British Prince Harry arrives in Bardufoss on February 14 to visit the Great Arctic Winter Exercise Clockwork exercise.
Kensington Palace confirmed the visit on Twitter on Monday, VG reports.
The military exercise is held annually in what Kensington Palace describes as one of the most demanding environments in the world. More than 16,000 British soldiers have participated in the exercise since 1969.
Prince Harry will meet military personnel who live and train at the base. He will look at the equipment and training and talk to participants.
Realistic exercise
Over a thousand British elite soldiers will train for a counter-attack against a Russian invasion in Norway. Including US and European forces, 8,000 soldiers in total will be involved, writes The Mirror.
The 34-year-old prince will not attend as a soldier , but will have a more ceremonial role as a senior officer. According to a military source, he will be fully involved in the exercise and gain access to top secret combat plans. He is a competent skier and will have access to all areas where the exercise will take place.
- It will be high speed and very realistic, the source continues.
This is the largest arctic military exercise for the Royal Marines for decades.
Skiing
According to the newspaper, the exercise will consist of special forces that either land via parachutes supported by the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force, or disembark from light armoured sea vessels . Grenade, rocket, artillery and anti-tank attacks are expected, and the marines will ski and hold positions until further British and American reinforcements arrive.
The Prince will fly to Norway from the military aircraft base Brize Norton in Oxfordshire over the next few weeks. He will stay in a remote base with British, American, Dutch and Norwegian elite soldiers.
Royal Marines started traveling to Norway on New Year’s Day from their base in Bickleigh Barracks in Devon.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today