Commando: Survival of the Fittest Book

On 4 September 1991 33 young men entered the Commando Training Centre at Lympstone in Devon. Hand-picked, bright, superbly fit and highly motivated they shared only one burning desire - to become Royal Marine Commando Officers. One in three would fail. Young Officer training is the longest, most taxing military training in the world. Young men come off the street and 15 months later leave as the elite of the elite, superbly trained commanders of one of the finest fighting forces in military history. Marine officers undergo more arduous and more sophisticated training than other ranks, for only then can they command the necessary respect from men who wear the Green Beret of the Commando. Robin Eggar followed these young men through from their first to last day of training. His access enabled him to see beyond the spit and polish, past the military machine to the triumphs and tragedies of a wolf pack where things do not always turn out as expected. Under the intense, claustrophobic spotlight of training, young men, often with nothing in common, are forced to rely on each other to survive. It is a tale of shared hardship, of pain confronted and overcome, of being tested beyond the limits, of supporting and helping each other.Read More