Ryan A. Conklin

Ryan Allen Conklin (born April 1, 1985) is a former Sergeant in the United States Army, known as a cast member on the MTV 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, and author of the Iraq War memoir, An Angel From Hell.

Early life Conklin was born on April 1, 1985, in Marshall, Michigan 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. 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.

In addition to his brother, Aaron, who became a military police officer in the Army Reserves, Conklin also had two cousins in the Army as well.

Military and reality television career First tour of duty Conklin enlisted in the United States Army at age 17, having been inspired to do so by the September 11 attacks. He entered Basic Training at Fort Benning, Georgia in 2003 and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Ryan was an infantryman in the 187th Infantry Regiment (United States), 3rd Brigade of the famed 101st Airborne Division. In 2005, he deployed with the division to Iraq, guarded Saddam Hussein at his trial in Baghdad, but his company spent most of their year deployment patrolling Tikrit and experienced a number of near-death experiences from IEDs, drive-by shootings, VBIEDs, suicide bomber, and a sniper. 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. His cast biography is as follows:

A small-town Pennsylvania boy with a laid-back personality, Ryan has had his share of action. After enlisting in the army at the age of 17, he served in Iraq and got an eyeful. Now 23, he has returned from his duty with a newfound appreciation for life and a better perspective on the world around him, despite having lived through many near-death experiences, as well as the death of a close friend. A class clown who juggles his time between amateur filmmaking, guitar playing and pranking those around him, Ryan is currently in his first-ever relationship. 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. Conklin says that he was "very pleased with how it all came together".

Conklin's memoir about his experience during his first tour in Iraq, An Angel From Hell, was published In April 2010.

Conklin subsequently became a firefighter with the Lancaster, Pennsylvania 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.