A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission (an attaché). This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy. Opportunities sometimes arise for service in the field with military forces of another state.An early example was General Edward Stopford Claremont, the first British military attaché (at first described as "military commissioner"), who served in Paris for 25 years from 1856 to 1881.