Britain's Prince Harry Wants to Return to Afghanistan

LONDON (June 29) -- Britain's Prince Harry, despite tumbling from his horse in a New York polo match Sunday, has revealed that he craves an even more action-filled existence. He says he's desperate to return to Afghanistan and serve on the front line with his "brothers in arms."

"I'd love to go back, I really would," the third in line to the throne, who is set to start training as an Apache attack helicopter pilot next month, told ABC News. "As long as my military career allows it and politically it's allowed, then I will serve my country as any other soldier. You train for a reason and you want to be there, you want to help your buddies."

Through no fault of his own, the 25-year-old's first tour of Afghanistan didn't end well. Harry, who originally trained as a tank commander with the Household Cavalry, was secretly deployed to the war zone in late 2007. During a 10-week stint, he served as a forward air controller directing air strikes against the Taliban. However, he was forced to quit the country when an Australian magazine revealed his location, making his entire unit too tempting a target for militants.

Harry decided to retrain as an Army Air Corps helicopter pilot in the hope that it would increase his chances of being redeployed to the Afghan arena. "At the end of the day you train for war. It's simple as that," he said. "If we could be at peace, then that would be fantastic, but if we're at war, then you want to be with your brothers in arms."

According to Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, he could soon get his wish. Ministry of Defense sources told the paper that if he successfully completes his training, he could be on the front line again in as little as 18 months.

The prince, the youngest child of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, gave the candid interview this weekend while visiting New York to promote closer links between veterans' charities in the U.S. and U.K.

"The most important thing for me to be here is for me to cement that bond between your side and our side," he said. "When we ... fight together and get wounded together, after that we sort of get split two separate ways and I just would love to see, and I'm sure you and everyone would like to see, both sides of the Atlantic learning from each other and working together."

Harry also used his trip to raise awareness about his charity Sentebale, which provides support for vulnerable children and orphans in Lesotho, one of Africa's poorest nations. He set up the charity to honor his mother's memory, and continue her pioneering work in Africa.

The prince told ABC that he shared his mother's passion for the continent. "I love the people, I love everything about it. Obviously my mother had a soft spot for Africa as well and both me and William adore being there," he said. "We have a chance of a bit of freedom and a chance just to be at one with nature. It's a very special place."

He went on to discuss his pride in the role his mother played in breaking down the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the late 1980s, when Princess Diana was regularly photographed holding hands or embracing sufferers. "Good on her," he said. "And that is something that William and I hope to carry on in her name or as much as we can anyway, but ... sometimes it takes something like that to really bring it home to people about what is going on out there."