But the army wasn't enough for Chris. No, he wanted something special. Chris's dream was to be a member of one of the most elite fighting forces on the planet - the SAS (Special Air Service). Chris's cousin was actually already in the reservist SAS and regularly invited Chris to visit him. Chris tried to join the SAS but reportedly failed the selection process because… After the publication of fellow patrol member Andy McNab's 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. He has also appeared in a number of TV programmes, including HUNTING CHRIS RYAN, PUSHED TO THE LIMI Chris Ryan was born in 1961 in a village near Newcastle. In 1984 he joined the SAS. During his ten years in the Regiment, he was involved in overt and covert operations and was also Sniper team commander of the anti-terrorist team. In light of other remake of the Bravo Two Zero events, "Brave Two Zero" with Sean Bean, I believe this to be the better film. The music is really great, and manages to keep our attention when nothing really interesting is happening. 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 the then-SAS regimental sergeant major Peter Ratcliffe. [10] [11]

Chris Ryan was born near Newcastle in 1961. He joined the SAS in 1984 and was a member for ten years. During the Gulf War, Chris was the only member of an eight-man team to escape from Iraq, of which three colleagues were killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS. For his last two years he was selecting and training potential recruits for the SAS. During the Gulf War, Chris was the only member of an eight-man team to escape from Iraq, of which three colleagues were killed and four captured. It was the longest escape and evasion in the history of the SAS.During his escape, Ryan suffered injuries from drinking water contaminated with nuclear waste. [8] Besides suffering severe muscle atrophy, he lost 36lb (16kg) and did not return to operational duties. Instead, he selected and trained potential recruits, before being honourably discharged from the SAS in 1994. [ citation needed] Chris Ryan's The One That Got Away must rank with the great escape stories of modern military history Soldier Magazine The Seasonal Read...: Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC 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 gazetted until 15 December 1998 together with the equally delayed announcement of Andy McNab's Distinguished Conduct Medal. [9] Post-military career [ edit ]

The One That Got Away is the 1996 ITV dramatization of Chris Ryan's 1995 account of the Bravo Two Zero mission from the first Gulf War directed by Paul Greengrass ( The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone). His book was released after Andy McNab's book, but his movie came out three years before the BBC's dramatization of Bravo Two Zero, both of which were filmed in South Africa using the same armorers. The book and film were highly critical of McNab's leadership before and during the mission. Both Ryan and McNab were criticized for publishing the real names of the three troopers who perished while themselves still hiding behind pseudonyms. A third book about the mission by "Mike Coburn" ("Mark" in the film) was published in 2004, despite opposition from the British government. This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Edemariam, Aida (27 October 2008). "The new star of romantic fiction: ex-SAS hardman Chris Ryan". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 January 2010.

There have been several accounts of this mission, each of them conflicting. Perhaps the two most famous are the books Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab (later made into a BBC TV movie starring Sean Bean) and Chris Ryan's The One That Got Away, the latter of which forms the basis of this matter-of-fact dramatisation from… Burke, Jason (26 May 2002). "Battle of SAS gets bloody". The Guardian . Retrieved 31 December 2016. Chris was born in Rowlands Gill, which is a small village on the north bank of the River Derwent. It has a population of around 6,000 and is around nine miles from the major city of Newcastle in the North of England. Very little is known of Chris's early life - little about his school days, little about his hobbies, little about his family life. What is known is that he attended the secondary school at Hookergate School, which was around three miles from his village of Rolands Gill. The school has since been renamed Thorp Academy. He stayed at Hookergate until he was 16 years old, at which point, instead of going into further education as many of his fellow authors did, which would have been easy as Hookergate School also had a college section to it, he signed up to join the British Army.