''The One That Got Away'' is a 1995 book written under the pseudonym '

Chris Ryan Colin Armstrong (born 1961), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Chris Ryan, is an author, television presenter, security consultant and former Special Air Service sergeant. After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNa ...

' concerning the SAS patrol

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 ...

, which was dropped behind enemy lines in

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 ...

in 1991. The author was a member of the patrol and tells of his 8 day escape on foot to the

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 ...

n border.

Controversy

*The content of the book was heavily criticised by fellow

patrol members Mike Coburn and Malcolm MacGown in Coburn's

Soldier Five ''Soldier Five – The Real Truth About the Bravo Two Zero Mission'' is the third book about the Bravo Two Zero mission during the Gulf War to have been written by a member of the eight-man patrol involved. It is published under the pseudonym "M ...

(2004, ), written specifically in response to this book. *Despite the book describing Ryan's single-handed attack on two Iraqi

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

type vehicles, and killing two Iraqi soldiers with a knife, the SAS's

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 ...

at the time of the patrol, and fellow

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: ...

veteran,

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 ...

stated that, at the Regimental debrief, "

yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

made no mention at all of encountering enemy troops on his trek.". *Coburn, along with patrol members

Andy McNab Steven Billy Mitchell, (born 28 December 1959), usually known by the pseudonym and pen-name of Andy McNab, is a novelist and former British Army infantry soldier. He came into public prominence in 1993 when he published a book entitled ''Brav ...

and Ian Pring all wrote letters to deceased patrol member Vince Phillips' family subsequent to the release of this book. Coburn wrote: "At no time throughout the patrol did Vince display the actions portrayed... ...On the contrary, the very fact that he was on patrol disputes yan'sversion of events, otherwise he would never have been allowed to deploy across the border." Pring described the book as "a pack of lies" writing: "Vince DID NOT compromise the patrol or behave in the manner portrayed." * Michael Asher's investigative book, ''The Real Bravo Two Zero'', released in 2003, also criticised Ryan's portrayal of Phillips. Asher found that many of the negative attributes Ryan had described did not correspond with the available evidence, nor the other patrol members' accounts. *Concerning the TV adaptation of Ryan's book, McNab further wrote in a letter to

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

in 1996, "It is a pity that

chose to cheapen his own achievement and the reputations of the regiment and of comrades who would have sacrificed their lives for his, had the situation demanded, by denigrating those of others." *Ratcliffe said of the book (and of ''

''), "

t is T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...

insensitive on yan'sand cNab'sparts to hide behind pseudonyms when they named their dead colleagues in their books, in deliberate contravention of the Regiment's traditions.". *Coburn also commented on the book: "The portrayal of Vince Phillips was a despicable betrayal of what happened. Revelations became more and more outrageous, culminating in a book and film that saw him portrayed in an unfair and undignified manner.".Graham, B., "Tragedy of brother who battled to clear SAS 'coward'" ''The Express on Sunday'' 3 October 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:One That Got Away Gulf War books 1995 non-fiction books Works published under a pseudonym Works about the Special Air Service

Controversy

See also

References