an escape on foot towards Syria, the closest coalition country. Three of the eight were killed, and four captured (including McNab) after three days on the run; one member, Chris Ryan, escaped. The captured men were held for six weeks before being released on 5 March. By that time, McNab was suffering from nerve damage to both hands, a dislocated shoulder, kidney and liver damage, and hepatitis B. After six months of medical treatment he was back on active service. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal during his military career, McNab claims to have been the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he left the SAS in February 1993. Post-military career McNab assumed his pseudonym while writing Bravo Two Zero. When he appeared on television to promote his books or to act as a special services expert, his face was shadowed to prevent identification. According to the book The Big Breach, by Richard Tomlinson, a renegade MI6 spy, McNab was part of a special training team after the Iraq war, training MI6 recruits in sabotage and guerrilla warfare techniques. Due to the extremely sensitive nature of his work while serving with the SAS, McNab is bound by contract to submit his writings to the Ministry of Defence for review. After leaving the Army, McNab developed and maintained a specialist training course for news crews, journalists and members of non-governmental organisations working in hostile environments. He spent time in Hollywood as a technical weapons advisor and trainer on Michael Mann's film Heat. He was also the technical advisor on the 2005 crime film Dirty. In February 2007, McNab returned to Iraq for seven days as The Sun newspaper's security advisor with 2nd Battalion, The Rifles. McNab has written about his experiences in the SAS in three best-selling books, Bravo Two Zero (1993), Immediate Action (1995), and Seven Troop (2008). Bravo Two Zero sold over 1.7 million copies, with Immediate Action selling 1.4 million in the UK. It has been published in 17 countries and translated into 16 languages. The CD spoken word version of Bravo Two Zero, narrated by McNab, sold over 60,000 copies and earned a silver disc. A BBC film of Bravo Two Zero, starring Sean Bean, was shown on prime time BBC One television in 1999 and released on DVD in 2000. Immediate Action, McNab's autobiography, spent 18 weeks at the top of