Nicholas Irving (born November 28, 1986) is an American author and former soldier. He was a

special operations Special operations or special ops are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment." Special operations ma ...

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

in the

3rd Ranger Battalion The 3rd Ranger Battalion is the third of three Ranger Battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment. It is currently based at Fort Benning, Georgia. History World War II Ranger Organization by Major Herman Dammer Aft ...

for the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Early life

Nicholas Irving was born on November 28, 1986, in Augsburg, Germany. His parents were both enlisted soldiers.

Career

Military

Irving originally intended to join the

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

, but he failed a colorblindness test. He instead joined the

United States Army Rangers The United States Army Rangers are U.S. Army personnel who have served in any unit which has held the official designation of "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the Ranger School, even if they have never served in a ...

and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was issued a SR-25 rifle, which he nicknamed ''Dirty Diana''. With that rifle he has 33 confirmed kills.

Entertainment

After the Army, Irving pursued an entertainment career. In 2016, Irving was one of four military leaders to serve as coaches on the reality show ''

American Grit ''American Grit'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Fox on April 14, 2016. The series stars WWE wrestler John Cena. Fox ordered ten episodes for the first season of the competition series. On July 29, 2016, Fox renewed th ...

'' with

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

. Starting in August 2017, Irving began appearing as a recurring guest on the popular firearm YouTube channel, Demolition Ranch. He has also made appearances on other YouTube channels such as LunkersTV, Insider, and VladTV. He also served as an on-set advisor for Doug Liman's 2017 sniper film ''The Wall''.

Author

In 2015, he wrote and published with Gary Brozek ''The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers,'' a ''New York Times'' bestseller about his military career during the War on Terror. On February 2, 2015,

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...

acquired the television rights to make a

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

out of the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

. On March 5, 2015,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

picked up the miniseries from Weinstein. In late 2017 Irving revealed in a podcast that the miniseries has been scrapped, but a movie based on the book was in preproduction.

Personal life

Irving married Jessica Irving in 2007.

Bibliography

;Nonfiction * ''Basic & Intermediate Combat Survival'' (2011) * ''Team Reaper: 3rd Ranger Battalion's Deadliest Sniper Team'' (2012) * ''Precision Rifle B.I.B.L.E: (Ballistics In Battlefield Learned Environments)'' (2012) * ''The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers'' (2015, with Gary Brozek) * ''Way of the Reaper: My Greatest Untold Missions and the Art of Being a Sniper'' (2016, with Gary Brozek) * ''Never Fear Anything: My Untold Story As A Sniper In Our Nations Longest War'' (2018, with Robert Terkla) ;Fiction * ''Reaper: Ghost Target'' (2018, with A.J. Tata) * ''Reaper: Threat Zero'' (2019, with A.J. Tata) *''Reaper: Drone Strike'' (2020, with A.J. Tata) *''Walker Drive'' (2021)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Nicholas 1986 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American non-fiction writers American autobiographers 21st-century American male writers American military snipers American entertainment lawyers Living people Male actors from Maryland People from Maryland United States Army Rangers United States Army non-commissioned officers American male non-fiction writers United States Army personnel of the Iraq War United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)