Brigadier General Ryans enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1988 and commissioned upon graduating from Jacksonville University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Physics.  Following The Basic School and Infantry Officer Course, he reported to 1st Battalion, 8th Marines where he served as a Platoon Commander and Company Executive Officer.

Brigadier General Ryans has held Command at all levels to include: Company Commander, Company F and Headquarters and Service Company, 2d Battalion 8th Marines; Commanding Officer, 3d Battalion, 6th Marines; Commanding Officer, Headquarters Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment; and Commanding Officer, 8th Marine Regiment.  He has deployed with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, participating in Operation SILVER WAKE in Albania; while at 2d Battalion, 8th Marines and then again while in command of the Regiment, he deployed to both Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in Iraq and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan; and most recently he served as Deputy Commander of Task Force Southwest, deploying in support of Operation FREEDOM'S SENTINEL and the RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission in Afghanistan.

Brigadier General Ryans’ staff assignments include serving as an Officer Selection Officer; Instructor and Department Head for the Ground Combat Department, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1; Regimental Assistant Operations Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer within 8th Marine Regiment; as the Principal Deputy Legislative Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Future Operations Officer for II Marine Expeditionary Force; and the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.  Immediately prior to arriving to the Depot, he served as the Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Marine Division.

Brigadier General Ryans is a graduate of the Infantry Captain Career Course, Fort Benning, Georgia; a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College where he earned a Masters of Military Arts; received a second Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College; attended the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program, Class 194; and served as a Military Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Brigadier General Ryans’ personal decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star in lieu of second award, the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon with two gold stars in lieu of third award.