Overview

Out of Action is the sequel to the best-selling Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry . Part 1, ""War,"" chronicles Chris Cocks' final 16 months of combat in the Rhodesian bush war, as a stick leader in PATU, the Police Anti-Terrorist Unit. It is a time of unbelievable cruelty as the part-time white reservists battle overwhelming odds, without air support and without a future. Part 2,""Peace,"" recounts the author's painful adjustment to life as a civilian; a 15-year odyssey in the embryonic state of Zimbabwe. It is an intensely personal journey in which the author pulls no punches as he describes his clumsy attempts to come to terms with the new dispensation of black Africa and himself. It is a cri de couer , the story of a young man, brutalised by war, who seeks escape in alcohol and drugs, in the process causing immeasurable pain and suffering to those around him. These too are the casualties of war. Ultimately, though, it is a story of hope and of a man's triumph over his own demons. About the Author Chris Cocks served with the Rhodesian Light Infantry from 1976-1979 in continuous combat situations. He drifted for the next 20 years before becoming a full-time writer and publisher in Johannesburg.

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9781920143206

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Chris Cocks was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1957 and served three years and 28 days as a combat NCO with 3 Commando, the Rhodesian Light Infantry (the RLI, an airborne/airmobile unit), from 1976 to 1979. He was then offered a farming job in the country’s Lowveld; however, the army refused to countenance a waiver of call-ups, so he attested into the British South Africa Police and spent the remaining 14 months of the bush war as a PATU (Police Anti-Terrorist Unit) stick leader and avoiding the Military Police. He moved to Johannesburg in 1996 and stumbled into a publishing career, specializing in southern African military history. He has written four books: the bestselling Fireforce: One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry, its sequel Out of Action, a steamy novel Cyclone Blues, and co-wrote The Saints, the RLI’s history. He is the historian for The Rhodesian Light Infantry Regimental Association and edits its magazine, The Cheetah.

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