Keynote Speaker at GRPC 2025 – Christian Craighead, Retired SAS

AmmoLand ^ | October 3, 2025 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

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(above) of the Keynote speech by Christian Craighead, SAS, retired, starts at approximately 5:40:30 and ends at approximately 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 and 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 rescues. He became the chief close-quarter battle instructor in the SAS.  “He almost literally wrote the book on hostage rescue.” n 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 all 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.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: banglist; craighead; grpc; nairobi

[marktwain]

In this speech, Christian Craighead reveals many details which he was previously willing to make public.

[MtnClimber]

Thanks for posting this.

[marktwain]

“previously willing” should be “previously unwilling”

[srmanuel]

You’re right, I’ve seen him on a couple of other podcasts and he’s never gone into that amount of detail about what happened that day in Kenya.

[marktwain]

Yes. What happened in the last year?

Something happened to change his mind. He expects to become an American citizen fairly soon.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Obi Wan Nairobi.

[marktwain]

Yes. A popular title.

He was asked if he was afraid when he crossed he threshold. He said no, he was at the top of his game. He felt like a world champion boxer going into the ring with amateurs.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Some time ago I watched the interview with Christian Craighead where he talked about his experience the morning of the incident. There is no doubt in my mind God was sending him to that Hotel.

[marktwain]

Yes. It is a rather remarkable incident. He did not make the connection until after the terrorists were all killed.

[SunkenCiv]

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