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

special operations Special operations (S.O.) 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 may include ...

sniper in the

3rd Ranger Battalion The 3rd Ranger Battalion, currently based at Fort Benning, Georgia, is the third of three Ranger Battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment. History World War II Ranger Organization by Major Herman Dammer After t ...

for the U.S. Army.

Early life

Irving was born in Augsburg, Germany, growing up the son of two enlisted soldiers.

Career

Military

Irving joined the U.S. military, intending to join the

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

, but he failed a colorblindness test and joined the

United States Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Irving was issued a SR-25 rifle, which he nicknamed ''Dirty Diana''.

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'' with

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied ...

. 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 and Insider. He also served as an on-set advisor for

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), '' Jumper'' (2008), '' E ...

's 2017 sniper film ''

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-i ...

''.

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 The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

. On February 2, 2015,

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prio ...

acquired the television rights to make a

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

out of the

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

. On March 5, 2015,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

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) * ''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) ;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)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Nicholas 1987 births 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American non-fiction writers American autobiographers 21st-century American male writers American military snipers Entertainment law 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)