Stumbling from a university anarchist meeting into a career in the army, Chip Chapman is conscious of how very incompetent he is. The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst confirms his worst fears. He is eventually let loose on 6 Platoon of 2 PARA and, via the Falklands War, manages to elevate himself to a position of conscious competence and save his career. An insight into a generation of soldiering in the late 20th century and beyond, this hilarious, touching, informative, and thought-provoking memoir is set against the drumbeat of the social, cultural, and legal rhythms of the age, and the change from the certainties of the Cold War to the nihilism of 9/11. With shades of David Niven’s The Moon’s a Balloon, Lesley Thomas’s Virgin Soldiers, and the travelogs of Bill Bryson, Chapman captures the rawness, spirit, and fortitude of the soldier in both peace and war.