I write in reply to Alan Nunn (Letters, December 11).

In June 1968, as a 15-year-old fourth former, I attended a short residential course with others in my year.

An early item on the course programme was a "self-defence" session with an army youth team.

I can vividly recall being told to attempt bare-handed strangulation upon one of the instructors while he demonstrated the technique for breaking my hold.

If I had considered a military career before then, my mind would have been changed that day. I got the impression most of us felt the same.

Both of my late parents joined the army during the Second World War. Being told of their service experiences was more than enough to dissuade me from any such idea.

Take heed, Mr Nunn. Telling civilians the whole unvarnished truth about military training could actually produce the opposite effect from the one you desire.

-Peter D Jackson, Hove