Commando : Winning the Green Beret

London: Network Books. Very Good/Very Good. 1994. First Edition. Hard Cover. Lge 8vo 0563369817 Dust jacket complete, unclipped. Bright green cloth with gilt titling on spine. No ownership inscription. Photographs. 192 pages clean and tight. Since their formation by Winston Churchill during the dark days of the Second World War, the Commandos have been regarded as among the most feared amphibious infantry in the world. Lightly equipped, fast, silent and deadly - Commandos epitomize the modern soldier. They are highly trained, disciplined, tough, determined and efficient, always basing their operations on speed, mobility, surprise and firepower. But who are the Commandos? What qualities do they have beyond those of the normal soldier? There are two ways to join the Royal Marine Commandos: through a Recruit Troop Course for teenagers or through the All Arms Course for volunteers from the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Both involve intensive training, physical hardship and mental pressure, ending with the gruelling Commando Tests. Both are hard ... very hard. Commando follows two such Courses as 638 Recruit Troop and 4/92 All Arms Commando Course pit themselves against the Commando Tests - and against themselves - for the right to wear the coveted Green Beret. Commando is very much a human story, examining the reality behind the myth, finding it a far cry from the popular idea of Commandos as gung-ho Captain Hurricanes. Hugh McManners, who successfully completed the All Arms Course himself, takes the reader through the agony and the ecstasy of the Commando training programme in an effort to understand why these men endure this self-inflicted hell-on-earth, and explain the pride and honour felt on winning the Green Beret. .