Nicholas Irving

Nicholas Irving
Irving during the "Defensive shoot" event during the ninth annual U.S. Army International Sniper Competition
Born (1986-11-28) November 28, 1986 (age 38)
Augsburg, West Germany
(present-day Germany)
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army
Years of service2004–10
RankSergeant
Unit75th Ranger Regiment
Battles / warsIraq War
War in Afghanistan

Nicholas Irving (born November 28, 1986) is an American author and former soldier. He was a special operations sniper in the 3rd Ranger Battalion for the U.S. Army.[1]

Early life

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Nicholas Irving was born on November 28, 1986, in Augsburg, Germany and raised in Maryland.[1] His parents were both enlisted soldiers.[1][2]

Irving was a poor student except for when a subject was adjacent to his military interests, namely junior high ROTC and math upon learning of its application in sniping.[1]

Irving taught himself to play piano and violin in his youth.[1]

Career

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Military

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Irving originally intended to join the Navy SEALs, but he failed a colorblindness test. He instead joined the United States Army Rangers, becoming its first African-American sniper. Irving served for 3 tours in Iraq and 1 tour in Afghanistan. He was issued a SR-25 rifle, which he nicknamed Dirty Diana, referencing the Michael Jackson song of the same name. Irving was known to be very protective of his rifle, constantly maintaining it and keeping it painted with its pattern.[1][2][3]

Irving has claimed to have completed 33 kills over approximately 100 days, though United States Special Operations Command has stated they do not track this figure and cannot verify it.[1]

Irving left the army to become a military contractor in March 2010. Irving experienced issues stemming from alcoholism, suicidal thoughts, and PTSD as a result of his service, particularly in the first 2 years after leaving the Army. Irving has described significant problems with alcohol abuse until a decline in his consumption in 2014.[1]

Entertainment

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In 2016, Irving was one of four military leaders to serve as coaches on the reality show American Grit with John Cena.[4][5]

He also served as an on-set advisor for Doug Liman's 2017 sniper film The Wall.[6]

Author

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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.[7][8][9] On February 2, 2015, The Weinstein Company acquired the television rights to make a miniseries out of the autobiography.[10] On March 5, 2015, NBC picked up the miniseries from Weinstein.[11] In late 2017 Irving revealed in a podcast that the miniseries has been scrapped, but a movie based on the book was in preproduction.[12]

Personal life

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Irving married Jessica Irving in 2007, whom he had met in the 1st grade and reconnected with over the internet in 2005.[1][2]

Irving lives in Texas, citing its more permissive gun laws than that of Maryland.[1] He currently owns a firing range and training center for professional shooters in San Antonio.[1][2]

Bibliography

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Nonfiction
  • Basic & Intermediate Combat Survival (2011)[13] ISBN 1461032954
  • Team Reaper: 3rd Ranger Battalion's Deadliest Sniper Team (2012)[14] ISBN 9781470022839
  • Precision Rifle B.I.B.L.E: (Ballistics In Battlefield Learned Environments) (2012)[15]ISBN 9781479256297
  • The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers (2015, with Gary Brozek)[8][9] ISBN 9781250080608
  • Way of the Reaper: My Greatest Untold Missions and the Art of Being a Sniper (2016, with Gary Brozek)[16] ISBN 9781250088352
  • Never Fear Anything: My Untold Story As A Sniper In Our Nations Longest War (2018, with Robert Terkla)[17] ISBN 9780999769706
Fiction

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Christenson, Sig (February 22, 2015). "'The Reaper' paid a price for his battlefield kills". San Antonio Express-News. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Smith, Kyle (January 18, 2015). "How an Army Rangers sniper became 'The Reaper'". New York Post. News Corp. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  3. ^ Bucktin, Christopher (January 18, 2015). "The Reaper: US sniper Nick Irving killed 33 enemies in under four months with gun called 'Dirty Diana'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  4. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (November 18, 2015). "John Cena to Host Military-Inspired Competition Show on Fox". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  5. ^ "AMERICAN GRIT STARRING JOHN CENA TO AIR IN 2016". Fox.com. Fox. November 18, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  6. ^ Zavala, George (July 2017). "Legendary Army Sniper Nicholas Irving Talks About Working on 'The Wall'". Military.com. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  7. ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - February 15, 2015 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  8. ^ a b Irving, Nicholas; Brozek, Gary (2015). The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers. New York City: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1250045447.
  9. ^ a b "The Reaper: Autobiography of One of the Deadliest Special Ops Snipers". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  10. ^ Lesnick, Silas (February 2, 2015). "The Weinstein Company Plans Five-Part Sniper Miniseries The Reaper". Coming Soon. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 5, 2015). "NBC Picks Up Sniper Miniseries 'The Reaper' From Weinstein Co". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  12. ^ SOFREP Radio podcast, episode 296, his statement at 36:50-37:30
  13. ^ "Nicholas Irving". Goodreads. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  14. ^ Team Reaper: 33 Kills...4 months. Seattle, Washington: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2012. ISBN 978-1470022839.
  15. ^ Noble, Barnes &. "Precision Rifle B.I.B.L.E: (Ballistics In Battlefield Learned Environments)|Paperback". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  16. ^ Irving, Nicholas. "The Way of the Reaper". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Never Fear Anything: My Untold Story As A Sniper In Our Nations Longest War - Terkla, Robert; Irving, Nicholas: 9780999769706 - AbeBooks". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  18. ^ Irving, Nicholas. "Reaper: Ghost Target". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  19. ^ Irving, Nicholas. "Reaper: Threat Zero". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Reaper: Drone Strike | Nicholas Irving | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
  21. ^ Irving, Nicholas (30 October 2021). Walker Drive. Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us.
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