Colin Armstrong, (born 1961), usually known by the pen-name Chris Ryan, is a British author, television presenter, security consultant and former

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

sergeant. After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNab's ''

Bravo Two Zero Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army Special Air Service (SAS) patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to Chris Ryan's account, the patrol was given the task of gathering intelli ...

'' in 1993, Ryan published his own account of his experiences during the

mission in 1995, entitled '' The One That Got Away''. Since retiring from the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Ryan has published several fiction and non-fiction books, including ''Strike Back'', which was subsequently adapted into a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

for Sky 1, and co-created the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

action series Action fiction is a literary genre that focuses on stories that involve high-stakes, high-energy, and fast-paced events. This genre includes a wide range of sub-genres, such as spy novels, adventure stories, tales of terror and intrigue ("cloak a ...

Ultimate Force ''Ultimate Force'' is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four seri ...

''. 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 Rowlands Gill is a town situated along the A694, between Winlaton Mill and Hamsterley Mill, on the north bank of the River Derwent, in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Within Gateshead's greenbelt, the town has a p ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. After attending

Hookergate School Hookergate School was a secondary school and sixth form located in High Spen in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, England. The school was formally merged with Ryton Comprehensive School in 2011, and was renamed Charles Thorp Comprehensi ...

, he enrolled in the British Army at the age of 16. Ryan's cousin was a member of the reservist 23 SAS Regiment 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 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 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 The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, spent eight weeks with the Parachute Regiment before returning to 'B' Squadron. During the 1980s he was part of an SAS team sent to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

by the UK government to train members of the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...

in tactics used to attack civilians in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

Bravo Two Zero

During the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, Ryan was a team member of the ill-fated eight-man SAS patrol, with the call sign

. The patrol was sent into

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to "gather intelligence,... find a good LUP (lying up position) and set up an OP (observation post)" on the main supply route (MSR) between

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and North-Western Iraq, and eventually take out the

Scud A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporti ...

TELs. However they were compromised and forced to head towards

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

on foot. Ryan walked , from an observation point on the Iraqi MSR between

and North-Western Iraq, to the Syrian Border. This march made SAS history as the "longest escape and evasion by an SAS trooper or any other soldier", covering more than SAS trooper Jack Sillito had in the Sahara Desert in 1942. During his escape, Ryan suffered injuries from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. Besides suffering severe

muscle atrophy Muscle atrophy is the loss of skeletal muscle mass. It can be caused by immobility, aging, malnutrition, medications, or a wide range of injuries or diseases that impact the musculoskeletal or nervous system. Muscle atrophy leads to muscle weakness ...

, he lost and did not return to operational duties. Instead, he selected and trained potential recruits, before being honourably discharged from the SAS in 1994. On 29 June 1991 Ryan was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

"in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the Gulf in 1991" although the award was not

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

d until 15 December 1998 together with the equally delayed announcement of Andy McNab's Distinguished Conduct Medal.

Post-military career

After leaving the SAS, Ryan wrote '' 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, 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 Regimental sergeant major (RSM) is an appointment that may be held by warrant officers class 1 (WO1) in the British Army, the British Royal Marines and in the armies of many other Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, including Australi ...

Peter Ratcliffe Major Peter Ratcliffe, (born 1951) is a former British Army soldier and commissioned officer who served in the Parachute Regiment and the Special Air Service in a career of almost thirty years, during which he was awarded the Distinguished ...

. 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 TV show, and ''Firefight (September 2008)''. He also writes fictional books for teenage readers, including the Alpha Force Series and "Code Red", and has written a romantic novel, ''The Fisherman's Daughter'', under the pseudonym Molly Jackson. 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, ''

'', 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''. Ryan was the star of

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

's ''

Hunting Chris Ryan ''Hunting Chris Ryan'' is a documentary produced by the BBC in 2003. It comprised three hour-long episodes, each pitting SAS veteran Chris Ryan against a four-man "Hunter Force" whilst he completed a set objective, his mission being evasion and u ...

'' in 2003 which later aired on the 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 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

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 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 Elite World Cops is a television series starring former SAS soldier and author Chris Ryan. Ryan travels the world meeting some of the worlds most elite police units. The format of the show usually involves Ryan training with the unit, observing t ...

'', also broadcast as ''Armed and Dangerous'', which aired on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

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 Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a ...

. Also, following his consumption of radioactive water during his Bravo Two Zero escape he was warned not to have any children in the future.

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) * ''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 {{short description, Novel series by Chris Ryan Alpha Force is a series of novels written by Chris Ryan, formerly of the Special Air Service. The books are adventure novels aimed at teenagers. The eponymous ''Alpha Force'' are a group of five teenag ...

* ''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) 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 {{multiple issues, {{single source, date=July 2019 {{fancruft, date=July 2019 {{notability, date=July 2019 Geordie Sharp is a fictional character featured in a series of military novels written by Chris Ryan. He is a Sergeant in the British Speci ...

* ''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) 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 * ''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)

Filmography

* ''

'' (2002) - SSgt Johnny Bell * ''

'' (2003) - Himself * ''

'' (2008) - Himself * ''

Chris Ryan's Strike Back ''Chris Ryan's Strike Back'', also known as ''Strike Back: Origins'' on Cinemax, is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan, ...

'' (2010) - Commanding Officer