Chris Ryan

For other people named Chris Ryan, see Chris Ryan (disambiguation).

'Chris Ryan'
Born	1961 (age 50–51) Rowlands Gill, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1978–1994
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	Special Air Service
Battles/wars	Gulf War
Awards	Military Medal
Other work	Author, Security Consultant.

Sergeant ‘Chris Ryan’ MM (born 1961, Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear) is the pseudonym of a former British Special Forces operative and soldier turned novelist. Ryan came to public prominence for being the only member of the eight-man SAS mission Bravo Two Zero to escape, during the First Gulf War, 1991.

He has subsequently written several books, including The One That Got Away and "One Good Turn", a specially commissioned story for the Quick Reads Initiative, aimed at improving adult literacy. 'The One that Got Away' has since been heavily criticised by Trooper Mike Coburn and Sergeant Andy McNab, two of the surviving members of the patrol, particularly in regard to its negative portrayal of Sergeant Vince Phillips, who died of hypothermia during the patrol's attempted escape.^{[citation needed]}

Background

Ryan was born in Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, North East England. After attending Hookergate secondary school, he enrolled in the Army as a boy soldier at 16. His cousin was in the 23rd SAS Reserves and invited Ryan to come up and "see what it's like to be in the army". Ryan did this nearly every weekend, almost passing selection several times, but he was too young to continue and do 'test week'. When he was old enough, he passed selection into the 23rd SAS. Shortly after that he began selection for the Regular 22 Regiment and joined 'B' squadron as a medic. Needing a parent regiment, Ryan and a soldier who had joined the SAS from the Royal Navy, spent eight weeks with the Parachute Regiment before returning to 'B' Squadron. He spent the next seven years carrying out both covert and overt operations with the SAS around the world.

Ryan's assignment included training Khmer Rouge troops in 1981 to attack Vietnamese forces that had pushed them out of Cambodia. Journalist John Pilger wrote in October 2009, "Incredibly, the Thatcher government had continued to support the defunct Pol Pot regime in the United Nations and even sent the SAS to train his exiled troops in camps in Thailand and Malaysia." In March 2009 Ryan admitted: "John Pilger, the foreign correspondent, discovered we were training the Khmer Rouge in the Far East. We were sent home and I had to return the £10,000 we'd been given to pay for food and accommodation."

Bravo Two Zero

Main article: Bravo Two Zero

Bravo Two Zero patrol members. From left to right: Ryan, Consiglio, MacGown (obscured), Lane, Coburn (obscured), McNab (obscured), Phillips, Pring (obscured).

Ryan was a team member of the ill-fated Bravo Two Zero patrol in Iraq during the First Gulf War. The patrol was sent to "gather intelligence,... find a good LUP (lying up position) and set up an OP" on the main supply route (MSR) between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq, and eventually take out the Scud Missile Launchers. However, they were compromised and forced to head towards Syria on foot.

Ryan made SAS history with the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier", covering 100 miles (160 km) more than SAS trooper Jack Sillito had in the Sahara Desert in 1942. Ryan completed a 300 kilometres (190 mi) tab from an observation point on the Iraq Main Supply Route (MSR) between Baghdad and North-Western Iraq to the Syrian Border.

During his escape, Ryan suffered injuries from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. Besides suffering severe muscle atrophy, he lost a potentially fatal 16 kg (35 lb) and did not return to operational duties. Instead, he selected and trained potential recruits, finally being honourably discharged from the SAS in 1994.

Zaire

Ryan was also a member of an SAS team sent to protect the British Embassy in Zaire. The SAS were to ensure that all British diplomatic staff were safely evacuated from the country before the First Congo War. The operation was meant to last only three days, but eventually took one month.

Post-SAS work

Since leaving the SAS, Ryan has written several books. The One That Got Away, his non-fiction account of the Bravo Two Zero mission, is well known, as are fictional best-sellers like Strike Back (2007), which was adapted into the TV show, and Firefight (September 2008). He also writes fictional books for teenage readers, including the Alpha Force Series and "Code Red". Ryan combines successfully writing his best-selling books with giving security lectures and presenting television documentaries such as Hunting Chris Ryan.

In 2005, Ryan presented a Sky One show called How Not to Die, detailing how not to die in various life-threatening situations, including violent burglary, mugging, and violent attacks. He acted as the military advisor on the video game I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike, helping to make the game more accurate to real-life military operations, tactics, weapons and equipment. Ryan both co-created, and starred in the TV show Ultimate Force, was a military, technical advisor and played the role of Blue Troop leader Johnny Bell in series 1. He trained and managed a six-man team to represent Team GB at Sure for Men's Extreme Pamplona Chase in Spain, and starred in Hunting Chris Ryan with the BBC which later aired on the Military Channel as 'Special Forces Manhunt'. Ryan produced several programmes titled Terror Alert: Could You Survive, in each programme he demonstrated how to survive disasters including, flooding, nuclear terrorist attack, mass blackouts, and plane hi-jacking.

He was featured in the Derren Brown Series, Mind Control episode 3 in which Ryan had to booby-trap a course for Derren to follow whilst blind folded.

He lectures in business motivation, and is currently a bodyguard in the USA. In 2009 Ryan starred in "Elite World Cops" aired on Bravo. In the show, Ryan spends time with various law enforcement agencies around the world, giving him an insight to the war on terrorism and drug trade but from a law enforcement perspective.

Ryan has a new program currently showing on Bravo called Armed and Dangerous.

He has written a romantic novel, The Fisherman's Daughter, under the pseudonym Molly Jackson.

Books

Ryan has written the following books:

Non-Fiction

• The One That Got Away (1995)
• Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book (1999)
• Chris Ryan's Ultimate Survival Guide (2003)
• Chris Ryan fight to win (2009)

Fiction

Geordie Sharp (character)

• Stand By, Stand By (1996)
• Zero Option (1997)
• The Kremlin Device (1998)
• Tenth Man Down (1999)

Matt Browning (character)

• Greed (2003)
• The Increment (2004)

Other

• The Hit List (2000)
• The Watchman (2001)
• Land Of Fire (2002)
• Blackout (2005)
• Ultimate Weapon (2006)
• Strike Back (2007)
• Firefight (2008)
• Who Dares Wins (2009)
• The Kill Zone' (2010)
• Agent 21 (2011)
• Medal of Honor (2011)
• Killing for the Company (2011)

Code Red

• Flash Flood (2006)
• Wildfire (2007)
• Outbreak (2007)
• Vortex (2008)
• Twister (2008)
• Battleground (2009)

Alpha Force

• Alpha Force 1: Survival (2002)
• Alpha Force 2: Rat-catcher (2002)
• Alpha Force 3: Desert Pursuit (2003)
• Alpha Force 4: Hostage (2003)
• Alpha Force 5: Red Centre (2004)
• Alpha Force 6: Hunted (2004)
• Alpha Force 7: Blood Money (2005)
• Alpha Force 8: Fault Line (2005)
• Alpha Force 9: Black Gold (2005)
• Alpha Force 10: Untouchable (2005)

Quick Reads

• One Good Turn (2008)

External links

• Official Website
• Chris Ryan at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Ryan's Elite Police DVD release
• List of books
• Chris Ryan audio interview, November 2008 with Scottish Book Trust
• Chris Ryan's Strike Back on Sky 1
• Chris Ryan's Strike Back Video Trailer