I joined the army as an infantryman(步兵) instead of as a helicopter pilot because I only had the literacy(读写) level of an 11yearold. I had no idea that I had a reading level that1； I had just 2 words when I didn't know them, and usually ended up getting them wrong.
It was just before I turned 19 that I 3 my very first book. I can vividly remember the sense of 4 and achievement I felt. It was meant for primary school children but I didn't 5. I had read a whole book, and I was 6. From then on I read anything and everything I could get. I just wanted to get as much 7 as I could.
I learned in those days at the 8 education centre. There are always people looking forward to helping you and 9 you stuff. But you are never going to progress 10 you keep learning. The unbelievable educational 11 that the army offers make it one of the few places that can help you climb up the ladder of social classes in the UK.
For me, improving my literacy level had another more surprising 12. When I left the army, I was asked to write a(n) 13 of the Bravo Two Zero Mission and that led to the unexpected career change of becoming a(n) 14.
I have spent quite a bit of time over the past few years 15 schools, and workplaces, as well as army bases and businesses, to talk about my past and 16 others to start reading and writing like me. The 17 I give to all the people that I chat to is that if I can do it, anyone can. If that is a message that even one of them accepts and 18, then it has been 19. My experience shows that the best soldier out there is the one with a 20 card.
