Chris Yates, known online as The Sapper Project, joins Frankie Dunn for a brutally honest conversation about military life, serious injury, recovery, mental health, autism, writing, and rebuilding a life after service.Chris takes us from growing up as a military child across Germany, Cornwall and Yorkshire, to joining the Royal Engineers as a plant operator, to an unexpected posting with 9 Para. He's open about the fitness, the camaraderie, the drinking culture and the pranks — what life inside the Army was actually like, not the recruitment-poster version.Then it turns. Chris describes the accident that changed everything: a tailgate falling from a four-tonne truck and crushing his back. He talks through the years that followed — chronic pain, mobility problems, morphine dependence, his mental health, and the long grind of being medically discharged.He also talks about receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult, and how much of his childhood and his military career suddenly made sense in hindsight.Along the way: growing up in a military family; the Royal Engineers and plant operations; 9 Para; recovering from a devastating back injury; pain medication, mental health and medical discharge; support from Help for Heroes; the challenges of resettlement; writing science fiction as therapy; veteran surfing with Sea Veterans at South Shields; and rebuilding a life through work, writing, family and community.Frankie and Chris also get into the changing culture of the military, mental health stigma, and why ordinary service stories deserve to be heard every bit as much as the ones from the front line.A powerful episode — honest, dark-humoured, and ultimately hopeful.──────────────────────────CHRIS'S BOOK"The Beginning: Book One in the Humanity Series" by Chris YatesUK ▸ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0F1DFSJCQUS ▸ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F1DFSJCQBook Two is on the way.──────────────────────────ABOUT FRANKIE'S PODLong-form conversations with veterans and service personnel about where they came from, why they joined, what they saw, and what came after. Hosted by Frankie (Andrew Dunn), Royal Artillery, 1985–2012.Website ▸ https://frankiespod.co.ukYouTube ▸ https://www.youtube.com/@FrankiesPod──────────────────────────SUPPORT THE SHOWI make Frankie's Pod on my own, in my own time, and fund it myself. If an episode has meant something to you, you can buy me a coffee:☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/FrankiesPodIf a coffee isn't possible, subscribing, leaving a review or sharing an episode helps just as much. Cheers.──────────────────────────MUSIC CREDIT"Battlefield Resolve" and "Sentinel" — composed and performed by Gregory Ratcliff, trading as G4H Music. Used by Frankie's Pod under a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence granted 31 August 2026. Copyright and ownership remain with G4H Music."Battlefield Resolve" — the track at the top of every episode — was written specifically for Frankie's Pod. If you like it, hear more of Greg's work on his album "Rising":🎵 https://open.spotify.com/album/2NDEgqNET6CTobhUO9nTrI──────────────────────────#FrankiesPod #Veterans #MilitaryPodcast #RoyalEngineers #Sappers #9Para #BritishArmy #VeteranStories #HelpForHeroes #TheSapperProject