In March 1991, the country was plunged into the Sierra Leone Civil War, pitting the government against the invading Revolutionary United Front, under the command of Foday Sankoh. Front-line government soldiers were poorly supplied and fed, and some complained they had not been paid for three months. Captain Strasser witnessed the deplorable conditions firsthand, being assigned to a unit fighting the rebels. When he received a shrapnel wound, he became disgruntled when he found he could not be evacuated.