This paper introduces a single case study from a former British Royal Marine and his struggle to adapt from experiences of extreme fear and danger within war to life as a civilian. The main focus of this case study is to explore his experiences of being feared – of being an object of fear. The case study describes his interpretation of the extreme situations in which he had been placed, the ways his own violent acts are internally justified or not and, the self-confessed on/off switch for interpersonal violence in post-military life. To make sense of this a conceptual framework, inspired by the work of Erving Goffman, has been developed which allows a connection to be built between the individual situations experienced and how they are related to, given meaning and, given structure in ongoing life.