Ryan Allen Conklin (born April 1, 1985) is a former

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

, known as a cast member on the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

reality television series, '' The Real World: Brooklyn'', and star of ''The Real World Presents: Return to Duty'', a 2009 documentary that chronicled his second tour of duty serving as part of

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, and author of the Iraq War memoir, ''An Angel From Hell''.

Early life

Conklin was born on April 1, 1985, in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Michigan. The population was 6,822 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture and as the futu ...

to Dave and Pat Conklin. He was the youngest of three children. The son of a Marshall teacher, Ryan attended the public elementary schools of Gordon, Sherman, and Madison. In 1996, he and his family moved to

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

. Growing up in Gettysburg, a historic landmark for the nation, Ryan harbored a strong sense of history, and an affinity for the military, and eventually graduated from Gettysburg High School in 2003."Ryan Conklin biography"
anangelfromhell.com. Retrieved December 14, 2010 In addition to his brother, Aaron, who became a

military police officer Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

in the

Army Reserves A military reserve force is a military organization whose members (reservists) have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional ma ...

, Conklin also had two cousins in the Army as well.

Military and reality television career

First tour of duty

Conklin enlisted in the

at age 17,Portlock, Sarah (December 1, 2008)
"Unreal world! Our critic gets a peek at MTV’s Brooklyn reality show"
''

The Brooklyn Paper ''Brooklyn Paper'' is a weekly newspaper that covers news related exclusively to the New York City borough of Brooklyn. ''Brooklyn Paper'' covers news and cultural events throughout the borough, using different mastheads for neighborhoods such as ...

''. having been inspired to do so by the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. He entered Basic Training at

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...

in 2003 and was stationed at

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

Ryan was an infantryman in the

187th Infantry Regiment (United States) The 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment (Rakkasans) is a regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. , the 1st and 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd battalions are the only active elements of the regiment; they are assigned to the 3rd Brig ...

, 3rd Brigade of the famed

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division (military), division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault military operation, operations. The 101st is designed to plan, coordinat ...

. In 2005, he deployed with the division to

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, guarded

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

at his

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

in Baghdad, but his company spent most of their year deployment patrolling

Tikrit Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a f ...

and experienced a number of near-death experiences from IEDs, drive-by shootings, VBIEDs, suicide bomber, and a sniper."Real World: Brooklyn: Cast: Ryan"
MTV. Retrieved November 25, 2013. During his time on ''The Real World'', it was also revealed that he suffered attacks of posttraumatic stress as a result of his tour of duty. He was honorably discharged in 2006. Conklin's boo
''An Angel From Hell''
(2010) chronicles himself and his platoon during this chaotic tour.

''The Real World: Brooklyn''

In 2008, after returning from his first tour in Iraq, Conklin was cast on the 21st season of the

reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

, ''

The Real World ''The Real World'' (known as ''Real World'' from 2014 to 2017) is an American reality television series produced through MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions that most recently aired on Facebook Watch after airing on MTV from 1992 to 2017. It wa ...

'' in 2008. On being selected, Conklin said that it almost started as a joke. MTV was casting at a bar he was visiting, and he decided to apply. He says that he was stunned to learn he made the final cut.Collins, Elizabeth M
"MTV documentary follows Soldier's return to Iraq"
United States Army, November 10, 2009 His cast biography is as follows: During his time o
''The Real World: Brooklyn''
Conklin related his experiences in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and became a candid and creative representative of today's veterans. As a former soldier with job skills and experiences that could still help the war effort, in 2008 President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

recalled thousands of former soldiers in the

inactive ready reserve The Ready Reserve is a U.S. Department of Defense program which maintains a pool of trained service members that may be recalled to active duty should the need arise. It is composed of service members that are contracted to serve in the Ready Rese ...

as part of a surge on both battlefields, which happened to unfold during the filming of ''The Real World'', and Conklin was recalled to deploy to Iraq. RyanConklinBaghdad

Second tour of duty

In November 2008, while filming ''The Real World'', Conklin found out, much to his shock, that he was being called back to active duty. On April 1, 2009, the day he was supposed to report to

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg (formerly Fort Liberty from 2023–2025) is a United States Army, U.S. Army Military base, military installation located in North Carolina. It ranks among the largest military bases in the world by population, with more than 52,000 m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

before leaving, Conklin surprised his ''Real World'' castmates by appearing on the reunion show.''The Real World: Brooklyn Reunion''
MTV. Retrieved December 14, 2010 He returned to Iraq later that month, serving in the southern Saydiyah section of Baghdad as an infantryman, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Sergeant. Before deploying, MTV and the producers of the ''Real World'' pitched him the idea for a documentary following his returning to Iraq as well as his family members' reactions. Though initially reluctant, Conklin agreed. The documentary, fully titled ''The Real World Presents: Return to Duty'', aired on November 11, 2009. Conklin says that he was "very pleased with how it all came together". In January 2010 Conklin was again honorably discharged from the Army.

Later work

Conklin traveled throughout the United States and gave lectures to colleges and universities and spoke to students about his time in Iraq. Conklin's memoir about his experience during his first tour in Iraq, ''An Angel From Hell'', was published In April 2010."'The Real World' Stars: Where Are They Now?"
. ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

''/

AOL TV AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display (rather than a monitor), and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV. The product and service were devel ...

. March 4, 2008. Conklin subsequently became a firefighter with the

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster ( ) is a city in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 58,039 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, eighth-most populous ci ...

Fire Department, where he received an award in March 2019 for saving the life of a 10-year-old girl.

Personal life

Conklin married Annie L. Noel on February 2, 2018 at

Gettysburg National Military Park The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. The park, in the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area, is m ...

References

External links

Official "An Angel from Hell" websiteOfficial Real World: Brooklyn websiteOfficial Return to Duty website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conklin, Ryan A. 1985 births Living people United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of the Iraq War The Real World (TV series) cast members People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania United States Army reservists