Royal Marine Commando In Iraq And Afghanistan: A Story Of Surf, Sand And Combat

A Royal Marine Commando in Iraq and Afghanistan is a raw and unfiltered account of a life lived at full throttle, through war zones, oceans and the uneasy quiet that follows survival. Told through a series of vivid autobiographical vignettes, the book follows Adam Lison, a Royal Marines Commando who completed 22 years of active service and receiving a Mention in Dispatches for his bravery. During that time, Adam saw fierce combat in four operational tours of Afghanistan and Iraq. The combat is described without polish or bravado: being blown up twenty-two times by IED strikes and involved in countless firefights and ambushes and dealing with that first moment of being face to face with the enemy. An NCO in the thick of the action, Adam had to make instant life-or-death decisions, deciding whether to shoot through a crowd of women and children to kill a Taliban ambush team, or if he should run through a minefield after being blown up in a Land Rover to check on his wagon crew? Should he run the gauntlet of heavy machine gun fire to get more ammunition and report the situation to his officers or does he stay and fight? Does he disobey orders which he believes could imperil his team when surrounded by more than forty Taliban? These are just some of the hair-raising episodes told in exciting detail in the engrossing memoir. When the fighting stops, the story doesn't. The transition back to civilian life proves disorientating and, at times, destructive for Adam. Long stretches of leave are filled with restlessness, and a growing sense of being untethered from purpose. Adam explores the psychological whiplash of moving from hyper-alert danger to normality in a matter of days, and the quiet damage that can follow when there is no space to decompress. Running parallel to the battlefield narrative is Adam's lifelong relationship with the ocean. Surfing becomes both escape and reckoning which encapsulates another environment where risk is real, mistakes are punished, and humility is mandatory. From dawn patrols on the North Devon coast to near-fatal encounters with reefs and rips, the sea mirrors the same lessons learned in combat: respect, patience, and knowing when to fight and when to let go. AUTHOR: Adam Lison is a former Royal Marine Commando whose life has been shaped by more than two decades of military service, physical discipline, and time spent at sea. Over a 22-year career, he served on multiple overseas operations and saw active combat with all three Royal Marine units from 3 Commando Brigade. Alongside his military life, Adam has always been drawn to the ocean. A lifelong surfer, he found in the sea both challenge and calm, using it to stay grounded through the demands of service and deployment. Surfing remains a constant thread in his life a place for resilience and reflection. After leaving the Armed Forces, he channelled the same commitment into Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, earning his black belt and founding Mahara Jiujitsu Academy in Devon, where he now coaches. Drawing on his experiences in combat, sport, and civilian life, Adam writes with honesty, humour, and emotional depth, exploring resilience, identity, and life beyond uniform. 16 colour illustrations