The Royal Marines pride themselves on their professionalism, teamwork and the desire to succeed. This insider's guide has been created in conjunction with current serving Royal Marines recruitment staff and is designed to show you how to successfully pass the Commando selection process.

With the authenticity of Jarhead and Bravo Two Zero and the straight-up narrative of Contact Charlie, this military memoir describes what really goes on in the training of an elite soldier and his tours in Afghanistan. In 2004, Jake Olafsen signed up for the Royal Marines Commandos. He left everything behind at home in Canada on the basis of a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Royal Marines have the toughest and longest basic training of any infantry unit in the world. For Olafson, this meant eight months of wet and cold in England and Wales. It was hell, but he came out with the four Commando qualities that the corps look for: courage, determination, unselfishness, cheerfulness in the face of adversity. Olafsen went on to serve for four years as a Commando in the Royal Marines, an elite military unit based in the United Kingdom. He went to Afghanistan twice: in 2006, he went to confront the Taliban in Helmand Province for six months, and in 2007, he was sent to do it all over again. His story is filled with good experiences, like the sense of accomplishment, patriotism, and camaraderie, and the opportunity to travel the world. But all good things come at a price. The sacrifices he made for the Corps are significant; he has killed the enemy and he has buried his friends. And in telling his story, Olafsen hopes that he can make sense of it all. This is an honest, gutsy story about the mud and the blood, the triumphs and the tragedies. From the Hardcover edition.

'TOUGH, TOUCHING... IT'S A RIGHT GOOD READ' - DAILY TELEGRAPHAt 16, Mark Time wants to become either a geologist or a Royal Marines Commando. So which does he choose? Despite his love of basalt, he chooses the career that teaches him how to kill... and sh*t in plastic bags.Knowing his weak body will have to shape up to complete thirty weeks of commando training, Mark prepares for the Royal Marines by sleeping in his shed wearing only plastic bags. He braves pain by ordering his mate to attack him while trapped in a sleeping bag. He starves himself in a stupid urban survival exercise, turning down the offer of crispy pancakes from his bewildered mother.He is ready.Some might say for the nut house...Often hilarious and yet shockingly sobering, this is the true story of a boy who joins one of the world's most elite military units with only naivety and incompetence equalling his will to succeed.'A cover to cover laughathon' - SOLDIER MAGAZINE

Essential skills for outdoor adventure from the Royal Marines Learn to stay alive with the Royal Marines. Want to know what to do if you met a bear in the woods, how to light a fire in the rain or what to do in shark-infested waters? Get the answers to these and many more questions with the ultimate guide to survival techniques as experienced by the Royal Marines. Pick up survival basics, from staying fit, to planning your expedition and packing essential kit. Discover what to do on a trail, from navigating and using pack animals to hiking or even skiing to your destination. You'll pick up wilderness techniques and learn to make shelters, find water, spot, catch and cook wild food. And when there's an emergency you'll be glad you learned how to mount a rescue, use essential first aid techniques and even how to get found. Learn survival techniques from the men who've been there, done it and survived. And take on the most testing challenges nature can throw at you.

The Mediterranean, 1943: At long last the British Army has won a victory, and Rommel's Afrika Korps is in retreat. Into this new phase of the war comes Captain Mike Blackwood, Royal Marine Commando. Already bloodied in the disastrous retreat from Burma, Blackwood goes to Alexandria as part of an elite unit, poised to strike the first blows against the Nazi fortress of mainland Europe.