Keynote Speaker at GRPC 2025, Christian Craighead

graphic used with permission of Second Amendment Foundation

On January 15, 2019, an off-duty British SAS operator and high level trainer, who goes by the nom de guerre of Christian Craighead, disrupted an Islamic terror attack in Nairobi, Kenya at the DusitD2 complex. He is credited with saving 700 lives through his skills, action, heroism and leadership. Christian gave the keynote speech at the Gun Rights Policy Conference in Salt Lake City on September 28, 2025. If you wish to listen to the entire presentation, the video of the  Keynote speech by Christian Craighead SAS, retired, starts about 5:40:30 and ends about 6:15:15.

Christian grew up with a single mother. He was raised by his grandmother, of modest means in Northern England.   He joined the army at age 16. After serving in the Parachute Regiment then the elite Pathfinder Platoon, he was one of the very few selected for the SAS. During his 28 year career, he participated in over a thousand high risk kill or capture missions, including hostage rescue.

He became the chief close quarter battle instructor in the SAS.  “He almost literally wrote the book on hostage rescue.” In 2018 he moved to Kenya, Africa on a training mission. For the first time in his 26 years in the military, firearms were available to him in his home and in his vehicle. He was personally responsible for them at all times. He had to file a weekly report including the serial numbers on al his weapons. Because his weapons were at his disposal, he was able to immediately respond to the terrorist attack on a Nairobi hotel complex on January 15, 2019. In the afternoon of January 15, a friend called him from inside the hotel to tell him a complex attack was ongoing, and the friend was unarmed. Christian could hear gunshots and explosions in the background. He drove to the scene of the attack expecting to meet police and special forces, and to act as an observer and advisor. Instead, he was the first responder.  The rescue/siege lasted over 15 hours.

At the GRPC, Christian detailed his actions in Nairobi far more than has been released as little as a year ago. After he prevailed in the incident, the response from the British government was mixed. He was awarded The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, just below the Victoria Cross. High level officials also told him he had disgraced the SAS, the British Army, and the UK government, for acting without orders. The British Ministry of Defense has blocked the publication of his book “One Man In”, a memoir of what happened in Nairobi on January 15-16, 2019.

Christian retired after 28 years of service, and moved to the United States.  He spoke from the heart about his gratitude to President Trump. While his move to the USA came at great personal and financial cost, he believes it was worth the price. He has kept in touch with President Trump and assists him as he can in conventional and unconventional ways.

Christian is a devout Christian. He believes God used him in Nairobi in 2019.  Christian wrote a successful children’s book “The Wrong Wolf”. His current main occupation is Minister of Defense for the Field Ethos Journal.

Christian looks forward to becoming a United States Citizen. His personal account is well worth viewing at the GRPC website.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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