Editing Chris Ryan

{{Short description|British army sergeant and author (born 1961)}}
{{For|other people named Chris Ryan|Chris Ryan (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Chris Ryan
| image = Chris Ryan.png
| image_size = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_name = Colin Armstrong
| nickname = 
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1961}}
| birth_place = [[Rowlands Gill]], [[County Durham]], England
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| placeofburial = 
| allegiance = United Kingdom
| branch = [[British Army]]
| serviceyears = 1978–1994
| rank = [[Sergeant#United Kingdom|Sergeant]]
| servicenumber = 24496702
| unit = B Squadron, [[Special Air Service|22 Special Air Service]]<br />[[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]]<br />[[23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve)|23 Special Air Service]]
| commands = 
| battles = [[The Troubles]]<br />[[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]]<br />[[Gulf War]]
| awards = [[Military Medal]]
| relations = 
| laterwork = Author, television presenter
| website = https://www.chrisryanauthor.co.uk/
}}
'''Colin Armstrong''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|MM}} (born 1961),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=mJwdbwOkjNF%2BVhKsDhNDhw&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=31 December 2016|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> usually known by the pen-name '''Chris Ryan''', is a British author, television presenter, security consultant and former [[Special Air Service]] sergeant.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Real Bravo Two Zero |last=Asher |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Asher (explorer) |year=2003 |publisher=[[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell & Co]] |isbn=0304365548 |page=[https://archive.org/details/realbravotwozero00mich/page/2 2] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/realbravotwozero00mich/page/2 }}</ref>

After the publication of fellow patrol member [[Andy McNab]]'s ''[[Bravo Two Zero (novel)|Bravo Two Zero]]'' in 1993, Ryan published his own account of his experiences during the [[Bravo Two Zero]] mission in 1995, entitled ''[[The One That Got Away (book)|The One That Got Away]]''. 
Since retiring from the [[British Army]] Ryan has published several fiction and non-fiction books, including ''Strike Back'', which was subsequently adapted into a [[Strike Back (TV series)|television series]] for [[Sky 1]], and co-created the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] [[action series]] ''[[Ultimate Force]]''. He has also presented or appeared in numerous television documentaries connected to the military or law enforcement.

==Early life, education and military service==
Ryan was born in [[Rowlands Gill]] in Gateshead. After attending [[Hookergate School]], he enrolled in the British Army at the age of 16. Ryan's cousin was a member of the [[Army Reserve (United Kingdom)|reservist]] [[23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve)|23 SAS Regiment]] and invited Ryan to come up and ''"see what it's like to be in the army"''.<ref name="Ryan">{{cite book |last=Ryan |first=Chris |year=1995 |title=The One That Got Away |publisher=[[Random House|Century]] |location=London |isbn=9780099641612}}</ref>{{rp|85}} Ryan did this nearly every weekend, almost passing selection several times, but was too young to do 'test week'. When he was old enough, he passed selection into 23 SAS. Shortly after that he began selection for the [[Regular army|regular]] [[Special Air Service|22 SAS Regiment]] and joined 'B' Squadron as a medic. Needing a parent regiment, Ryan and a former sailor who had joined 22 SAS from the [[Royal Navy]], spent eight weeks with the [[Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)|Parachute Regiment]] before returning to 'B' Squadron.<ref name="Ryan"/>{{rp|100–102}}

During the 1980s he was part of an SAS team sent to [[Thailand]] by the UK government to train the deposed and internationally-recognised [[Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea]] (which included elements of the [[Khmer Rouge]]) in tactics used against the Vietnamese-backed forces of the [[People's Republic of Kampuchea]] during the [[Cambodian conflict (1979–1998)|conflict]] which followed the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War|invasion]] of Cambodia by Vietnam in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-10-09 |title=Haunted by the deadly boys' club |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/haunted-by-the-deadly-boys-club-20061009-gdojzz.html |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref><ref>The Elite: The A-Z of Modern Special Operations Forces. Osprey Publishing, 2019. L. Neville.</ref> However Ryan and his team were returned to Britain after the journalist [[John Pilger]] published details of the (classified) deployment.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://johnpilger.com/2011/06/19/thirty-years-on-the-holocaust-in-cambodia-and-its-aftermath-is-remembered/ | title=Thirty years on, the holocaust in Cambodia and its aftermath is remembered | date=19 June 2011 }}</ref>

==Bravo Two Zero==
{{Main|Bravo Two Zero}}

During the [[Gulf War]], Ryan was a team member of the ill-fated eight-man  SAS patrol, with the call sign [[Bravo Two Zero]]. The patrol was sent into [[Iraq]] to "gather intelligence,... find a good LUP (lying up position) and set up an [[observation post|OP]] (observation post)" on the [[main supply route]] (MSR) between [[Baghdad]] and North-Western Iraq, and eventually take out the [[Scud]] [[Transporter erector launcher|TEL]]s.<ref name="Ryan"/>{{rp|16}} 

However they were compromised and forced to head towards [[Syria]] on foot. Ryan walked {{convert|300|km|mi}}, from an observation point on the Iraqi MSR between [[Baghdad]] and North-Western Iraq, to the Syrian Border.<ref name="Ryan"/>{{rp|233}} This march made SAS history as the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier", covering {{convert|100|mi|km}} more than SAS trooper Jack Sillito had in the [[Sahara Desert]] in 1942.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

During his escape, Ryan suffered injuries from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste.<ref name=":0" /> Besides suffering severe [[muscle atrophy]], he lost {{convert|36|lb|kg|abbr=on}} and did not return to operational duties. Instead, he selected and trained potential recruits, before being honourably discharged from the SAS in 1994.{{cn|date=March 2023}} 

On 29 June 1991 Ryan was awarded the [[Military Medal]] "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Gulf in 1991" although the award was not [[gazette]]d until 15 December 1998 together with the equally delayed announcement of Andy McNab's [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55340 |date=14 December 1998 |page=13620 |supp=y}}</ref>

==Post-military career==
After leaving the SAS, Ryan wrote ''[[The One That Got Away (book)|The One That Got Away]]'', which covers the account from his patrol report of the Bravo Two Zero mission. Both his and McNab's accounts have been heavily criticised by former territorial SAS member and explorer [[Michael Asher (explorer)|Michael Asher]], who attempted to retrace the patrol's footsteps for TV and claimed to have debunked both accounts with the help of his friend, the then-SAS [[regimental sergeant major]] [[Peter Ratcliffe]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Burke |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Burke |date=26 May 2002 |title=Battle of SAS gets bloody |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/may/26/military.uk |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Freeman |first=Simon |date=16 March 2003 |title=The new Battle of the Books |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/16/iraq.booksnews |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref>

Ryan has written more than 70 books, both fiction and non-fiction. Many of his works are well known, such as fictional works like ''Strike Back (2007)'', which was adapted into the [[Strike Back (TV series)|TV show]], and ''Firefight (September 2008)''. He also writes fictional books for teenage readers, including the [[Alpha Force Books|Alpha Force Series]] and "Code Red", and has written a romantic novel, ''The Fisherman's Daughter'', under the pseudonym Molly Jackson.<ref>{{cite news |last=Edemariam |first=Aida |date=27 October 2008 |title=The new star of romantic fiction: ex-SAS hardman Chris Ryan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/oct/27/romantic-fiction-gender |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=8 January 2010 }}</ref>

In addition to his writing Ryan has contributed to several television series and video games. In 2002 Ryan co-created and appeared in ITV's action series, ''[[Ultimate Force]]'', playing the role of Blue Troop leader Staff Sergeant Johnny Bell in the first series. He acted as a military adviser for the video game ''[[I.G.I.-2: Covert Strike]]''.{{cn|date=March 2023}} 

Ryan was the star of [[BBC One]]'s ''[[Hunting Chris Ryan]]'' in 2003 which later aired on the [[American Heroes Channel|Military Channel]] as ''Special Forces Manhunt''. In 2004 Ryan produced several programmes titled ''Terror Alert: Could You Survive'', demonstrating how to survive disasters including [[flooding]], nuclear terrorist attack, mass blackouts, and plane hijackings. In 2005, Ryan presented a [[Sky One]] show called ''How Not to Die'', detailing how to survive various life-threatening situations. In 2007 Ryan trained and managed a six-man team to represent Team GB at [[Rexona|Sure for Men]]'s Extreme Pamplona Chase in Spain during the [[Running of the Bulls]] and also appeared in an episode of the [[Derren Brown]] series, ''Mind Control with Derren Brown'', where he booby-trapped a course for Brown to follow whilst blindfolded. Ryan presented the television series ''[[Elite World Cops]]'', also broadcast as ''Armed and Dangerous'', which aired on [[Bravo (UK TV channel)|Bravo]] in 2008. In the show, Ryan spends time with law enforcement agencies around the world.

==Personal life==
Ryan has one daughter.

His experiences in Iraq caused him to suffer from [[post traumatic stress disorder]]. Also, following his consumption of radioactive water during his Bravo Two Zero escape he was warned not to have any children in the future.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Manger |first=Warren |date=27 August 2014 |title=SAS hero Chris Ryan: I drank radioactive water in Iraq, which meant I'd never have children |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/sas-hero-chris-ryan-drank-4120757 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |access-date=31 December 2016}}</ref>

==Books==
Ryan has written the following books:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/chris-ryan/ |title=Chris Ryan |publisher=Fantasticfiction.co.uk |access-date=8 January 2010}}</ref>
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-3}}

===Non-fiction===
* ''The One That Got Away'' (1995)
* ''Chris Ryan's SAS Fitness Book'' (1999)
* ''Chris Ryan's Ultimate Survival Guide'' (2003)
* ''Fight to Win: Deadly Skills of the Elite Forces'' (2009)
* ''Safe: How To Stay Safe in a Dangerous World'' (2017)
* ''The History of the SAS'' (2019)

===Fiction===
'''Agent 21'''
* ''Agent 21'' (2010)
* ''Reloaded'' (2012)
* ''Codebreaker'' (2013)
* ''Deadfall'' (2014)
* ''Under Cover'' (2015)
* ''Endgame'' (2016)

'''Alpha Force'''
* ''Survival'' (2002)
* ''Rat-catcher'' (2002)
* ''Desert Pursuit'' (2003)
* ''Hostage'' (2003)
* ''Red Centre'' (2004)
* ''Hunted'' (2004)
* ''Blood Money'' (2005)
* ''Fault Line'' (2005)
* ''Black Gold'' (2005)
* ''Untouchable'' (2005)

'''Code Red'''
* ''Flash Flood'' (2006)
* ''Wildfire'' (2007)
* ''Outbreak'' (2007)
* ''Vortex'' (2008)
* ''Twister'' (2008)
* ''Battleground'' (2009)
{{Col-3}}
'''Danny Black'''
* ''Masters of War'' (2013)
* ''Hunter Killer'' (2014)
* ''Hellfire'' (2015)
* ''Bad Soldier'' (2016)
* ''Warlord'' (2017)
* ''Head Hunters'' (2018)
* ''Black Ops'' (2019)
* ''Zero 22'' (2020)

'''Extreme'''
* ''Hard Target'' (2012)
* ''Night Strike'' (2013)
* ''Most Wanted'' (2014)
* ''Silent Kill'' (2015)

'''[[Geordie Sharp]]'''
* ''Stand By, Stand By'' (1996)
* ''Zero Option'' (1997)''
* ''The Kremlin Device'' (1998)
* ''Tenth Man Down'' (1999)

'''Jamie Carter'''
* ''Outcast'' (2022)
* ''Cold Red'' (2023)

'''Josh Bowman'''
* ''Manhunter'' (2021)

'''Matt Browning'''
* ''Greed'' (2003)
* ''The Increment'' (2004)
{{Col-3}}
'''Special Forces Cadets'''
* ''Siege'' (2018)
* ''Missing'' (2019)
* ''Justice'' (2019)
* ''Ruthless'' (2020)
* ''Hijack'' (2020)
* ''Assassin'' (2021)

'''Strike Back'''
* ''Strike Back'' (2007)
''Series is prequel to the novel "Strike Back" (2007)''
* ''Deathlist'' (2016)
* ''Shadow Kill'' (2017)
* ''Global Strike'' (2018)
* ''Red Strike'' (2019)
* ''Circle of Death'' (2020)

'''[[Quick Reads Initiative|Quick Reads]]'''
* ''One Good Turn'' (2008)

'''Other'''
* ''The Hit List'' (2000)
* ''The Watchman'' (2001)
* ''Land of Fire'' (2002)
* ''Blackout'' (2005)
* ''Ultimate Weapon'' (2006)
* ''Firefight'' (2008)
* ''The Fisherman's Daughter (2009) (as Molly Jackson)
* ''Who Dares Wins'' (2009)
* ''The Kill Zone'' (2010)
* ''Medal of Honor'' (2010)
* ''Killing for the Company'' (2011)
* ''Osama'' (2012)
* ''Traitor'' (2024)
{{Col-end}}

== Filmography ==
* ''[[Ultimate Force]]'' (2002) - [[Staff Sergeant|SSgt]] Johnny Bell
* ''[[Hunting Chris Ryan]]'' (2003) - Himself
* ''[[Elite World Cops]]'' (2008) - Himself 
* ''[[Chris Ryan's Strike Back]]'' (2010) - Commanding Officer

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.facebook.com/ChrisRyanBooks/ Official Facebook page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090725043754/http://www.chrisryanadventures.co.uk/ Official Website]
*{{IMDb name|id=0752469|name=Chris Ryan}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120220005506/http://www.chrisryandvd.com/ Chris Ryan's Elite Police DVD release]
* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/r/chris-ryan/ List of books]
* [http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/podcasts/audio/chris-ryan-interview-twister Chris Ryan audio interview, November 2008] with [http://www.scottishbooktrust.com Scottish Book Trust]
* [http://sky1.sky.com/strike-back Chris Ryan's Strike Back on Sky 1]
* [http://sky1.sky.com/strike-back-exclusive-new-behind-the-scenes-trailer Chris Ryan's Strike Back Video Trailer]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Chris}}
[[Category:Special Air Service soldiers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Medal]]
[[Category:20th-century British novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century British novelists]]
[[Category:British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:British historians of espionage]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Gulf War]]
[[Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:People from Rowlands Gill]]
[[Category:1961 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:British male novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century British male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century British male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century British non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:British male non-fiction writers]]