Bear Grylls Announces New Military Job Bestowed by King Charles
Audiences around the world know Bear Grylls for his time spent surviving in nature captured on screen in shows like Man vs. Wild and Running Wild With Bear Grylls. The British explorer has been bestowed several honors over the years by the royal family, and his latest award marks a new peak for the famed outdoorsman.
On July 11, Grylls took to social media to share that he's been appointed Honorary Colonel of the U.K.'s Army Foundation College. The institution prepares young Brits to serve in the armed forces and places Grylls as the figurehead for the college. In his Instagram post, he shared a photo of himself in camouflage garb as well as a look at the correspondence his team had with Buckingham Palace.
"So proud to have been appointed Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College by His Majesty The King," Grylls captioned his Instagram post. "An Army Basic Training organization, the AFC builds the character, competence, and resilience of young people to help them succeed in life and within the military."
"No matter where you come from, if you’re willing to do your best and live by the Army’s values and standards, then the College offers adventure, challenge, qualifications, friends for life, and confidence that will last a lifetime," he concluded. "Watch this space for many adventures ahead."
Grylls himself is no stranger to the U.K. military world. In the mid-1990s, Grylls served in the U.K. Army Reserve, but his career came to an end after a parachuting accident in Kenya in 1996; his resilience was clear then, as his parachute failed to open and he lived through landing from 16,000 feet, one of the highest falls ever to be survived.
He's been recognized for his service in the armed forces before with similar honorary titles. In 2004, he was given the honorary rank of lieutenant commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. And in 2013, he received the same honorary title in the Royal Marines Reserve before being promoted to Honorary Colonel there in 2021.