An SAS hero who fought terrorists in a Kenyan hotel revealed his identity on an American podcast and revealed that being shot on an undercover mission was like “speeding up your funny time by 10,000”.
A retired Newcastle soldier known as Christian Craighead was shot in the back of his hand by a Dragunov sniper rifle while serving.
Recalling the moment he was shot, Craighead said, “Deep down I think, ‘I got shot at, that’s cool,’ and then ‘I hope I don’t lose my arm.’
A special forces veteran who joined the British army at the age of 16 in 1992, he is best known for single-handedly defeating jihadists during a hotel siege in Nairobi that killed at least 21 people in January 2019.
Last year, he shared a photo on Instagram showing his face for the first time after people continued to impersonate him on social media and in pubs near the elite forces’ base in Hereford.
Senior Defense Officials previously said they were deeply concerned about the ex-soldier’s social media profile. According to strict rules, special forces should not publicly discuss their missions or try to “cash in” on operations.
In previously released images, his facial features were obscured by either clothing or blurry images to protect his identity after he ended the terrorist siege on the DusitD2 luxury hotel.
But now he’s appeared on Evan Hafer’s Black Rifle Coffee Podcast to discuss his military career, favorite firearms, and retirement plans.
A retired soldier (pictured above) from Newcastle, known as Christian Craighead, was shot in the back of his hand by a Dragunov sniper rifle while serving.
Craighead (right) is best known for single-handedly defeating jihadists during a hotel siege in Nairobi that left at least 21 people dead in January 2019.
Recalling what it was like to be shot, Craighead said: “It’s weird. Now it hurt a lot. When it passes through this bone. And I understand when people say they’re being shot at, they don’t feel it, I totally agree with that as long as it doesn’t go through the bones.
“But once it goes through the bone and breaks it, it hurts. It was like tapping your funny bone and multiplying by 10,000. That’s how I felt. But here’s a bit confused.
“Returning to junior parachute, indoctrination and all that, it was a feeling of satisfaction. It was like “oh, I just got shot, that’s pretty cool.”
“Deep down I think, ‘I got shot, that’s cool,’ and then ‘I hope I don’t lose my arm. And my hand hung on the triceps, but with some medical knowledge, I could move my fingers.
“And in my mind, again, I just thought it wasn’t so bad, because I can move my fingers. In my mind, I thought, “I’m going to keep my hand.”
The former soldier, who became engaged to Trump’s chief White House photographer Sheila Craighead in February 2020, said he suffered a broken humerus and now has a titanium rod implanted from his elbow to his shoulder.
He added: “I think most young soldiers probably want to get shot because it’s like, isn’t it, like, ‘Oh, I got shot.’
“Be careful what you wish for, right? And you kind of want it to happen, you want to be tested. And sometimes death is the price when you say, “You know what, I don’t mind dying.”
Footage from the scene shows an off-duty SAS hero in combat gear over a purple shirt and jeans entering the compound and then reappearing with terrified survivors.
The veteran was in Kenya to help train the country’s soldiers when heavily armed jihadists from the terrorist group Al-Shabaab seized the Dusit D2 luxury hotel complex. Pictured: Craighead storms the hotel
“I think there are a lot of people who haven’t seen the fight and would say, ‘I’m going to sacrifice my life to experience this fight.’ I think it’s part of training and thinking and everything that comes with it.”
Craighead’s comments come ahead of the release of his new book, One Man Inside: An Explosive First-hand Account of the Lone Special Forces Soldier Who Defended a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya, which is expected to be published next June.
On privacy issues, Craighead said, “I’m working with the Department of Defense as we speak to get it right to get this book out so there’s no information or anything.
– That’s all I want to tell you about my life in the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. I should add that the book is about that day, so for those sitting on the edge of the seat, it says nothing about what I did during the service in the unit.
“It’s just talking about one thing I did and we all know what I did.”
The rules followed a furor over books by former soldiers Chris Ryan and Andy McNab, which raised the public profile of the SAS and raised concerns about the leakage of confidential SWAT information that could jeopardize future operations.
It was previously reported that Craighead retired from the elite regiment after being shunned by colleagues.
The former soldier, who became engaged to White House official photographer Sheila Craighead (pictured above) in February 2020, said he suffered a broken humerus and now has a titanium rod implanted from elbow to shoulder.
Craighead once shared a photo of himself meeting with President Donald Trump on Instagram.
Senior officials have said they want to speak to Craighead urgently in case he reveals his identity or any sensitive information about SWAT operations.
But friends of the disgruntled veteran who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (CGC) said at the time that the blame lay with SAS officers and men who denied his actions.
One of them said: “There was a very cool reaction in the SAS camp that he received the CGC.”
“At that time, other guys were fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria for months without any official recognition.
“No one outside the regiment will ever know what they did. So they turned their backs on him, which was very cruel.
“He deserved a few pats on the back and it’s unfortunate that his SAS career ended like this.”
The veteran was in Kenya to help train the country’s soldiers when heavily armed jihadists from the terrorist group al-Shabaab seized the Dusit D2 luxury hotel complex, set cars on fire, set off explosions and started mass shooting.
The 19-hour siege killed 21 people, including British charity worker Luke Potter.