Chris Ryan
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- For the actor, see Christopher Ryan.
| Chris Ryan | |
|---|---|
| 1961 - | |
| Place of birth | Rowlands Gill, England |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |  British Army |
| Years of service | 1978 - 1994 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | Special Air Service |
| Battles/wars | The Troubles Gulf War |
| Awards | Military Medal |
| Other work | Author |
Chris Ryan (a pseudonym), MM was born in Rowlands Gill, then in County Durham, North East England in 1961. He joined the regular 22 SAS in 1984 after seven years in the territorial 23 SAS and he was later one of the members of the disastrous "Bravo Two Zero" mission, during which a patrol from the Special Air Service (SAS) were sent behind enemy lines in the first Gulf War. He was the only member of the team to escape from Iraq after a 200 mile walk with no food and little water through enemy territory into neutral Syria.
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[edit] Military Career
Chris Ryan originally applied for selection with the 23 Territorial SAS regiment after unsuccessfully trying to get into the army as a boy soldier at 16.[1] His cousin, Billy, was already in it, so he suggested that Ryan come down to the base for a few weekends to see what the army was really like. Ryan loved doing this, and he came down every weekend, eventually almost passing selection several times, but he was too young to continue selection and do 'test week'. He eventually joined 23 SAS and shortly afterwards began selection for the 22nd, regular SAS, as a medic. He passed, joining 'B' squadron. However, needing a parent regiment he, along with another soldier who had joined the SAS from the Royal Navy, planned to spend three months with the Parachute Regiment at Aldershot, but after only a few weeks he was called back to the SAS to go with 'B' Squadron to Aden, where they parachuted into the sea to secure the beach heads whilst the British pulled out.[2] He then spent seven years doing both covert and overt missions with the SAS in various theatres of the world.
[edit] Bravo Two Zero
One of Ryan's final missions was as part of the Bravo Two Zero patrol in Iraq in the First Gulf War, they were originally tasked to report on enemy positions and call in aircraft to attack any worthwhile targets, as well as destroying fibre optic communication lines. The patrol's signaller was initially given the wrong codes for the radio, making it useless, and the SATCOM did not function. Their emergency TACBE radio devices which were thought to be able to communicate with coalition aircraft in extreme circumstances were in fact almost 250 miles out of their operational range. They were also unprepared for the terrain, as they were told they would be operating in a hot and sandy desert. As it was, the area was barren and rocky and the temperatures plummeted during the night.
During their second day in an Observation Post (OP), their position was compromised by a local farmer driving a bulldozer. Throughout the ensuing few hours, there are several accounts of what happened next. One, as described by Andy McNab, features APCs and many soldiers of the Iraqi Army surrounding their position and firing at them. The patrol then charged the enemy killing dozens and destroying multiple vehicles. Another one, told by Ryan in his book, The One That Got Away, involves a platoon of soldiers or militia attacking them with AK-47s after them being seen and fired on by two armed civilians. There is also possibly an armoured car with a .50 machine gun although Ryan admits in his book he did not see it - the soldier named 'Stan' did and told him about it. The patrol then abandons their position and begin to retreat.
After retreating, the patrol walked on for several hours, but, they accidentally split after Andy McNab (who was in the middle of the line of the patrol) heard an aircraft overhead and shouted for everyone to go to ground so he could try and contact it on his TACBE. However, the Trooper in front of him did not hear the order and as so Ryan (who was leading), and the other two men in front of McNab continued walking into the freezing night, leaving the rest of the troops behind. It was not for about another hour though, that this was discovered. Vince, the other man with 'Stan' and Ryan, began to suffer with severe exposure and eventually passed out without Ryan or 'Stan' noticing. When they discovered he was missing, they searched for him but could not find him and gave up the search. Later next day, 'Stan' went off with a farmer who he thought might lead him to a vehicle, but he was captured by militia. Ryan was against the decision and advised him not to go, but Stan went anyway. Ryan waited for several hours, but then two Land Rovers appeared, deciding that 'Stan' could not have brought two vehicles, Ryan opened fire, disabling both vehicles and escaping into the night.
He then walked on for several more days, eventually ending up in a town with a large Iraqi garrison, being discovered, he killed two Iraqis and hid their bodies in the river. He took some water from the river, but it was contaminated with nuclear runoff so he had to go on severely dehydrated. He eventually reached the Syrian border and, using a slip of paper promising his finder five thousand pounds, he eventually reached the British embassy and after a few weeks returned to his base of operations in Saudi Arabia.
Ryan travelled over 200 miles in eight days on foot, in both the freezing cold and baking sun. He suffered sleep deprivation, starvation, diarrhoea, severe dehydration and other such physical ailments including loss of all his toenails. He lost a considerable amount of weight (36 lbs), something that could have been fatal. Three of the original squad of eight died; two from hypothermia and one killed by gunfire in a firefight as he ran out of ammunition. The rest including the leader Andy McNab were captured and tortured. Chris Ryan made history with the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier". This achievement was recognised by the award of the Military Medal. This feat had only ever been matched by another SAS trooper, Jack Sillito, while lost in the Sahara Desert in 1942 although Chris beat his distance by over 100 miles, although they were in entirely different circumstances.
He spent his final two years in the SAS training potential recruits.
[edit] After the SAS
Since leaving the SAS in 1994, Ryan has written several books, including The One That Got Away (ISBN 1-57488-156-6) — his own account of the Bravo Two Zero mission — as well as a number of novels, including Greed and The Increment. He has also written a series of books for younger readers — the "Alpha Force" books - and combines a successful career juggling roles as a bestselling writer, motivational speaker and presenter of television documentaries including Hunting Chris Ryan.
In 2005, Ryan presented a BSkyB show called How Not to Die, explaining how one should act in various life-threatening situations "One of the most thought provoking programs of its time" (Chris Thompson 2006).
He helped to develop the game I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike.
Ryan also created and starred in the TV show Ultimate Force. He was a technical advisor and played the role of Blue Troop leader Johnny Bell in series 1.
Ryan is training and managing a six-man squad to represent Team GB at Sure for Men's Extreme Pamplona Chase in Spain and is currently starring in Special Forces: Manhunt airing on the Military Channel.
Ryan produced several programmes titled Terror Alert: Could You Survive, in each programme Chris demonstrated how to survive disasters include, flooding, a nuclear strike, bio-hazard, terrorist attack on an aircraft, etc.
Ryan lectures in business motivation and security and is working as a bodyguard in America. .
[edit] Books
[edit] Non-Fiction
- The One That Got Away
- Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book
- Chris Ryan's Ultimate Survival Guide
[edit] 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)
Code Red
- Flash Flood (2006)
- Wildfire (2007)
- Outbreak (2007)
- Vortex (2008)
- Twister (2008)
- 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)
- Black Turned Brown (2008)
[edit] References
Information courtesy of Chris Ryan's books.
- ^ Page 131, line 3,'The One That Got Away', 2003 Arrow Books Edition
- ^ Page 142, line 14,'The One That Got Away', 2003 Arrow Books Edition
