Prince Harry visits elite Marines and sailors in the Arctic

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The Duke of Sussex, the captain general of the Royal Marines, visited troops with Commando Helicopter Force at Royal Norwegian Air Force Station Bardufoss, Norway, Feb. 14, 2019. (U.K. Ministry of Defence/Crown)

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, made an unannounced visit to military service members north of the Arctic Circle on Thursday.

Harry, a veteran of the British army, made his first foreign visit as captain general of the Royal Marines to a base in northern Norway where he met with British sailors and Marines as well as Norwegian troops.

The Commando Helicopter Force and its predecessors have been conducting military exercises in the Arctic Circle for half a century, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defence. Prince Harry learned about the unit and its day-to-day ops in the region.

"He was able to get a good look at what we do and how we operate in these harsh conditions," Warrant Officer 1st Class Adrian Shepherd said. "He saw the amount of training that goes into it and why it is so important that we do this exercise every year."

The Duke got a look at the CHF's helicopters and watched ground troops train outdoors in the freezing temperature.

"If you can operate in Norway and in these conditions, you can operate anywhere in the world," said Colour Sergeant Gary Bell, a helicopter crewman.

For this trip, Prince Harry wore a Royal Marines uniform for the first time, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The Queen appointed her grandson as captain general of the Royal Marines, the ceremonial head of the service, in 2017. Harry succeeded his grandfather Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

FOX 5 NY reported this story from New York City.