Soldiers about to get monster (3)
I believe the answer is:
orc
'monster' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'soldiers about' is the wordplay.
'soldiers' becomes 'or' (Other Rank**).
'about' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'or'+'c'='ORC'
'to get' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for orc that I've seen before include "Mythical monster" , "warlike figure" , "Killer-whale" , "Fairytale monster" , "fierce monster" .)