Born into a military family in a newly independent Papua New Guinea, Peter Hirihepe Ilau entered the Defence Force reluctantly. He would rise to become its first naval officer—and one of its longest-serving commanders.

Tides of Duty is his candid account of a life spent where personal conviction, national interest, and the burden of command collide. From the 1980 intervention in Vanuatu and the long shadow of the Bougainville crisis to peacekeeping in Solomon Islands, defence diplomacy with Australia and Indonesia, and the difficult reform of a force under pressure, Ilau takes readers inside defining moments in modern Pacific history.

But this is more than a record of operations and policy. It is a story of family, faith, discipline, sacrifice, and the private cost of decisions made in public service. With the perspective of a sailor, commander, diplomat, strategist, and nation-builder, Ilau reveals how a small Pacific country navigated independence, instability, and a rapidly changing regional order.

An uncommon insider memoir about leadership when every decision carries consequences.