Ex-SAS man draws on experience for new book (From Hereford Times)

Phil Campion's new thriller draws on SAS experience

3:00pm Friday 28th September 2012 in News By Paul Broome

A MILITARY thriller charting an undercover political capture in north Africa has been penned by a man who can boast firsthand experience of life on the front line.

‘Big Phil’ Campion, who used to be based at Hereford’s SAS camp, earned a fearsome reputation during his days as a soldier which took him to some of the most dangerous places on Earth.

But now, having left wartorn countries behind and returned to live on the UK’s south coast, he has used his global conflict experience to write a fictional military thriller based on Colonel Gaddafi’s youngest son escaping from Libya.

Desert Fire follows the story of the British Government enlisting a renowned former Special Forces man to lead a covert group of mercenaries aiming to seize Gaddafi from his desert stronghold.

But they meet stern opposition in the form of Gaddafi’s loyalist warriors who have armed themselves with stolen NATO ammunition.

The mercenary group knows, however, that if it can get past the insurgents it would be in line for gold bullion worth $500 million.

Campion draws on his many miltary experiences in the 370-page tome which has been described by legendary SAS soldier Andy McNab as “one of the best first-hand accounts of life in combat ever written”.

A key member of the SAS’s elite Sabre Squadron, the 43-year-old was initially a soldier in the regular army.

He then advanced to dealing with hostage extraction in Baghdad, pirate protection in Somalia and even overseeing the movement of diamonds valued at £50 million in Abu Dhabi.

The book, priced £7.99, is published by Quercus Fiction on Monday.