join Australian Defense Force then Resign Military Post

Prince Harry of Wales, the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is set to attach to the Australian Defense Force then step down entirely from his ten year military post.

As the official head of the British State, it has long been expected that the various members of the British Royal Family engage themselves in military service. Such an expectation has been demonstrated in the life of 30 year-old Prince Harry. Prince Harry first joined the British Armed Forces in 2005 and has since served two tours of duty in Afghanistan – the second of which was served as an Apache helicopter gunner.

Now, after ten years of service with his native British Armed Forces, Prince Harry, in grand British tradition, will be exporting his military prowess to the former British colony of Australia. According to an official press release posted on the Prince of Wales’ official website, Prince Harry will be spending four weeks in April and May seconded to the Australian Defense Force. The Prince of Wales’ announcement continued on to state that the purpose of this military arrangement was to allow Prince Harry to gain an understanding and appreciation for “…the Australian Army’s domestic operating environment and capabilities.”

After his four weeks down under, Prince Harry is scheduled to leave military service all together. In a statement released by Prince Harry, he stated.

“After a decade of service, moving on from the Army has been a really tough decision. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to do some very challenging jobs and have met many fantastic people in the process. From learning the hard way to stay onside with my Colour Sergeant at Sandhurst, to the incredible people I served with during two tours in Afghanistan – the experiences I have had over the last 10 years will stay with me for the rest of my life. For that I will always be hugely grateful.”

The Prince’s official retirement from the British Armed Forces is scheduled for sometime in June of this year. Upon his retirement, Prince Harry plans to continue on in the tradition of public service. According to an article recently released by Today’s Eun Kyung Kim, after his official resignation, Prince Harry plans to devote his time to battling AIDS as well as continue on in his service to wounded soldiers.

[Featured Image credit to Hello!, Body Image 1 credit to GlobalPost, Body Image 2 credit to The Sun.]