Chris Ryan Argumentative Essay

Everyone has their own depiction of hell on earth. A situation they would rather not be in with their life on the line. Now imagine having to survive something worse than your idea of hell. This is the experience that corporal Chris Ryan had to face to survive his frozen hell. This is the story of how Chris Ryan survived a 200 mile trek through the frozen desert with his abilities as a soldier and will for survival.
Survival requires a very particular set of skills, skills one acquires over a very long career. Ryan developed theses skills early on by joining the 23rd SAS at the age of sixteen. Seven years later he had collectively “covered hundreds of miles of moor and mountain on training exercises” ("Chris Ryan."). This experience was crucial

He had been exposed to the elements for 8 days and to top it all off he was poisoned by the irradiated water he had drunk during his escape requiring years of treatment to fully recover. When he discovered he was the only one to successfully escape he was diagnosed with PTSD and fell into a fit of “survivor's guilt” (Kiger) by alienating himself from his family and placed the military before anything else. This was later resolved once he ended his military career and he returned to his family. He soon became the author of a book called “The One That Got Away” and gained great success as a military fiction author. Today Chris Ryan is a public speaker for sufferers of PTSD and holds the SAS record for longest retreat through the desert (Manger). Chris Ryan survived, but at the cost of leaving a piece of him in the desert. The stress of survival and the loss of his comrades who lost their life in attempt to escape took a toll on Ryan and he will likely never truly be home. Ryan endured the journey through the desert with his skills as a soldier and will to survive. But he was by no means free from his experience haunting him for the rest of his life. He is by all means grateful to be