This third book in the Series spans the paradoxical period of Allan's commissioned service in the Australian Army from December 1982 through to 1991. As a young Officer, he progressed through the subaltern ranks of Lieutenant and Captain serving with four Australian and three British Army units.

Allan found the Australian Army of the 1980s stuck in a conundrum. Firstly, it was still in the Vietnam mould - the overwhelming majority of Officers above the rank of Major, and Non-commissioned Officers, were Vietnam veterans and training in the field was focused on jungle warfare - yet, for courses and higher-level tactics, an armour-heavy Soviet Union-style doctrinal enemy was fought. Secondly, it was a decade into the period known as the 'twenty years of peace'. Allan joined the post-Vietnam War generation of Officers who spent years preparing for war whilst rarely experiencing operations. With few deployment opportunities, promotion became the main pursuit, and the means to that end was total subordination to the annual cycle of training, exercises and exchanges; regimental life.

The predominant geo-strategic influence during this time was the Cold War: Allan's early commissioned service encompassed the final seven years before the Berlin Wall came down. After travelling privately to Europe in the bitterly cold winter of 1981-82 to observe first-hand the manifestations of the Cold War, Allan was determined to make a contribution to it. On top of attaining the professional mastery to achieve the required promotions, he set about getting as close to the front-line of the Cold War as he could. This book describes his private travels to the Bamboo Curtain; service with Australia's Operational Deployment Force in Townsville; exchange with the British Army in England; deployment with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in West Germany; and time with Australia's only mechanised infantry battalion.

As an Ordnance Corps Officer, Allan was required to learn about the Supply function as well as be a warrior; a member of the profession of arms. But most importantly, he was a leader. This book describes many of the challenges of leadership in the profession of arms that were part of regimental life. Despite the challenges, these were the fun years of his career - hectic, diverse, very rewarding, and having a bonding effect that created around him a 'band of brothers'.

The Foreword for this book is by Allan's Duntroon classmate, Roger Gray, whose 20-year career included time in Cambodia working with the United Nations. In 2000 Roger entered the commercial world and has held a succession of senior leadership roles with leading Australian and New Zealand businesses. In 2019 he became the Chief Executive Officer for the Lyttelton Port Company in New Zealand.