Mike Klidjian

Mike was born in Cambridge in 1974, moving throughout the country but completing the large part of his education at Solihull School. He then spent three hugely enjoyable years at London University (Queen Mary College) studying for a BSc in Marine and Freshwater Biology.

Following a year surfing the best breaks of Indonesia, Australia and Costa Rica Mike returned home and joined the Royal Navy in April 1999 to satisfy his wanderlust. He served a fantastic 18 years in the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. His career was hugely varied and enjoyable with numerous deployments to the Mediterranean, the Gulf, the Far East, Russia, South America and the USA. Trained in Fast Rope Insertion (FRI), he served as Boarding Officer during the NATO Operation 'Active Endeavour' from where many of the details of this book are taken. His time at sea culminated as second in command of the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless during a busy Gulf deployment. From there he was selected for a prestigious high-profile role in the Ministry of Defence in London.

Mike retired from the Navy in October 2017 and now writes full time from the family home in Hampshire. When not writing or conducting parenting operations, Mike can be found running ultra-marathons, teaching his children to surf or fly fishing on the rivers Meon and Itchen.

www.mikeklidjian.com