Prince Harry to strengthen US-UK military ties

Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne has been extremely busy of late. He has recently been spotted soaking up the excitement of the World Cup with elder brother Prince William and soccer star David Beckham as well as touring the mine fields of Mozambique just last week. This week however he landed in the US to spend three days in New York City as part of a trip designed to strengthen military ties between the US and the UK.  

The Royal Prince, who served in Afghanistan in 2008, paid a visit to West Point Military Academy, where he swapped his light blue beret for a helmet and headed out for live-fire excercies in the woods with West Point Cadets using an M4 rifle. He later shadowed a group of cadets through heavy woods in a combat exercise before talking to them about his experience in Afghanistan and the differences between West Point and Sandhurst, "He seems like a really down-to-earth guy," said Cadet Kristen Griest of Orange, Conn. The Cadets presented Harry with a ceremonial saber before he flew back to New York City a few hours later to make a speech aboard the USS Intrepid. In his speech the Prince said that his country can learn from American advances in veterans' care and rehabilitation. 

Prince Harry has also been invited to throw out a first pitch at a Mets baseball game and on Sunday he plans to participate in a polo match that will benefit American Friends of Sentebale, the U.S. arm of the global charity co-founded by the Prince that supports impoverished children of Lesotho in southern Africa. He's holding a reception for the event Saturday evening in Greenwich, Conn.