Prince Harry has called on members of the British military to pay more attention to their mental health.
The 33-year-old royal – who served in Afghanistan during his Army days – has stressed to servicemen that their mental wellbeing is as crucial as their combat skills.
Prince Harry said: "Crucially, fighting fitness is not just about physical fitness. It is just as much about mental fitness too."
The flame-haired royal, who launched the Invictus Games in 2014, also likened the challenge facing the military to the sort of task professional sports people regularly confront.
And he observed that, like sports stars, servicemen should be paying an increasing amount of attention to their mental wellbeing.
Prince Harry explained, according to PEOPLE: "Elite sports people now focus heavily on their mental approach to training and competing.
"They know that a perfectly fit body cannot win on the court, on the field, in the ring, or on the track if the mind is not focused. We have all seen professional athletes lose races or matches due to unforced errors. It is no different for anyone in high pressure roles."
The royal – who has joined forces with British Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon to launch a new partnership to improve the mental health of military personnel – added: "I saw how important physical conditioning was and how we always warmed up before every run or loaded march to reduce the risk of injury.
"We should have the same approach to conditioning for our mental health too."
Prince Harry issues warning to military personnel
