Chris Ryan
THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
‘You have personally made SAS history.’
Reader Notes
Dear Reader,
The thing I am asked most about when I meet you and do talks and events is my time in the SAS — especially the Bravo Two Zero mission during the Gulf war in 1991.
It’s now almost exactly twenty years since I walked out of the Iraqi desert. Over my seven-day escape, I lost over sixteen kilos in weight, my gums had receded so that the roots of my teeth were exposed, my nails had all fallen off and my mouth was constantly burning.
It is apparently the longest escape and evasion in SAS history. But I didn’t understand why I was given a medal afterwards — or the other guys from Bravo Two Zero, for that matter. There were soldiers who stayed more than forty days behind enemy lines and took part in big actions. They didn’t get medals. My friends Stan and Dinger didn’t get medals.
I coped because I knew what I had to do. It was something I was trained to do, and I did it. Although I had reached the edge of my physical and mental limits, I stayed alert. I avoided capture.
When you’re given a task to do in the SAS, you get on and do it. I did just that.
So here it is. This is my story. I hope you enjoy it.
Map
GLOSSARY
Bergen
Bivvy bag
Casevac
CO
Comms Communications
Contact
Director, the
Dishdash
DPM
Escape map
FMB
GPS
Gulf War
Int
Laager point
Loadie
LUP
Mag
NBC
OC
OP
Regiment, the
Rounds
RV
Sangar
Satcom
Scuds
Shamag
SOP
SP Team
SQMS
SSM
Stand By
Stag
Tabbing
TACBE
TEL
Wadi
Zero a weapon
Tristar