PMCI September 2015 | Page 22

pmcimagazine.com BORN FEARLESS “Hard eyes stare out of massive beards, their faces marked by scars of battle. With these guys their webbing looks as if it belongs to them, rather than it’s been hung on a pair of reluctant shoulders. There’s not a word been said to us, but the ante has clearly been upped. There’s a dark and sinister feeling in the air. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it’s about to kick off.” When I first received “Born Fearless” I thought to myself “Oh no, here we go again, yet another book about The Circuit”, but as I delved in it soon became apparent that this book was a very different beast than many that have preceded it. Written with great intelligence, wry black humour, and a great pace I was drawn ever deeper into the world inhabited by the author. “Big Phil” Campion is a forty three year old veteran of military operations in just about every conflict-prone corner of the world, as a soldier in the regular Armed Forces, an elite SAS operator, and as a gun for hire. From hostage extraction in Baghdad to anti-pirate protection in Somalia, couriering £50 million in diamonds to Abu Dhabi and deniable ops in Afghanistan, Phil Campion is one of the most experienced and sought after private security operatives o have worked The Circuit. In his time Phil has passed both Parachute Regiment and Commando selection, and served as a key member of the elite SAS Sabre Squadrons; he’s frankly a bit of a legend. And it’s his experiences around the globe that make this book such a wild and entertaining ride as Phils approach to danger in utterly considered; whilst others run headlong in to harms way, Phil is always considering how to deal with matters calmly and professionally. When it does “kick off” though he’s as ready as anyone to get stuck in! From playing chicken with a suicide bomber in backstreet Kabul, to taking on pirates with his bare hands, this is true life action packed drama at its very best; as Andy McNab puts it “One of the best first-hand accounts of life in combat ever written.” Author: Phil Campion Publisher: Quercus ISBN: 978-0-85738-378-5 Price: £7.99 paperback with photographic section “Born Fearless” offers brutally frank and frequently unsettling insights into the murky world of the modern mercenary and in my opinion is one of the best books yet penned on the subject. Phil was there right from the very start, and his observations should certainly be read by anyone who is leaving the Armed Forces today and considering moving into the private sector. 22 pmcimagazine.com