Media Refocus on Prince Harry Afghanistan Deployment After Naked Picture Flap

Weeks after courting controversy in Las Vegas, Prince Harry's professional military duties are distracting from his tabloid-ready personal life: he's making headlines Friday for his four-month deployment to Afghanistan.

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Harry, a captain in the Army Air Corps., returns to the country to fly Apache helicopters in the battle against the Taliban, and will participate in combat missions, the BBC reports.

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The 27-year-old arrived at a British base on Thursday. He was previously stationed in Afghanistan for a 10-week period over 2007 and 2008 but left after the media began covering his presence there, which was supposed to be under the radar.

In August, the party-loving prince ran into trouble -- and ostensibly embarrassed the Queen -- when photos of him naked at a Sin City hotel party surfaced online. When he stepped out in London earlier this week to speak at a charity event, he jokingly referenced the scandal, saying he's "not shy."