COMMAND OPERATIONS OFFICER File Name : Abernathy, Clayton M. Pay Grade : O-5 Call-Sign : Hawk Birthplace : Denver, Colorado, USA Unit assignment prior to GIJOE selection : SFOD-C (Command and Control), 3 rd Battalion, 5 th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army) Post-Secondary Education : BS in Military Art and Science (United States Military Academy), MS in Military Arts and Sciences (US Army School of Advanced Military Studies), MS in Defense Analysis (Special Operations/Irregular Warfare)-Irregular Warfare subspecialty (Naval Postgraduate School) Relevant Training (partial list) : Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic Course; Short-Range, Hawk Missile, and Patriot Missile Air Defense Artillery Resident Training; Air and Missile Defense Captains Career Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Ranger School, SF Unit Officer Qualification Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, Command and General Staff Officer Course, Joint Special Operations Irregular Warfare Advanced Course, Combined/Joint Force Special Operations Component Commander's Course, Army Red Team Leader's Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, CJFSOCC Staff Officer Course, CJFSOCC Planning Course Miscellaneous Notes : Born into a prominent military family, father a highly decorated Army colonel, grandfather a sergeant major with the American Expeditionary Forces. Graduated 1991 from West Point at the top of his class. Went on several rotational deployments with ARCENT-SA's PATRIOT Task Force in Saudi Arabia before going Special Forces in 1995. Took part in numerous missions in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2008 as a member of the 5 th Special Forces Group. Served on part-time cadre at the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth, overseeing Red Team Leader exercises between 2006 and 2008. A widower (wife succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia in 2007) with a son, Scott, born in 2001. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Iraqi), Persian (Dari, Farsi, and Tajiki dialects), and Russian; conversant in French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Recently rated as being in the 99 th percentile among all active-duty Department of Defense field grade officers in conventional, analytical, creative, and practical intelligence measures. Has a talent for intentionally obscuring, and even willfully misrepresenting his dispositional affect, making him a preeminent negotiator and controller. COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AGENT (COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TEAM) File Name : Arashikage, Kimiko Pay Grade : E-6 Call-Sign : Jinx Birthplace : Los Angeles, California, USA Unit assignment prior to GIJOE selection : A Company (CI/HUMINT), 524 th Military Intelligence Battalion, 501 st Military Intelligence Brigade (US Army) Post-Secondary Education : BA in Economics (Bryn Mawr College), AA in Mandarin (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center) Relevant Training (partial list) : Financial Management Technician AIT, Counterintelligence Special Agent Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Defense Against Sound Equipment Course, Advanced Foreign Counterintelligence Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course Miscellaneous Notes : At the age of 12, sent by parents to live with relatives in Tokyo in an effort to instill discipline and a sense of culture. While abroad, extensively studied her clan's traditional martial art, Arashikage-ryū bujutsū. Returned to the United States after graduating at the top of her class from the Saitama Prefectural Inagakuen Comprehensive Upper Secondary School. Joined the Army as a financial management technician after receiving her economics degree from Bryn Mawr in 2002. Re-classed as a counterintelligence agent in 2006, deployed to South Korea in support of USFK/CFC operations as a member of the 524 th Military Intelligence Battalion. Fluent in French, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin (Standard dialect); conversant in Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect).
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COMMAND OPERATIONS OFFICERFile Name: Abernathy, Clayton M. Pay Grade: O-5Call-Sign: HawkBirthplace: Denver, Colorado, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: SFOD-C (Command and Control), 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Military Art and Science (United States Military Academy), MS in Military Arts and Sciences (US Army School of Advanced Military Studies), MS in
Relevant Training (partial list): Air Defense Artillery Officer Basic Course; Short-Range, Hawk Missile, and Patriot Missile Air Defense Artillery Resident Training; Air and Missile Defense Captains Career Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Ranger School, SF Unit Officer Qualification Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, Command and General Staff Officer Course, Joint Special Operations Irregular Warfare Advanced Course, Combined/Joint Force Special Operations Component Commander's Course, Army Red Team Leader's Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, CJFSOCC Staff Officer Course, CJFSOCC Planning Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Born into a prominent military family, father a highly decorated Army colonel, grandfather a sergeant major with the American Expeditionary Forces. Graduated 1991 from West Point at the top of his class. Went on several rotational deployments with ARCENT-SA's PATRIOT Task Force in Saudi Arabia before going Special Forces in 1995. Took part in numerous missions in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2008 as a member of the 5 th Special Forces Group. Served on part-time cadre at the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth, overseeing Red Team Leader exercises between 2006 and 2008. A widower (wife succumbed to acute myeloid leukemia in 2007) with a son, Scott, born in 2001. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Iraqi), Persian (Dari, Farsi, and Tajiki dialects), and Russian; conversant in French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Recently rated as being in the 99 th percentile among all active-duty Department of Defense field grade officers in conventional, analytical, creative, and practical intelligence measures. Has a talent for intentionally obscuring, and even willfully misrepresenting his dispositional affect, making him a preeminent negotiator and controller.
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AGENT (COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TEAM)File Name: Arashikage, Kimiko Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: JinxBirthplace: Los Angeles, California, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company (CI/HUMINT), 524th Military Intelligence Battalion, 501st Military Intelligence Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Economics (Bryn Mawr College), AA in Mandarin (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Financial Management Technician AIT, Counterintelligence Special Agent Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Defense Against Sound Equipment Course, Advanced Foreign Counterintelligence Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: At the age of 12, sent by parents to live with relatives in Tokyo in an effort to instill discipline and a sense of culture. While abroad, extensively studied her clan's traditional martial art, Arashikage-ryū bujutsū. Returned to the United States after graduating at the top of her class from the Saitama Prefectural Inagakuen Comprehensive Upper Secondary School. Joined the Army as a financial management technician after receiving her economics degree from Bryn Mawr in 2002. Re-classed as a counterintelligence agent in 2006, deployed to South Korea in support of USFK/CFC operations as a member of the 524th Military Intelligence Battalion. Fluent in French, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin (Standard dialect); conversant in Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect).
U.A.V. PLATOON LEADERFile Name: Armbruster, Bradley J. Pay Grade: O-4Call-Sign: AceBirthplace: Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 3rd Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing, 27th Special Operations Group (USAF)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Electrical Engineering (University of Rhode Island), MS in Defense Analysis (Special Operations/ Irregular Warfare)-Combat Systems subspecialty
(Naval Postgraduate School)
Relevant Training (partial list): Private Pilot Certification (Cindtronix Aviation), Commercial Pilot Certification (Cindtronix Avaiation), Aerobatic Proficiency Training Certification (Tutima Academy of Aviation), Officer Candidate School Basic Officer Training, Air and Space Basic Course, Initial Flight Screening, USAF Specialized Undergraduate Training, Transitional and Operational Flight Training (F-15E Strike Eagle), USAF Weapons School (F-15E Strike Eagle), Air Liaison Officer Qualification Course, Flight Commander Course, Organizational Leadership Course, Expeditionary Leadership Course, Introduction to Special Operations Course, USAF Weapons School (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Squadron Officer School, Mission Commander's Course, Basic Airborne School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO Air Integration and Planning Course, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU)
Miscellaneous Notes: Started flying in high school, working three jobs in order to afford lessons. After high school, worked for a year as a bush pilot in Alaska to earn money for college. While enrolled in the University of Rhode Island, spent his free time training to be an aerobatic pilot, twice competing in the FAI Grand Prix. Joined the USAF after earning his degree in electrical engineering. As a member of the 391st Fighter Squadron, flew F-15E Strike Eagles on combat air patrol, air interdiction, and close air support missions in Afghanistan between 2002 and 2005. Entered UAV pilot training and re-assigned to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron in 2007, flying MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs on armed reconnaissance missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. An accomplished amateur poker player, Armbruster has competed in numerous poker fund-raising events for various charities.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (H.AL.O./H.A.H.O. RECON TEAM)File Name: Arndt, Philip W. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Free FallBirthplace: Downers Grove, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Philosophy (Southern Illinois University-Carbondale), MA in Comparative East-West Philosophy (University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa)
Relevant Training (partial list): Aviation Operations Specialist AIT, Joint Air Tasking Order Process Course, Joint Firepower Course, Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Ranger Assessment and Screening Program, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Jumpmaster Course (Static-Line), Basic Instructor Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Started his military career as an aviation operations specialist with the 82nd Combat Aviation Regiment, deploying to Bosnia with the 2nd Battalion in support of Operation Joint Guard (1997). After fulfilling his term of service, went back to school to earn his master's degree in comparative east-west philosophy. Re-enlisted in 2004 and re-trained as an infantryman, eventually earning a slot with the 75 th Ranger Regiment. Deployed to Afghanistan, 2006. Highly intelligent and strongly motivated individual. Fluent in Mandarin (Standard dialect), conversant in Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect).
EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE CLEARANCE AGENT (H.V.T. TRACKER TEAM TWO)File Name: Ayvazyan, Varujan Pay Grade: GS-09Call-Sign: TaurusBirthplace: Sultanbeyli, Istanbul Province, TurkeyEmployer prior to GIJOE selection: Terrorism and Violent Crimes Division, United States National Central Bureau of INTERPOLPost-Secondary Education: BA in Security Sciences (Güvenlik Bilimleri Enstitüsü-Polis Akademisi Başkanlığı), AAS in Chemical Technology (Essex County College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Pre-Undergraduate Police Training Program (Polis Akademisi Gölbaşı), Basic Police Special Operations Course (Özel Harekat Polis Okulu), INTERPOL International Police Training Program, Search and Security Foundation Course (ISSEE), Search and Security Advanced Searcher Course (ISSEE), High Risk Search Course (ISSEE), EOD Level 1 Course (ISSEE), EOD Level 2 Course (ISSEE), EOD Level 3 Course (ISSEE), IED Awareness Course (ISSEE), IED Technician Course (ISSEE), Booby Traps Course (ISSEE), Program in American Language Studies (Rutgers University-Newark), English for Academic Purposes Course (Rutgers University-Newark)
Miscellaneous Notes: Born and raised in Istanbul Province to Turkish-Armenian parents. Overcame cultural and racial barriers to become a ranking police officer with the Istanbul Police Department's Special Security office. Served with distinction in numerous police special operations against the PKK and other radical paramilitary organizations. Hired by INTERPOL as a dangerous devices technician in 2000, immigrated to the United States on a National Interest Waiver visa in 2001. Worked as a weapons intelligence analyst with INTERPOL's American bureau before being recruited to join a fledgling GIJOE in 2009. Fluent in Armenian (Eastern and Western dialects), Turkish, and Kurdish; conversant in Arabic (Iraqi) and Georgian. Acquired American citizenship in 2007. Avid practitioner and promoter of kılıç kalkan (traditional Turkish fencing) and has performed public demonstrations of the martial art as part of the Turkish Cultural Center in New York's “Performing Arts at the Terminal” show.
COMBAT OBSERVATION/LASING TEAM LEADERFile Name: Barney, James J. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Grand SlamBirthplace: Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Battery, 1st Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Physics (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Relevant Training (partial list): Test, Measurement, and Diagnostic Equipment (TMDE) Maintenance Support Specialist AIT; Fire Support Specialist AIT, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) Transition Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Joint Fires Observer Course, Tactical Information Operations Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Was a star quarterback for his high school football team, leading them to a state championship game appearance. Injuries prevented a similarly successful college football career, joined the Army almost immediately after graduation. Served as a TDME Maintenance Support Specialist assigned to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service before switching to a career in the artillery. Went on three deployments to Iraq between 2003 and 2005 as a member of the 319th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne), where his natural aptitude for judging distances served him well in his role as a fire support specialist. Soft-spoken and calm but firm, well-liked by peers and superiors alike. Owns an extensive collection of vintage comic books and science fiction paperbacks and magazines dating back to the 1930s.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM THREE)/N.S.T.V. EXPERT OPERATORFile Name: Blais, Robert M. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: Cross-CountryBirthplace: Greensboro, North Carolina, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Troop, 1st Squadron (RSTA-Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Heavy Equipment and Transport Technology (Guilford Technical Community College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Cargo Specialist AIT, Rough Terrain Container Handling and Operation Course, Defense Packing of Hazardous Materials for Transportation Course, USTRANSCOM Global Transportation Network training, Cavalry Scout AIT, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Both parents career construction and asphalt equipment operators. Declined stewardship of the family business and joined the Army at the age of 20. Served as a cargo specialist with the 7th Transportation Battalion before re-classing as a cavalry scout. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 as part of the ISAF's American contingent. Has excellent driving instincts and a natural mechanical aptitude honed through a lifetime in and around heavy machinery and vehicles.
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE AGENT (COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TEAM)File Name: Bowman, Thomas S. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: MaceBirthplace: Denver, Colorado, United, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Expeditionary Support Branch, Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Criminal Justice and Criminology (Metropolitan State College of Denver), AA in Arabic (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Basic Recruit Training (Denver Police Academy), Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training Qualification, MAGTF Intelligence Specialist Entry Course, Intelligence in Combating Terrorism Course, MAGTF Counterintelligence/HUMINT Course, Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Fundamentals Course, Technical Surveillance Countermeasures Course, Advanced Personnel Administration Course, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Advanced Foreign Counterintelligence Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Advanced Intel Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Worked for five years as a Denver police officer before joining the Marines. As an agent for the MCIA's Expeditionary Support Branch, has served on numerous missions abroad, most recently in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Iraqi) and Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects), conversant in Spanish.
U.A.V. PILOT (GROUND CONTROL STATION)File Name: Boyajian, Gregory S. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: SlipstreamBirthplace: Provo, Utah, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 3rd Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing, 27th Special Operations Group (USAF)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Computer Engineering (University of Utah), MS in Computer Engineering (Air Force Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): AFROTC General Military and Professional Officer Courses, Air and Space Basic Course, Initial Flight Screening, USAF Specialized Undergraduate Training, Transitional and Operational Flight Training (F-16C/D), USAF Weapons School (F-16C/D), Air Liaison Officer Qualification Course, Flight Commander Course, Organizational Leadership Course, Introduction to Special Operations Course, USAF Weapons School (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Expeditionary Leadership Course, Squadron Officer School, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU)
Miscellaneous Notes: An avid video game player and computer enthusiast before discovering recreational flying in his mid-teens. Joined the Civil Air Patrol as a cadet at the age of 16, eventually going to the University of Utah on an AFROTC scholarship. Flew numerous sorties over Iraq and Afghanistan between 2002 and 2005 as a member of the 421st Fighter Squadron. Began UAV pilot training in 2006, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Wing's 3rd Special Operations Squadron in the summer of 2007. Operated MQ-9 Reaper UAVs on armed reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008. Has a reputation among GIJOE teammates as an unrepentant joker and mimic, and is the acknowledged base “Mario Kart” (video game) champion. Fluent in Armenian (Eastern and Western dialects), French, and Greek.
COMBAT OBSERVER (COMBAT OBSERVATION/LASING TEAM)File Name: Breckenridge, Matthew H. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: ThunderBirthplace: Louisville, Kentucky, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment (Air Assault) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Music (University of Louisville)
Relevant Training (partial list): Army Bandsperson (Percussion) AIT, Air Assault School, Fire Support Specialist AIT, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) Transition Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Joint Fires Observer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Rappel Master Course,Tactical Information Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Played as a drummer in various Lousville-area heavy metal bands throughout high school and college. Joined the army as a bandsperson, made the unorthodox but not unheard of decision of re-classing into a combat arms branch a year into his service. Deployed to Iraq as a member of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment's 2nd Battalion in 2003 and 2005, participating in missions with the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.
COMBAT OBSERVER (COMBAT OBSERVATION/LASING TEAM)File Name: Brewi, David Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: D-DayBirthplace: Islip, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Battery, 2nd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment (Air Assault) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Earth Science (Dowling College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Fire Support Specialist AIT, Air Assault School, Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) Transition Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Joint Fires Observer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Rappel Master Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Tactical Information Operations Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 1 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 2 Instructor Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Grew up in Bay Shore, an Islip hamlet, the youngest son of comfortably upper-middle class parents, father a shopping mall manager, mother a television station executive and member of the New York State Council on the Arts' Performing and Literary Arts Committee. Denies that bourgeois guilt was a motivating factor in his decision to join the military, although incidental records of his personal interactions with enlisted GIJOE teammates indicate a strong tendency to downplay his relatively prosperous economic background. Deployed to Iraq as a member of the 320th Field Artillery Regiment's 2nd Battalion in 2005, where he acquitted himself with distinction as a member of a dismounted forward observer team.
OPERATIONS CHIEF (RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENT)File Name: Burns, Matthew Pay Grade: E-8 (MSgt)Call-Sign: Sgt. SlaughterBirthplace: Parris Island, South Carolina, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Special Operations Training Group-MEU(SOC) Training Branch, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Psychology (University of South Carolina)
Relevant Training (partial list): Marine Rifleman Course, Basic Reconnaissance Course, Combatant Diver Course, Basic Airborne School, Infantry Squad Leader's Course, MEU(SOC) Certification Joint Training, Fast Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, Drill Instructor School, Water Safety/Survival Instructor Course, Advanced Personnel Administration Course, Tactical Information Operations Course, Marksmanship Coach Course, Martial Arts Instructor Course, Martial Arts Instructor-Trainer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Comes from a Marine family, father a retired infantry gunnery sergeant, mother a former air traffic controller. Reputation as a marine and drill instructor has reached near-mythic proportions in 18 years in the Corps, something he has been more than willing to cultivate and perpetuate by playing the part of the hulking and unfeeling drill instructor to the hilt in public appearances. Behind all his outward bluster and theatrics, possesses a brilliant tactical mind that he has put to use as a member of the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, participating in missions on four continents. Transferred to the II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group's Special Operations Training Group-MEU(SOC) Training Branch in 2004. Conversant in French and Spanish.
DEPUTY DIRECTORFile Name: Colby, Everett P. Pay Grade: O-6Call-Sign: KeelhaulBirthplace: Charlottesville, Virginia, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron TWO (USN)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Electrical Engineering (USNA), , BS in Intelligence (National Defense Intelligence College), MS in Information Operations-Joint Information Operations
Curriculum (Naval Postgraduate School)
Relevant Training (partial list): Flight Screening, Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, Primary Flight Training, Intermediate and Advanced Flight Training (Land-Based Syllabus, P-3/EP-3 Maritime Pipeline), SERE Level-C Training, Command and Staff Officer Program, Introduction to Special Operations Course, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Joint Maritime Operations Course (Naval War College), Strategy & War Course (Naval War College), National Security Decision-Making Course (Naval War College), Maritime Staff Operators Course (Naval War College), NATO Air Integration and Planning Course, Special Operations Combating Terrorism Course, Combating Terrorist Networks Seminar, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Advanced Intel Course, NATO Technical Exploitation Operations Course, Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Intelligence Leaders Orientation Seminar
Miscellaneous Notes: As a member of FAIRECONRONTWO, flew reconnaissance aircraft in support of airstrike and air patrol missions during Operation El Dorado Canyon (1986), Operation Desert Storm(1991), Operation Deny Flight (1993) and Operation Joint Endeavor (1995). Awarded the Air Medal for his actions in Albania during Operation Silver Wake (1997), using his EP-3E in an emergency evacuation of American citizens, non-combatants, and designated third-country nationals while under heavy anti-aircraft fire. Served as a FAIRECONRONTWO operational detachment commander in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2004. Fluent in Russian, conversant in French, German, and Spanish. A nationally ranked amateur chess player (USCF rating of 2100), placed third in the under 2200 category during the 2007 USCF National Open Chess Championship. Plays the clarinet as a hobby.
DIRECTORFile Name: Colton, Joseph B. Pay Grade: ES Level VCall-Sign: Eagle-EyeBirthplace: Central Falls, Rhode Island, USAEmployer prior to GIJOE selection: Department of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPost-Secondary Education: BS in Foreign Area Studies, Eurasia concentration (United States Military Academy), MS in Military Arts and Sciences (US Army School of Advanced Military
Studies), PhD in International Relations, Strategic Studies concentration (Johns Hopkins University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantry Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Ranger School, Infantry Mortar Platoon Leader's Course, Sniper Employment Leader's Course, SF Unit Officer Qualification Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Patrol Course (NATO I-LRRP School Weingarten), US Army Red Team Leader's Course, Contemporary Insurgent Warfare Course; Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Planner's Course; Security Cooperation Management Overseas Course, Command and General Staff Officer Course, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, General Officer/Senior Executive Service Force Integration Course, Combating Terrorism Executive Interagency Seminar, Joint Special Operations Staff Officer Course, CJFSOCC Planners Course, CJFSOCC Joint Operations Center Course, CJFSOCC Commanders Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Started his career as a promising young lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division. Made the move to SF in 1983, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th SFG. Helped train Lebanese soldiers in 1985 and Nigerian paratroopers in 1986. Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions during the Battle of Khafji (1991). Served as a member of a Coalition Support Team assisting the 1st Belgian Para-Commando Battalion during Operation Restore Hope (1993). Retired from the Army with the rank of colonel in 2001. Started working towards his PhD in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University that same year. His doctoral thesis, entitled "Modeling Adaptive Organizations in the Current Irregular Warfare Context", is considered a modern classic in military science. Was an associate professor in MIT's Political Science Department before being tapped to head GIJOE in 2008. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Levantine), French, Russian, and Turkish; conversant in German, Spanish, Swahili, and Uzbek. Married future GIJOE Command C-E Officer Jane A. Martell (call-sign: GI Jane) in 1983, divorced in 2004. Couple had one son, Joseph, Jr., killed during the Battle of Nasiriyah in Iraq in 2003 while serving as a soldier in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.
O.S.V. EXPERT OPERATOR (ARCTIC RECON TEAM)File Name: Costello, Ian F. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: AvalancheBirthplace: Madawaska, Maine, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: D Company, Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Division (USMC/MARFORRES)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Automotive Technology (Northern Maine Community College), Bachelor of Applied Science (University of Maine-Presque Isle)
Miscellaneous Notes: Parents and older siblings involved in the cross-border smuggling trade, primarily bringing in cigarettes into New Brunswick province in Canada while ferrying cheap medicines into Maine. Somehow managed to steer clear of any significant legal trouble despite growing up around various criminal influences. Sent by state social services to live with relatives in Presque Isle at the age of 15. Worked briefly as a
mobile mechanic before joining the Marines. Assigned to an active-duty instructor-inspector staff post with the MARFORRES Anti-Terrorism Battalion's Anchorage, Alaska-based D Company in 2006. An excellent marksman and an even better over-snow vehicle operator. Fluent in French (Acadian dialect).
DECEPTION OPERATIONS SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISERFile Name: Craig, Judith F. Pay Grade: E-8 (MSG)Call-Sign: ShooterBirthplace: Montclair, New Jersey, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in History, minor in Religion (Montclair State University), BS in Intelligence (National Defense Intelligence College), AA in Arabic (Defense Language
Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Chaplain Assistant AIT, Emergency Medical Ministry Course, Chapel Tithe and Offering Clerk Course, Counterintelligence Special Agent Course, Intelligence in Combating Terrorism Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Defense Against Sound Equipment Course, USAF Countersniper School, Advanced Foreign Counterintelligence Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Advanced Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Started her career as a chaplain assistant assigned to the 743rd Military Intelligence Battalion. Re-classed as a counterintelligence agent in 2002, inspired to take a more pro-active role in the fight against terrorism after the New York terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Since then, has participated in numerous clandestine operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Horn of Africa. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, Iraqi, and Levantine), French, Hebrew, Portuguese, and Spanish; conversant in Swahili.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (AMPHIBIOUS RECON TEAM)/UNDERWATER COMBAT DEMOLITIONISTFile Name: Delgado, Hector Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: ShipwreckBirthplace: Chula Vista, California, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: SEAL Team 4, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO (USN)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Structural Engineering (University of California-San Diego)
Relevant Training (partial list): Gunner's Mate "A" School, 5”/54-Caliber MK 45 MOD 2 Gun Mount Maintenance Course, Crew-Served Weapons Instructor Course, Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training, SEAL Qualification Training, SEAL Professional Development Phase Training, SEAL Unit Level Training, SEAL Squadron Integration Training, Basic Airborne School, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Desert Environmental Survival Course, Air Assault School, Tactical Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, Riverine Combat Skills Course, Riverine Crewman Course, Riverine Unit-Level Leaders Course, Riverine Security Team Trainer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Spent his teens working odd jobs in the San Diego docks. Joined the Navy immediately out of high school, served on the USS Yorktown (CG-48) as a gunner's mate, participating in counter-drug operations in the Caribbean during the early 1990s and was part of the crew that scored a then-record 101 during the ship's 1994 Naval Gun Fire Support qualification exercise. Separated from the Navy long enough to earn his engineering degree from UCSD. Re-enlisted in 1999, joined NAVSPECWAR in 2000. Took part in joint UNITAS security and counter-terrorism exercises in 2001 and 2002. Participated in numerous special operations in Iraq, most notably the capture of the Al Basrah and Khawr Al Amaya oil terminals and special security patrols in the the area of the Mukarayin dam in 2003. Fluent in Spanish.
COMMAND SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISERFile Name: Divljak, Robert S. Pay Grade: E-9 (CSM)Call-Sign: Sgt. SavageBirthplace: Albany, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: F Company (Pathfinder), 4th Battalion (Assault), 101st Aviation Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BA in History (Cornell University), AA in Arabic (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol Course (NATO I-LRRP School Pfullendorf), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Rappel Master Course, Ft. Irwin OPFOR/Desert Rotational Unit Training, Battle Staff NCO Course, Irregular Warfare Course (JSOU), Joint Special Operations Collaborative Planning Course (JSOU), Joint Special Operations Advanced Planning Applications Course (JSOU), ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Eldest son of immigrant parents from the former Yugoslavia. Enlisted in the Army in 1980, serving as an infantryman with the 505 th Infantry Battalion (Airborne), seeing action in Operation Urgent Fury. Separated from the Army in 1984, earned history degree from Cornell on the GI Bill. Re-enlisted in 1992. Assigned to the 502nd Infantry Regiment, serving with distinction on various deployments to Panama, El Salvador, and Nicaragua during the mid-1990s. Served a six month tour in the Sinai peninsula as part of the USBATT Contingent of the MFO in 1999. Attended NATO International LRRP School in Pfullendorf and later attached to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment for a three-month stint in early 2000 as cultural liaison/translator during Operation Joint Guardian in Kosovo. Joined the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion's Long Range Surveillance Detachment in 2001. Led surveillance operations in support of Task Force Rakkasan in Afghanistan in 2002 and deployed into Iraq with elements of the 101st Airborne Division in 2003. Re-assigned to the 101st Aviation Regiment's Pathfinder Company along with other members of the LRSD after the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion's inactivation in 2006. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Iraqi), Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish; conversant in Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish, and Russian.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FOUR)/COVER MAN File Name: Duggleby, Wilmer S. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: HardballBirthplace: Cooperstown, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop (LRS) (Airborne), 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Therapeutic Recreation (Ithaca College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Played outfielder and was a recognized “power-hitter” in college, helping lead the Ithaca Bombers baseball team to the second round of the 2001 New York Regional NCAA playoffs and an Empire Athletics Association title. Was drafted as a junior by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 20 th round of the 2000 MLB Draft but never played a single game in the majors. Spent his first two years as a professional baseball player playing on a Blue Jays minor league affiliate, the Auburn Doubledays of the New York-Penn League. Enlisted in the Army in 2004, saw action in Iraq as a member of the 504th Infantry Regiment (Airborne). Served briefly as a member of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's Long Range Surveillance Troop before his selection to GIJOE.
RECON TEAM LEADER (H.A.L.O./H.A.H.O. RECON TEAM)File Name: Faireborn, Dashiell R. Pay Grade: W-2Call-Sign: FlintBirthplace: Wichita, Kansas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Comparative Literature (Princeton University), MSt in English (University of Oxford)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Ranger School, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC MOS Qualification Phase (SF Weapons Sergeant), SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, SF Military Free Fall Parachutist Course,Operations and Intelligence Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Training, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Warrant Officer Candidate School, SF Warrant Officer Basic Course, SF Warrant Technical and Tactical Certification Course, Joint Special Operations Irregular Warfare Advanced Course, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU), ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A Rhodes Scholar, spent two years at Oxford doing post-graduate work in English Language and Literature. Returned to the United States somewhat disillusioned with the professional academic's life and role in society. Joined the army as an infantryman in 1993. Participated in numerous patrol actions in the Korean Demilitarized Zone as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment between 1994 and 1997, serving alongside future GIJOE operatives Conrad Hauser (call-sign: Duke) and Marvin Hinton (call-sign: Roadblock). Went Special Forces in 1998. Participated in clandestine operations in Albania, Kosovo, and Macedonia, 1999 to 2001. Deployed to Afghanistan as a member of a joint CIA/10th Special Forces Group task unit in 2003. Appointed warrant officer in 2004. Served as a technical officer during FID operations and JCET exercises in Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal from 2006 to 2008. Fluent in French, German, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish; conversant in Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Russian.
EXECUTIVE OFFICER (RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENT)File Name: Falcone, Vincent R. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: FalconBirthplace: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Linguistics (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), Master of Systems Analysis (Naval Postgraduate School), AA in Farsi (Defense Language
Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): ROTC Basic Course, ROTC Leaders Training Course, ROTC Advanced Course, ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Maneuver Captain's Career Course, Basic Instructor Course, Systems Approach to Training Course, Infantry Mortar Platoon Leaders Course, Sniper Employment Leaders Course, SF Unit Officer Qualification Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Training, Air Assault School; Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; Rappel Master Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU), ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A second generation Green Beret, father having served with the 10th Special Forces Group. Served as executive officer, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 504th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) from 2003 to 2005, seeing action in two deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Went Special Forces in 2006. Participated in numerous FID operations and JCET exercises in the Horn of Africa region in 2007 and 2008. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, and Yemeni), Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects), French, and Spanish; conversant in Somali and Swahili. Possesses a natural aptitude for picking up the colloquial and culture-specific nuances of foreign languages, honed through extensive training and field immersion.
SCOUT-SNIPER/SPOTTER (S.T.A. SNIPER TEAM)File Name: Fardie, Donovan G. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: CrosshairBirthplace: Brockton, Massachusetts, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Force Reconnaissance Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Biology (Curry College)
Miscellaneous Notes: Scored 35 of 35 rounds “in the black” during the Known Distance portion of the Scout Sniper School marksmanship training phase. Visual acuity in both eyes, as tested by Navy opticians, is listed at 20/10 (LogMAR of -0.30), the generally acknowledged maximum for the unaided human eye. Participated in Operation Green Trident in Iraq in 2006.
PHYSICAL SECURITY OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR (PHYSICAL SECURITY TEAM ONE)File Name: Faria, Jason A. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: ShockwaveBirthplace: Dearborn, Michigan, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 65th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Criminal Justice (Oakland Community College), BS in Criminal Justice (Wayne State University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Basic Police Training (Oakland Police Academy), Urban Rifle for Patrol Officers Course (NTOA), Patrol Counterambush Tactics and Techniques (NTOA), Basic SWAT Training (NTOA), Response to Barricade Extremist/Terrorist Incidents Course (NTOA), Booby Trap and Explosives Recognition Course (NTOA), Tactical Rappel and Beginning Lead Climber Course (NTOA), Intermediate/Advanced SWAT Training (NTOA), High Risk Warrant Service Course (NTOA), Resolution of Barricaded Suspect and Hostage Rescue Course (NTOA), Hostage Rescue Linear Interventions Course (NTOA), Military Police AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Fast Rope & Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Military Police Investigator Course, Conventional Physical Security Course, SRT Phase I Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, SRT Phase II (Marksman/Observer) Course, Protective Service Training Course, High Risk Personnel Security Course, Suicide Bomber Mitigation Training Program (FLETC), Critical Infrastructure Protection Training Program (FLETC), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A five-year veteran of the Detroit Police Department's SRT (Special Response Team), where he specialized in mechanical and explosive breaching and tactical entry techniques. Joined the Army in 2002. Deployed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan with elements of the 16 th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) in 2003, served as a driver and protective services specialist at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility until 2005. Conversant in Spanish. Volunteers as a choir-member (tenor) at St. Mary's Church near Fort Wadsworth in his spare time.
SMALL CRAFT EXPERT OPERATOR (AMPHIBIOUS RECON TEAM)/COVER MANFile Name: Felix, Dwayne A. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: RampartBirthplace: New York City, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Special Boat Team 22, Naval Special Warfare Group FOUR (USN) Post-Secondary Education: BS in General Studies (St. Joseph's College-New York)
Relevant Training (partial list): Management Certification (St. Joseph's College, New York), Gunner's Mate "A" School, 5”/62-Caliber MK 45 MOD 4 Gun Mount Maintenance Course, Stinger Anti-terrorist Weapon Operations and Maintenance Training, Crew-Served Weapons Instructor Course, Riverine Combat Skills Course, Riverine Crewman Course, SWCC Basic Crewman Training, NSW Crewman Qualification Training, Basic Tactical Swimmer Course, Basic Airborne School, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Tactical Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Advanced Tactical Swimmer Course, SCUBA Diver Qualification
Miscellaneous Notes: Served as a gunner's mate on the USS Essex (LHD-2), taking part in humantiarian support operations in East Timor in 2001 and Korea in 2002. Participated in riverine security operations on the Euphrates river as part of a patrol boat escort accompanying elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in the lead-up to the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. Returned to the Essex in time to take part in humanitarian aid operations in Indonesia after the 2004 St. Stephen's Day tsunami. Joined NAVSPECWAR as a SWCC in 2005.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FIVE)File Name: Felton, Joseph Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: RecoilBirthplace: Vashon, Washington, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop (LRS) (Airborne), 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Environmental Health (University of Washington)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: An amateur triathlete and recreational weightlifter, his team finished the week-long Raid Gauloises adventure race held in Nepal and Tibet in 2000 among the top 10. Joined the Army in 2001. Served briefly with the now-inactive F Company, 51st Infantry (Long Range Surveillance), participated in various long range surveillance operations in northwestern Iraq in 2004 and 2005. Assigned to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's Long Range Surveillance Troop in 2007, deployed back to Iraq in 2008. In terms of sheer physical stamina, endurance, and pain tolerance, has few peers within the GIJOE team.
PLATOON CHIEF (PHYSICAL SECURITY OPERATIONS PLATOON)File Name: Ferreira, Stephen A. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: BullhornBirthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 21st Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Chemical Dependency/Addiction Studies (Rhode Island College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Basic Recruit Training Course (State of Rhode Island Department of Public Safety Municipal Police Academy), Uniformed Police Training Program (FLETC), FBI Police Officer Training, LETSS Program (FBI Academy), Military Police Investigator Course, Conventional Physical Security Course, SRT Phase I Course, SRT Phase II (Marksman/Observer) Course, Protective Service Training Course, Crisis-Hostage Negotiations-Level I Course (IPTM), Crisis-Hostage Negotiations-Level II Course (IPTM), Crisis-Hostage Negotiations-Level III Course (IPTM), Law Enforcement Advanced Interviewing Training Program (FLETC), Military Police AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Fast Rope & Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, High Risk Personnel Security Course, Suicide Bomber Mitigation Training Program (FLETC), Critical Infrastructure Protection Training Program (FLETC), Law Enforcement Supervisor Leadership Training Program (FLETC), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Battle Staff NCO Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Spent 3 years as a police officer with the Providence Police Department. Joined the FBI Police in 1990, assigned to their New Haven field office, eventually joining the FBI Police SWAT team as a cover team marksman. Joined the Army in 1995. As a member of the 21st Military Police Company, deployed to Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Guard (1997-1998). Participated in security operations supporting Task Force Falcon in Kosovo, 1999. Deployed to Iraq in 2004 and again in 2006. Fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. A competitive handgun shooter in his spare time, placed third overall in the US Practical Shooting Association's 2002 Infinity US Open event and fourth overall during the 2003 Pan Am Championship. Has taught as a guest instructor for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's Tactics For Flying Armed Training Program and Law Enforcement Control Tactics Instructor Training Program.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM TWO)/NON-LETHAL D.E.W. EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Fine, Seymour P. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: Sci-FiBirthplace: Geraldine, Montana, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop (LRS) (Airborne), 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Electrical Engineering (University of Montana-Bozeman)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infrared and Electro-Optical Technology Certification (Georgia Institute of Technology), Fire Control Repairer AIT, Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Inter-service Non-lethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Started his military career in 2003 as a fire control repairer assigned to the 602nd Forward Support Company. Switched career tracks in 2005, electing to go into the infantry. Joined the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's Long Range Surveillance Troop (B Troop, 2-38 Cav) in 2007. Saw action in Ninawa governorate, northern Iraq in the fall of 2008 as part of a joint US-Iraqi reconnaissance patrol. Has received extensive specialized training in the use of non-lethal individual weapons, and is particularly proficient in the use of man-portable non-lethal directed energy (“dazzler”) devices. His consistently relaxed demeanor can sometimes be mistaken for indifference, but his calm and collected disposition in the face of potential harm has served him and his teammates well in the field time and again.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (AMPHIBIOUS RECON TEAM)/UNDERWATER COMBAT DEMOLITIONIST File Name: Forrest, Brian M. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Wet-SuitBirthplace: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: SEAL Team 8, Naval Special Warfare Group TWO (USN)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Marine Science (University of South Carolina-Columbia)
Relevant Training (partial list): Sonar Technician (Surface) "A" School, Sonar Auxiliary Maintenance and Operations Repairman Training, Basic Acoustic Analyst Training, Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training, SEAL Qualification Training, SEAL Professional Development Phase Training, SEAL Unit Level Training, SEAL Squadron Integration Training, Basic Airborne School, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Desert Environmental Survival Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Air Assault School, Tactical Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Served as a sonar technician aboard the USS Avenger (MCM-1), taking part in various joint exercises in the Pacific in late 2001. Joined NAVSPECWAR in 2003. Participated in numerous counter-terrorist actions in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2008. Engaged Somali pirates in a successful and highly-publicized high-seas hostage rescue mission in the Gulf of Aden in early 2009. Neither polite nor politic except in the most perfunctory of fashions and is considered by most teammates to be somewhat lacking in social graces, but is an astute and dedicated student of the military sciences, being well-read in both the classics and contemporary texts.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM ONE)/COMMANDO MORTAR EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Freistadt, Eric W. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Short-FuzeBirthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Mathematics, Applied Mathematics emphasis, minor in Physics (Northern Illinois University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Fire Support Specialist AIT, Air Assault School, Joint Fires Observer Course, Indirect Fire Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Infantry Mortar Leaders Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, Observer/Controller (O/C) Training Program
Miscellaneous Notes: Comes from a military family, father and grandfather both career first sergeants in the Army. Served as a fire support specialist for the 320th Field Artillery Regiment (Air Assault), seeing action as a member of an M119 howitzer battery in Iraq during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Re-classed as an indirect fire infantryman in 2004. Joined the 504th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) in 2005, deployed to Afghanistan that year with the 2nd Battalion. Received extensive informal instruction in the use and maintenance of the M6C-210 60mm lightweight commando mortar from European users in the ISAF and has honed his skills with it to a remarkable degree on joint operations with the Greek and Bulgarian contingents, operating the weapon with exceptional speed and accuracy. Assigned to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment in 2008, where he put his experience with the commando mortar to practical use in JRTC OPFOR exercises as a member of the former Eastern Bloc-modeled “Republic of Acadia” Army. Has gained some notoriety for being a somewhat irascible perfectionist, no doubt a result of his stern military family upbringing, although not to the extent that his behavioral quirks become operational or interpersonal detriments.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM TWO)/NON-LETHAL D.E.W. EXPERT OPERATORFile Name: Gambello, Anthony S. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: FlashBirthplace: Lodi, California, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: F Company (Pathfinder), 2nd Battalion (Assault), 10th Aviation Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Electrical/Electronics Engineering (California State University-Chico)
Relevant Training (partial list): CBRN Specialist AIT; Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Reconnaissance Course; Technical Escort Course, Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Inter-service Non-lethal Individual Weapons Instructor Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Served his initial term of service in the Army as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) specialist with the 44 th Chemical Company. Conducted CBRN reconnaissance operations as part of the 2nd Chemical Battalion's contribution to the V Corps contingent during the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Re-classed as an infantryman in 2004, participating in combat action in Iraq as a member of the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment (Light) in late 2006. Assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's provisional Pathfinder Company in 2007. In 2008, participated in counter-smuggling operations in Diyala governorate near the Iraq-Iran border as part of the joint US-Iraqi Task Force Minuteman. Trained extensively in the use of non-lethal individual weapons, and is schooled in the basic mechanisms and the use of man-portable non-lethal directed energy (“dazzler”) devices. Methodical and persistent, has an innate and unshakeable faith in the order of the universe.
DECEPTION OPERATIONS CHIEF (ENGINEERING)File Name: Goren, Charles Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: TollboothBirthplace: Boise, Idaho, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Special Warfare Training Group (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): Bridge Crewmember AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Sapper Leaders Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC MOS Qualification Phase (SF Engineer Sergeant), SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, SF Military Free Fall Parachutist Course; Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; SF Operations and Intelligence Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Training, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Course, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, Explosive Ordnance Clearance Agent Course, Combat Lifesaver Course,Tactical Information Operations Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Was an M60A1 AVLB (Armored Vehicle-Launched Bridge) operator with the 1st Armored Division's Engineer Brigade (“Iron Sappers”), performing humanitarian demining and proofing missions, construction work, and route reconnaissance in Bosnia during the late 1990s as a member of the now-inactive 40th Engineer Battalion. Participated in route and bridge reconnaissance operations in Albania in 1999 and was part of a supporting engineer contingent that accompanied Task Force Falcon in Kosovo later that year. Went Special Forces in 2001. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2003 as a member of the 10th Special Forces Group. Participated in FID operations in Western Africa in 2006. Served on cadre, SF Engineer Sergeant School, 2007 to 2009. Fluent in Serbo-Croatian, Polish, and Russian; conversant in Czech, French, German, and Spanish.
LONG-RANGE SURVEILLANCE TEAM LEADER (L.R.S. TEAM ONE)File Name: Graves, Robert W. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: GruntBirthplace: Columbus, Ohio, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop (LRS) (Airborne), 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Industrial Engineering (Georgia Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): Fire Support Specialist AIT, Air Assault School, Airborne School, Joint Fires Observer Course, Infantryman AIT, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Light Leaders Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Began his military career as a fire support specialist with a M119 howitzer battery in the 319th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne). Fought alongside elements of the 6e Division Légère Blindée (the French Army's 6th Light Armored Division) in their push into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm/Opération Daguet. Separated from the Army in 1993 to get his engineering degree from Georgia Tech. Re-enlisted as an infantryman in 2000, assigned to the 10 th Mountain Division's 87th Infantry Regiment. Participated in missions supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Uzbekistan on two deployments between 2001 to 2004. Awarded the Army Achievement Medal (with Valor device) for his actions during Operation Anaconda (2002). Transferred to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's LRS Troop in 2006. Led a joint US/Iraqi long range surveillance patrol in northern Iraq in 2008. Conversant in French and Spanish. Married to the former Dolores “Lola” Marquez, an erstwhile US Army helicopter mechanic. Couple have one daughter, born in 1998.
EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIANFile Name: Greer, Carl W. Pay Grade: O-4Call-Sign: DocBirthplace: Concord, Massachusetts, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 772nd Forward Surgical Team, 86th Combat Support Hospital, 44th Medical Command (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Pharmaceutical Sciences (State University of New York at Buffalo), Doctor of Medicine (Harvard Medical School), Residency in Emergency Medicine
(Johns Hopkins Hospital), Emergency Medicine Service Fellowship (Brooke Army Medical Center/University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio)
Relevant Training (partial list): Direct Commissioned Officer Course, Officer Basic Leadership Course, AMEDD Officer Basic Leadership Course, Field Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties Course, Medical NBC Readiness Workshop, Joint Special Operations Medical Officer's Orientation Course, Advanced Topics on Medical Defense Against Biological and Chemical Agents Course, Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation Course, AMEDD Captain's Career Course, Joint Special Operations Medical Officer's Orientation Course, Joint Humanitarian Operations Course, Basic Airborne School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Entered the Army in 1996 after completing his residency in emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Deployed to Kosovo as a member of the 86th Combat Support Hospital's contribution to Task Force Medical Falcon in 2001. Spent time as an assistant medical director for the US Army EMS and a Health Care Specialist AIT instructor as part of his emergency medicine service fellowship training at the Brooke Army Medical Center. Served as an emergency physician at the LSA Adder Level III hospital facility in Iraq from 2004 to 2006. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 as a member of a field surgical team assigned to Forward Operating Base Fenty. Conversant in French, Spanish, Swahili, and Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects). Research interests include disaster medicine, trauma informatics, and damage control resuscitation.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FOUR)/N.S.T.V. EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Guderian, Sherman R. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Heavy MetalBirthplace: New York City, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop, 1st Squadron (RSTA) (Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Accounting (Borough of Manhattan Community College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Financial Management Technician AIT, Cavalry Scout AIT, Javelin Gunnery Course, Basic Airborne School, Anti-Armor Leaders Course, Bradley Master Gunner Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, Air Assault School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Anti-terrorism Evasive Driving-Staff Driver Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Spent his formative years living in the Gowanus low-income housing housing projects in Brooklyn, the son of Polish immigrants, father a roofer, mother a garment industry factory worker. Raised to aspire to more than the hardscrabble working-class existence of his parents, originally viewed the Army as a route by which he could reach his ultimate goal to become a CPA. Started his military career as a financial management technician, but transferred to a cavalry scout career path three years into his first term of service. Served as a Bradley M2A3 crewman as a member of the 7 th Cavalry Regiment's 1st Squadron during the 1st Cavalry Division's 5th Brigade Combat Team's deployment to Iraq in 2004, seeing heavy fighting in and around Baghdad. Re-assigned to 1st Squadron (RSTA-Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment in 2006. Participated in route reconnaissance and security missions in support of 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team operations in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008.
TACTICAL ENTRY SPECIALIST (H.V.T. TRACKER TEAM ONE)File Name: Hanrahan, Timothy P. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: BlowtorchBirthplace: Tampa, Florida, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 814th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge), 46th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Heavy) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Industrial Management Technology (Palm Beach Community College), BAS in Supervision and Management (Palm Beach Community College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Welding Technology Certification (Palm Beach Community College), Metal Worker AIT, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Sapper Leaders Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A professional metal worker before joining the Army, established himself in the Florida custom motorcycle community as one of its preeminent fabricators, having had a hand in the design and construction of various Daytona Beach Bike Week custom motorcycle competition winners during the late 1990s. Enlisted in the Army in 2001 at the height of his status as something of regional motorcycle culture celebrity, a move that surprised more than a few peers and fans. Deployed to Iraq in 2004 as a member of the 814 th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge). Took part in the Battle of Al Qa'im (2005) in Al Anbar governorate near the Iraqi-Syrian border, fighting alongside elements of the 25th Marine Regiment against Fedayeen Saddam irregulars and associated insurgents. Participated in construction and engineer support operations in and around Camp Ramadi throughout 2007 and 2008.
AIR LIAISON OFFICERFile Name: Hardy, William S. Pay Grade: W-3Call-Sign: Wild BillBirthplace: Brady, Texas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop, 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Attack Reconnaissance) (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BS in Mechanical Engineering (Texas Tech University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Pathfinder School, SERE Level-C Training, Helicopter Ditching and Dunker Training, Warrant Officer Flight Training Program, OH-58D Pilot Qualification, UH-60A/L/M Pilot Qualification, Aircraft Survivability Equipment/Electronic Warfare Officer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Aviation Warrant Officer Advanced Course, C-23 Pilot Qualification, Air Operations Staff Course (USAF Air-Ground School), Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Air Liaison Officer Qualification Course, NATO Air Integration and Planning Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Started his military career as an infantryman with the 87th Infantry Battalion (Light), seeing action in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. Served a tour in the Sinai peninsula as part of the USBATT Contingent of the MFO in 1995. Separated from the service in 1996 and went on to earn his engineering degree from Texas Tech. Re-enlisted and entered Warrant Office Candidate School, 2001. Flew OH-58D Kiowa Warrior observation/scout helicopters on armed reconnaissance missions over Salah ad-Din governorate in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2004 to 2007. Conversant in Spanish. Amiable and slow-talking, fancies himself a country-western singer. As a somewhat curious affectation, carries a pearl-handled, vintage, single-action Colt revolver as a personal sidearm; not beyond spinning a tall tale or two for the amusement of his comrades.
HUMAN (RESOURCES) INTELLIGENCE TECHNICAL OFFICER (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Hart-Burnett, Alison R. Pay Grade: W-2Call-Sign: Lady JayeBirthplace: Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Linguistics (Bryn Mawr College), P.Grad.Dip. in Speech and Language Processing (Trinity College-Dublin), AA in Dari (Defense Language Institute
Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Human Intelligence Collector AIT, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Basic Airborne School, Jumpmaster Course (Static-Line), Air Assault School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Warrant Officer Candidate School, HUMINT Technician Warrant Officer Basic Course, Responsible Officers Course/Level II Anti-terrorism Officer Training, NATO Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO Advanced Intel Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Studied linguistics at Bryn Mawr and did postgraduate studies in speech and language processing at Trinity College in Dublin. Enlisted in the Army in 1999. Initially assigned to the 201st Military Intelligence Battalion, participated in HUMINT operations in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2003. Received her warrant officer's appointment in 2005. Assigned to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion in 2007, sent to Iraq on a twelve month deployment in 2008. An accomplished actor before joining the military, credits include roles in off-Broadway stage productions and voice work for various cartoons and video games. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Gulf Arabic, Iraqi, and Levantine), French, German, Hebrew, Irish (Gaeilge), Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects), and Spanish; conversant in Portuguese. Can easily pass for a native in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, France, Germany, and any number of Spanish-speaking countries.
SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISER (RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENT)File Name: Hauser, Conrad G. Pay Grade: E-8 (1SG)Call-Sign: DukeBirthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BA in Sociocultural Anthropology (Columbia University in the City of New York), AA in Tagalog (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Air Assault School, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC MOS Qualification Phase (SF Weapons Sergeant), SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, SF Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Combat Diver Qualification Course; Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; SF Operations and Intelligence Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Training, Jungle Skills Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Course, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU), ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Already fluent in French and German when he joined the Army in 1990, father originally from Brandenburg state in Germany, mother a French expatriate. Stationed in South Korea as a soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment from 1992 to 1996, participated in numerous patrols in the Korean Demilitarized Zone alongside future GIJOE operatives Dashiell Fairborn (call-sign: Flint) and Marvin Hinton (call-sign: Roadblock). Went Special Forces in 1997. Took part in demining operations in Cambodia and Vietnam in 1999. Helped in evacuation and relief efforts in the Philippines after the 2000 Mt. Mayon volcanic eruption. Led a Combat Advisory Team in support of JSOTF-P operations targeting the Abu Sayyaf paramilitary organization and various organized bandit groups in the Bangsamoro region between 2002 and 2007. Went on a six-month rotational deployment to Afghanistan in 2008. Besides French and German, also fluent in Korean, Malay/Indonesian, and Tagalog; conversant in Japanese, Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect), Khmer (Phnom Penh dialect), Tausūg, and Vietnamese. A quintessential “first shirt”, a firm believer in martial discipline but is not beyond displaying empathy when a situation calls for it.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM THREE)/COVER MAN File Name: Hinton, Marvin F. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: RoadblockBirthplace: Biloxi, Mississippi, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Regimental Reconnaissance Company, Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: Superior Diploma (Ecole Ritz Escoffier)
Relevant Training (partial list): Food Service Operations Specialist AIT, Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Anti-Armor Leaders Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Ranger School, Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Was working as a nightclub bouncer and short-order cook to raise money to attend the Ritz Escoffier culinary school in France when a recruiter convinced him that the Army could train him just as well to be a professional chef. Joined the service in 1994 as a food service operations specialist but transferred to the infantry after finding Army menus and preparation techniques too appalling. Re-assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment in 1995, served briefly alongside future GIJOE operatives Dashiell Fairborn (call-sign: Flint) and Conrad Hauser (call-sign: Duke) in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Separated from the service in 1998 and was finally able to attend Ecole Ritz Escoffier a year later. Started a restaurant in Los Angeles in 2000 but despite glowing reviews from print and TV food critics, the business struggled to establish a loyal clientele and closed after only three years of operation. Re-enlisted in 2003, assigned to E Company (LRS) (Airborne) of the now-inactive 313th Military Intelligence Battalion. Deployed to Iraq in 2005, taking part in operations to provide a secure environment for the country's elections. Joined the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2006 with E Company's inactivation, participated in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan throughout 2007 and 2008. Fluent in French, conversant in Spanish.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM THREE)/JUNGLE SURVIVAL S.M.E.File Name: Iannotti, William V. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: PathfinderBirthplace: Key West, Florida, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: F Company (Pathfinder), 2nd Battalion (Assault), 82nd Aviation Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BS in Environmental Studies (Florida International University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Jungle Skills Course, Jungle Endurance Course, SERE Level-C Training, Joint Fires Observer Course, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Pathfinder School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Raised in a single-parent household, father a charter boat operator and a founding member of the “Conch Republic Army”. Worked part-time in high school as a tour guide. Began his military career with the 173rd Airborne Brigade's 503rd Infantry Regiment, patrolling the Korean Demilitarized Zone from 2001 to 2003. Received cross-training in jungle warfare at the Camp Gonsalves Marine Corps Jungle Warfare Training Center. Re-assigned to E Company (LRS) (Airborne), 313th Military Intelligence Battalion in 2004. Participated in surveillance and armed reconnaissance missions in Iraq in support of the 82nd Airborne Division in 2005. With the 313th Military Intelligence Battalion's inactivation in 2006, transferred to the 82nd Aviation Regiment's Pathfinder Company along with many of his former LRS comrades. Returned to Iraq in late 2006 on a six-month tour. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2007. Fluent in Spanish, conversant in French, Haitian Creole, and Portuguese. Inherited his father's quirky sense of humor and fierce spirit of individualism, and still celebrates the Conch Republic's Independence Day every April 23rd whenever he can with a seafood barbecue dinner.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM TWO)/N.S.T.V. EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Indiana, Elwood G. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: CrankcaseBirthplace: Lawrence, Kansas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Troop, 1st Squadron (RSTA-Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BSB in Business Administration, Entrepreneurship concentration (University of Kansas)
Relevant Training (partial list): Cavalry Scout AIT, Basic Airborne School, Anti-terrorism Evasive Driving-Staff Driver Course, Ranger School, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: An accomplished amateur mechanic and street racing legend by the time he graduated from high school. Toiled in the IMCA stock car racing circuit for five years looking to break into NASCAR. With a professional racing career at a virtual standstill, sought another outlet for his competitive drive and not-inconsiderable talents. Enlisted in the Army in 2002. As a member of the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, deployed to Iraq in 2004. Participated in security and stability operations conducted from Forward Operating Base Mackenzie near the city of Ad Duluiyah. Battled alongside elements of the the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division during operations in the city of Samarra in late 2004. With the 1-4 Cav's inactivation in 2006 and its subsequent re-flagging, re-assigned to the 1st Squadron (RSTA-Airborne), 91st Cavalry Regiment. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 as part of the US military contribution to the ISAF.
VISUAL TRACKER (H.V.T. TRACKER TEAM TWO)/DESERT SURVIVAL S.M.E. File Name: Iron-Knife, Charles Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: SpiritBirthplace: Taos, New Mexico, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Troop (LRS) (Airborne), 2nd Battalion, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Psychology (University of New Mexico)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Jungle Warfare Course (Fort Sherman JOTC), Ranger School; Substance Abuse Studies Certification, Licensure Track (University of New Mexico), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, Assault Climber Summer Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Grew up in a low-income household in a particularly impoverished section of a town where almost a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. Worked as a hunting guide throughout high school. Enlisted in the Army at the age of 18. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Infantry Regiment (Airborne) in 1994. Participated in Operation Jungle Warrior (1997) in Panama. Separated from the service in 1999, earned his degree in psychology from the University of New Mexico in 2003. Served as a guest lecturer and subject matter expert for the FLETC Artesia Facility's Backcountry Tactics and Tracking Training Program in 2004. Worked briefly for the Taos Department of Veteran Services after receiving his substance abuse counseling license. Re-enlisted in 2006. Assigned to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's Long Range Surveillance Troop in 2007, deployed to Iraq in 2008. Was instrumental in the successful capture of insurgents wanted for the deliberate contamination of Coalition water supplies in a joint US-Iraqi manhunt operation conducted in early 2009 in Ninawa governorate. Fluent in Apache (Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, and Mescalero dialects), Hopi, Navajo, Taos, and Spanish; conversant in Jemez (Towa), Picurís, and Zuni.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (MOUNTAIN RECON TEAM)/SURREPTITIOUS ENTRY SPECIALISTFile Name: Ito, MacArthur S. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Quick-KickBirthplace: Los Angeles, California, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Film and Television (University of California-Los Angeles)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, Assault Climber Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 1 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 2 Instructor Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: The only child of immigrant parents, Okinawa-born father and Incheon-born mother owned a convenience store in Watts. Had difficulty finding social acceptance in both the nisei and the hangukgye migugin communities because of his mixed ancestry and the long-standing historical divide between the Japanese and the Koreans. Excelled in high school basketball but was ostensibly unrecruited going into college despite displaying freakish athleticism (obtained copies of college scouting reports cite his lack of height as the overriding concern of college coaches and basketball scouts). Turned his attention to the Asian martial arts. Is an adept practitioner of Kukkiwon taekwondo, Seigokan Gōjū-ryū karate, Ryūkyū kobujutsū, wing chun (Yip Man branch), Chow Gar school nán pài táng láng (Southern Praying Mantis), and Yang-style tai chi chuan. Worked as a stuntman and motion-capture actor before joining the Army in 2001. Assigned to the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion's Long Range Surveillance Detachment in 2002. Participated in surveillance operations in Iraq in support of elements of the 101st Airborne Division throughout 2003 and into 2004. After the 311th Military Intelligence Battalion's inactivation in 2006, transferred to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment. Has participated in numerous JRTC OPFOR exercises as a member of various “Leesville Urban Group” terrorist cells and “Republic of Acadia” special weapons and special purpose units. Fluent in Japanese and Korean, conversant in Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect), Okinawan, and Spanish.
U.A.V. GROUND CONTROL STATION LEADER/U.A.V. PILOTFile Name: Jeffries, Jonas S. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: GhostriderBirthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 3rd Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing, 27th Special Operations Group (USAF)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Aerospace Engineering (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), MS in Aeronautical Engineering (Air Force Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): AFROTC General Military and Professional Officer Courses, Air and Space Basic Course, Initial Flight Screening, USAF Specialized Undergraduate Training, Transitional and Operational Flight Training (AC-130H Spectre/AC-130U Spooky), USAF Weapons School (AC-130H Spectre/AC-130U Spooky), Air Liaison Officer Qualification Course, Flight Commander Course, Organizational Leadership Course, Expeditionary Leadership Course, Squadron Officer School, Mission Commander's Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, USAF Weapons School (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU)
Miscellaneous Notes: Assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron (“The Ghostriders”) after completing his AC-130U Spooky qualification. Flew close air support, air interdiction, and force protection missions over Afghanistan in 2002 and Iraq from 2003 to 2006. Entered UAV pilot training and re-assigned to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron in 2007. Operated MQ-9 Reaper UAVs on armed reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan throughout 2008. Obliging and good humored in his personal interactions but generally eschews the attention and recognition often accorded to pilots, in sharp contrast to his more socially inclined aviator peers in GIJOE's UAV platoon.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (MOUNTAIN RECON TEAM)/M.A.A.W.S. EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Katzenbogen, David L. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: BazookaBirthplace: Hibbing, Minnesota, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Kinesiology, Athletic Training option (California State University-Fresno)
Miscellaneous Notes: Was a running back in college, an athletic standout on an overachieving 2000 Fresno State Bulldogs football team that compiled a respectable 7-5 record despite injuries to key members of the roster. Went undrafted in the 2001 NFL draft. Briefly considered a career in the CFL but opted to enlist in the Army instead. Started his career as a cavalry scout with the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, serving as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle crewman in Iraq throughout 2004 and into 2005. Re-classed as an infantryman with the 1-4 Cav's inactivation in 2006. Joined the 75th Ranger Regiment after graduating from infantryman AIT. Participated in operations in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008. A decisive fast-thinker with all the instincts of a natural survivor. Extremely proficient in the use of the 84mm M3 Multi-role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapon System (MAAWS)/Ranger Anti-tank Weapon System (RAWS).
FIRE & EXPLOSION INVESTIGATOR (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Kelly, Gabriel A. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: BarbecueBirthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Fire and Emergency Services Division, Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Bragg (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AS in Fire Protection and Safety Technology (North Shore Community College), BS in Fire Science Administration (Salem State College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Firefighter AIT, Airport Rescue Fire Fighting Truck Operator Certification, Pumper Operator Certification, Fire Protection Apprentice Course, Rescue Technician I Course, Rescue Technician II Course, Air Assault School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Fire Instructor I Course, Fire Officer I Course, Fire Inspector I Course, Fire Inspector II Course, Fire Officer II Course, HAZMAT Incident Commander Course; Fire, Arson and Explosion Investigation Training Program (NAFI); Advanced Fire, Arson and Explosion Investigation Training Program (NAFI); Wildland Fire Origin and Cause Determination Program (FLETC), Wildland Fire Investigation Case Development Program (FLETC), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course
Miscellaneous Notes: The seventh Kelly in his direct ancestral line to become a firefighter, although the first to be employed as a professional firefighter outside of Massachusetts (a Fergus Kelly is listed as one of the founding members of the first Boston Fire Department, formally organized in 1859). Joined the Army in 2002 with three years of firefighting experience with the Boston Fire Department already under his belt. Served as an aircraft crash/fire/rescue specialist at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. Returned to the US in early 2006 and assigned to Fort Bragg's Directorate of Emergency Services, received Fire and Explosion Investigator National Board certification later that year. Lent his expertise to civilian fire departments in the Cumberland County area throughout his assignment to Fort Bragg and has also served as an expert witness for the prosecution in a number of arson-related trials in the state of North Carolina, including a particularly high profile 2008 murder case involving military personnel.
TRANSMISSION OPERATIONS CHIEF (RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENT)File Name: Kibbey, Alvin R. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: BreakerBirthplace: Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BS in Electrical Engineering (University of Memphis), Advanced Study Program Fellowship in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Professional Education), AA in Farsi (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Pathfinder School, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC MOS Qualification Phase (SF Communications Sergeant), SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training, SF Military Free Fall Parachutist Course; Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; SF Operations and Intelligence Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, White House Communications Agency Console Control Operations Course, Special Operations Terminal Air Control Course, Battlefield Spectrum Management Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, Tactical Information Operations Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Enlisted in the Army in 1995 an outspokenly idealistic recent college graduate. Quickly disabused of any romanticized notions of war after witnessing firsthand the atrocities committed by the principal belligerents in Bosnia while conducting security and peacekeeping operations in 1996 and 1997 as a member of the 2nd Infantry Regiment's 2nd Battalion. Participated in operations enforcing UN Security Council Resolution 1244, calling for the demilitarization of the Kosovo Liberation Army, in 1999. Went Special Forces in 2003. Has since participated in numerous missions supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, most notably in Georgia and Uzbekistan. Efficient and self-assured, confident in his ability to turn any adverse situation into an advantage with the proper application of knowledge and reason. Fluent in Albanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Persian (Dari, Farsi, and Tajiki dialects), and Uzbek; conversant in Georgian, German, and Macedonian.
U.A.V. LAUNCH & RECOVERY TEAM LEADER/U.A.V. PILOTFile Name: King, James R. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: DogfightBirthplace: Providence, Rhode Island, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 3rd Special Operations Squadron, 27th Special Operations Wing, 27th Special Operations Group (USAF)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Aerospace Engineering (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach), MS in Technology, Aviation Emphasis (Purdue University)
Relevant Training (partial list): AFROTC General Military and Professional Officer Courses, Air and Space Basic Course, Initial Flight Screening, USAF Specialized Undergraduate Training, Transitional and Operational Flight Training (A-10 Thunderbolt II), USAF Weapons School (A-10 Thunderbolt II), Air Liaison Officer Qualification Course, Flight Commander Course, Organizational Leadership Course, Introduction to Special Operations Course, USAF Weapons School (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), Expeditionary Leadership Course, Squadron Officer School, Joint Special Operations Warfighter Certification (JSOU)
Miscellaneous Notes: Received the Order of Daedalians Orville Wright Achievement Award for his outstanding performance during undergraduate pilot training. Assigned to the Germany-based 81st Fighter Squadron in 2002. Flew A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from Bagram Air Base on ground attack sorties in deployments to Afghanistan in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Entered UAV pilot training and re-assigned to the 3rd Special Operations Squadron in 2007. Operated MQ-9 Reaper UAVs on armed reconnaissance missions over Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008 and served as a technical adviser to the Turkish Air Force's Gnat-750 and I-Gnat UAV operator training program later that year.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM THREE)File Name: King, Owen Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Sneak PeekBirthplace: Bangor, Maine, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Regimental Reconnaissance Company, Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in English (Vassar College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Ranger Assessment and Screening Program, Combat Lifesaver Course, Joint Firepower Course, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Patrol Course (International Special Training Centre), Rappel Master Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Decided to forgo a career in popular literature and enlisted in the Army in 2002. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment stationed in Germany. Participated in numerous training exercises with American and European combat units deploying to the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan as part of the 1-4 Infantry's OPFOR mission. Helped train Greek internal security forces in the lead-up to the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Deployed to Afghanistan with other elements of the Battalion to reinforce ISAF during the country's national elections, participating in security and force protection missions, including an armed reconnaissance patrol that extended into the mountainous region of Zabul province. Joined the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2006. Returned to Afghanistan in 2008 as a member of the Regimental Reconnaissance Company, conducting special reconnaissance missions in support of elements of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Afghanistan (CJSOTF-A). Stories of his feats of endurance in the battlefield (both factual and apocryphal) have elevated his status to that of a legend in the 75th Ranger Regiment's Special Troops Battalion.
WHEEL VEHICLE MAINTENANCE SUPERVISORFile Name: Krieger, Courtney A. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Cover GirlBirthplace: Peoria, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 29th Brigade Support Company, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Marketing/Sales and Retail Management (Illinois Central College)
Miscellaneous Notes: Employed as a print and runway fashion model by the Ford Models agency's New York office prior to enlistment. A growing disillusionment with modeling and the emotional impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center (not far from where she lived and worked) convinced her to put new direction in her life. Joined the Army in 2002. Initially assigned to the 6 th Transportation Battalion, transferred to the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's 29th Brigade Support Company in 2006. Finds that she must work against stereotypical notions about beauty to prove herself to the less progressively-minded. Compelled to learn and master conventionally “unfeminine” disciplines.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FOUR)/JUNGLE SURVIVAL S.M.E. File Name: LaFitte, Etienne R. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: Gung-HoBirthplace: Bayou Gauche, Louisiana, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Force Reconnaissance Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Construction Technology (Delgado Community College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Marine Rifleman Course, Basic Reconnaissance Course, Combatant Diver Course, Basic Airborne School, Remote Sensor Operator Training, Infantry Squad Leader's Course, MEU(SOC) Certification Joint Training, RUTEX Training, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Desert Operations Course, Fast Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, Jungle Skills Course, Jungle Endurance Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Advanced Personnel Administration Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Born into a large Cajun clan. Moved to New Orleans at the age of 16 where he supported himself by working in construction. Accused of multiple misdemeanor counts of assault and battery in a 1993 police investigation of unlicensed bare-knuckle boxing matches and knife fighting exhibitions held in the city's 9th Ward, but the accusations did not proceed to formal charges or citations owing to a lack of evidence. Spent 1994 completing his GED requirements and earning college credits. Enlisted in the Marines in 1995. Initially assigned to the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Took part in maritime interdiction operations in the Persian Gulf supporting Operation Southern Watch (1997), was a member of a number of VBSS teams that successfully boarded merchant vessels in violation of UN sanctions against Iraq. Served in operations protecting and evacuating American and third-country nationals caught in the Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998). Joined the 1st Force Recon Company in 1999. Went to East Timor in 2000, conducted ground and amphibious reconnaissance operations in support of INTERFET units. Deployed to Iraq with the rest of 1st Force Recon in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. With the 1st Force Recon's deactivation in 2006, re-assigned to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion's Force Reconnaissance Company. Participated in counter-smuggling and counterinsurgency operations in Al Anbar governorate throughout 2005 and 2006. Fluent in French (Cajun dialect) and Louisiana Creole, conversant in Spanish.
AMBULANCE TEAM CHIEFFile Name: Larivee, Thomas J. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: StretcherBirthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Independent Duty Corpsman (USN) attached to B Company, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: AS in Paramedic Studies (Capital Community College), AS in Respiratory Care (Manchester Community College), BS in Health Science (Goodwin College)
Relevant Training (partial list): EMT Training (Capital Community College), EMT-Paramedic Certification (Capital Community College), Hospital Corpsman "A" School, Field Medical Service Technician Training, Search and Rescue Medical Technician Training, Basic Reconnaissance Course, Combatant Diver Course, Special Operations Combat Medic Course, Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman Diving Medicine Training, Basic Airborne School, CBRE Clinicians Course, Anti-terrorism Evasive Driving-Staff Driver Course, Independent Duty Corpsman School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Navy in 1993 after a brief stint as a paramedic with the Hartford Hospital's LIFE STAR Air Medical Transportation Service. Deployed to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba aboard the USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) in 1994, helped provide afloat and ashore medical and surgical support to American and allied forces taking part in Operation Uphold Democracy as well as Haitian citizens in need of emergency medical and surgical attention. Became a Fleet Marine Force Reconnaissance Corpsman in 1995. Deployed to the Balkans in 1996 as an attached member of the USMC's 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, engaged in supporting operations enforcing the conditions of the Dayton Peace Accords alongside joint NATO forces. Took part in Operation Dynamic Response exercises in Kosovo (2000) and Albania (2001). Has served on deployments to Iraq (2003, 2004, and 2005) and Afghanistan (2008) as a Fleet Marine Force Reconnaissance Independent Duty Corpsman. A recreational powerlifter in his spare time, has competed in numerous amateur deadlift and squat events in the 90 kg weight class.
DETECTION/TRACKING DOG HANDLER (H.V.T. TRACKING TEAM ONE)File Name: Lavigne, Christopher M. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: LawBirthplace: Houston, Texas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 21st Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement (San Jacinto College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Basic Police Training (Houston Police Academy), Basic Narcotic Detection Course LE (CBP-CETC), Passenger Processing Course LE (CBP-CETC), Suicide Bomber Mitigation Training Program (FLETC), Backcountry Tactics and Tracking Course (FLETC), Military Police AIT, Basic Airborne School, Military Working Dog Handler Course, Combined Detector Dog Handlers Course, Air Assault School, Fast Rope & Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Military Police Investigator Course, Conventional Physical Security Course, Protective Service Training Course, High Risk Personnel Security Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Commercial Vehicle Counter-terrorism Training Program (FLETC), Critical Infrastructure Protection Training Program (FLETC)
Miscellaneous Notes: Walked a beat in Houston's notorious “Gulfton Ghetto” area. A veteran of numerous violent confrontations between police and gangs such as the Southwest Cholos and the local chapter of the Mara Salvatrucha. An expert detection dog handler, has received inter-agency cross-training in narcotics detector dog handling, passenger processing passive response detector dog handling, and backcountry fugitive tracking. Enlisted in the Army in 2004 in search of a more fulfilling professional law enforcement career. Deployed to Iraq in 2006 as a member of the 16 th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), serving throughout 2007 in the Basra governorate. Fluent in Spanish.
LONG-RANGE SURVEILLANCE TEAM LEADER (L.R.S. TEAM THREE)/JUNGLE SURVIVAL S.M.E. File Name: LeClaire, Daniel M. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: RecondoBirthplace: Wheaton, Wisconsin, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BA in Community and Environmental Sociology (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Jungle Warfare Course (Fort Sherman JOTC), Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, SFQC Individual Skills Phase, SFQC MOS Qualification Phase (SF Weapons Sergeant), SFQC Collective Training Phase, SF Functional Language Training; Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course; Operations and Intelligence Course, Advanced Special Operations Techniques Training, Combat Lifesaver Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Enlisted in 1994, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment (Light). Served a six month tour in the Sinai peninsula as a member of the USBATT Contingent of the MFO in 1995, and again in 1996. Took part in joint training exercises and security patrols in Panama in 1997. Participated in Operation Joint Forge in the Balkans in 1998, went Special Forces soon thereafter. Trained Northern Alliance fighters in Afghanistan in 2001 as a member of a 3 rd Special Forces Group detachment. Conducted counterinsurgency operations alongside ISAF units in 2002 and 2003. Participated in clandestine operations in Haiti in 2004. From 2005 up until his GIJOE selection in 2009, deployed as a technical adviser to Colombian government forces in their counter-narcotics and counterinsurgency operations against the FARC-EP and other criminal paramilitary organizations, as allowed by a mutual 2004 agreement between the US and Colombian governments which established a bilateral program to counter drug trafficking, terrorist activities, and other threats to the national security of Colombia. Fluent in French, Haitian Creole, Nheengatu (língua geral da Amazônia), Portuguese, and Spanish; conversant in Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects), Malay/Indonesian, and Thai.
ENGINEER EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE CLEARANCE AGENT (H.V.T. TRACKER TEAM ONE)File Name: Li, Nicholas Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Tunnel RatBirthplace: New York City, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 57th Engineer Company (Rough Terrain), 27th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Physics (Brooklyn College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Combat Engineer AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Javelin Gunnery Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Engineer Explosive Ordnance Clearance Agent Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Sapper Leaders Course, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Rappel Master Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Comes from a Trinidadian Chinese family, parents and siblings run a small but relatively successful Chinese Caribbean-themed eatery along Brooklyn's 8th Avenue. Grew up hard in the streets of New York, but was smart enough to stay out of any serious trouble. Worked part-time as a sewer and drainage maintenance worker to help pay for college. Joined the Army in 2002, assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat) (Airborne). Deployed to northern Iraq in 2003, participated in engineer operations and combat patrols in support of elements of the 101st Airborne Division. Sent to Afghanistan in 2006 on a year-long deployment to provide combat engineering support to CJSOTF-A and ISAF units. Engaged Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters and various armed smugglers in numerous operations to clear mountain dugouts and other man-made underground structures being used by insurgents and other criminal elements in the provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar. Fluent in Cantonese/Yue (Standard dialect) and Trinidadian Creole English, conversant in Bhojpuri (Caribbean Hindustani dialect), Spanish, and Tobagonian Creole English.
RECON TEAM LEADER (AMPHIBIOUS RECON TEAM)/UNDERWATER COMBAT DEMOLITIONISTFile Name: Leialoha, Edward W. Pay Grade: W-3Call-Sign: TorpedoBirthplace: Aiea, Hawaii, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: SEAL Team 1, Naval Special Warfare Group ONE (USN)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Zoology (University of Hawaii-Manoa), AA in Indonesian (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Torpedoman's Mate "A" School, Very Shallow Water Mine Countermeasures (VSWMCM) Operator Training, Basic Swimming and Water Survival Instructor Course, Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training, SEAL Qualification Training, SEAL Professional Development Phase Training, SEAL Unit Level Training, SEAL Squadron Integration Training, Basic Airborne School, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Air Assault School, Tactical Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Desert Environmental Survival Course, Jungle Skills Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Chief Warrant Officer Program, Joint Special Operations Irregular Warfare Advanced Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A scuba diving instructor before joining the Navy in 1989. Served as a torpedoman's mate aboard the USS Curts (FFG-38) from 1990 to 1994. Saw action in Operations Desert Storm and Fiery Vigil in 1991. Participated in joint exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in 1993. Joined NAVSPECWAR in 1995. Went on joint training exercises with Indonesian and Malaysian combat diver units between 1996 and 1998. Was part of Task Force K-Bar, one of the first joint special operations teams to enter Afghanistan in late 2001 after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Served on a JSOTF-P Combat Advisory Team conducting FID operations targeting Abu Sayyaf insurgents in the Southern Philippines throughout 2004 and into 2005. Received his warrant officer's commission in 2006. Returned to Afghanistan in 2007 to conduct missions alongside ISAF special operations forces. Fluent in Hawaiian, Malay/Indonesian, and Tagalog; conversant in Min Nan (Hokkien dialect) and Japanese. A thoroughly schooled practitioner of Seigokan Gōjū-ryū karate, Shorinji kempo, and bājíquán (Eight Extremes Fist), and is an expert in the use of the balisong (Filipino butterfly knife) in combat. Strict vegetarian. Regarded by teammates as a consummate professional, but is observed by many of his peers to be somewhat detached in his personal interactions.
VISUAL TRACKER (H.V.T. TRACKER TEAM ONE)/SURREPTITIOUS ENTRY SPECIALIST File Name: Light, Robert Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: Snake-EyesBirthplace: Springfield, Minnesota, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Regimental Reconnaissance Company, Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Ecology and Field Biology, Wildlife Biology emphasis (St. Cloud State University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Pathfinder School, Ranger Assessment and Screening Program, Ranger School, Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol Course (NATO I-LRRP School Pfullendorf), Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Combat Diver Qualification Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 1 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 2 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 3 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 4 Instructor Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Army in 1993. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne). Deployed to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, where he would serve alongside and forge a friendship with future independent military contractor and COBRA Command affiliate Thomas Arashikage (alias: Storm-Shadow). Joined the 75th Ranger Regiment in 1997. Deployed to Kosovo in 2000 as part of a Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment Team that included Arashikage and future GIJOE member Lonzo Wilkinson (call-sign: Stalker). Deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Rhino (2001). Survived a helicopter crash that killed two fellow Rangers while on standby for CSAR, but the accident left him with severe facial scarring and partially paralyzed vocal cords despite the best efforts of Army plastic surgeons and speech therapists. Placed on the Temporary Disability Retirement List in 2002. Immediate family killed in a vehicular accident later that same year. Spent the ensuing period in Japan studying Arashikage-ryū bujutsū with Thomas Arashikage's clan. Returned to active duty (with assignment limitations owing to his vocal impairment) in 2007. Returned to Afghanistan in 2008, engaging Taliban fighters in the country's northeast alongside ISAF special operations forces. Fluent in American Sign Language and Japanese. Besides Arashikage-ryū bujutsū, also schooled in the Kodokan judo, Lacoste-Inosanto kali, muay thai, Seigokan Gōjū-ryū karate, and Toyama-ryū battōjutsū martial arts.
SUPPORT & SUSTAINMENT ELEMENT LEADERFile Name: Lydon, Terrence Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: Grid-IronBirthplace: Evergreen Park, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company, 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BS in Kinesiology (United States Military Academy), Master of Business Administration (Webster University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantry Officer Basic Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Airborne School, Ranger School, Maneuver Captain's Career Course, Infantry Mortar Platoon Leaders Course, Sniper Employment Leaders Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 1 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 2 Instructor Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 3 Instructor Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Modern Army Combatives Level 4 Instructor Course, Security Assistance Management CONUS Course (DISAM)
Miscellaneous Notes: Played quarterback for the US Army Black Knights football team. Graduated from West Point in the top ten of his class in 2002. Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment (Airborne). Fought alongside elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) against conventional loyalist troops and Fedayeen Saddam irregulars as part of a special operations task force conducting an airborne assault on Saddam International Airport in Baghdad during the opening stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003). Served as B Company executive officer from 2004 to early 2006. Saw combat action in Iraq, engaging heavily entrenched insurgents in Baghdad, Mosul, and Tal Afar. Re-assigned to 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment shortly after his return from his second overseas deployment. Besides serving as company commander for the battalion's A Company, also taught as a senior instructor at the Fort Benning-based US Army Combatives School. An avid mixed martial arts enthusiast, has trained extensively in Greco-Roman wrestling, muay thai, American kickboxing, and Gracie Barra jiu-jitsu. Outgoing and gregarious almost to a fault.
COMMAND COMMUNICATIONS-ELECTRONICS OFFICERFile Name: Martell, Jane A. Pay Grade: GS-14Call-Sign: GI JaneBirthplace: Cumberland, Rhode Island, USAEmployer prior to GIJOE selection: Command and Control Systems and Software Division, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.Post-Secondary Education: BS in Nursing (Salve Regina University), BS in Electrical Engineering (University of Denver), MS in Electrical Engineering (California Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (Partial List): Officer Indoctrination School, Security Overseas Seminar (Foreign Service Institute Transition Center), Information Security Orientation (DSSA), OPSEC Fundamentals Course (DSSA), Department of Defense Information Assurance Awareness Course (DSSA)
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Navy in 1982 after graduating from the Salve Regina University with a nursing degree. Assigned to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. After a whirlwind romance, married future GIJOE director Joseph Colton (call sign: Eagle-Eye) in 1983, spent the rest of the year on maternity leave. Separated from the service in 1989 and moved with the couple's six year-old son, Joseph, Jr., to Denver to be close to Colton's posting at Fort Carson. Found herself disinterested in a civilian nursing career and unwilling to become a full-time homemaker, enrolled in the University of Denver's electrical engineering program. Graduated magna cum laude in 1995. Worked for local telecommunications provider Diversified Group before joining the fledgling New York-based L-3 Communications company in 1997. Served as team lead and field test technical adviser for a number of classified ISR systems and secure communications projects contracted by the Department of Defense. Son killed during the Battle of Nasiriyah in Iraq in 2003 while serving as a soldier in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Divorced amicably from Colton in 2004. Left L-3 Communications in 2007 to earn her master's degree from CalTech.
LEAD SCOUT-SNIPER/SPOTTER (S.T.A. SNIPER TEAM)File Name: McBride, Cooper G. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Low-LightBirthplace: Crosby, North Dakota, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology (University of North Dakota)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Pathfinder School, Sniper School, Basic Instructor Course, Small Group Instructor Course, Ranger School, Ranger Assessment and Screening Program, Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Despite an initial reluctance on his part, was taught at an early age by father in the rudiments of shooting. Introduced to varmint hunting at ten years old. Brought down his first four point buck at the age of 12. Volunteered with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department throughout high school. Joined the Army after graduating from the University of North Dakota in 2002, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment (Light). Deployed to Afghanistan's Paktika province in 2003 for Operation Enduring Freedom. Conducted combat operations against Taliban elements and humanitarian assistance operations from forward operating bases near the towns of Gardēz, Shkin, and Orgune. Returned to the US in 2004. Joined the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2005. Graduated from the Special Operations Target Inderdiction Course at the top of his class, besting much more experienced veteran Ranger and Special Forces marksmen. On cadre with the 2nd Battalion's Ranger Training Detachment throughout most of 2006. Returned to Afghanistan in 2007, conducting surveillance and target acquisition sniper operations in support of CJSOTF-A and ISAF SOF units in the country's northeastern provinces.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FIVE)/COVER MAN File Name: McConnell, Craig S. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Rock 'n' RollBirthplace: Malibu, California, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AA in Performance: Bass (Musicians Institute)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, Anti-Armor Leaders Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Ranger School, Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Enlisted in the Army in 2002. Spent his initial term of service with the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment (Light). Deployed to the Horn of Africa region in 2003 through early 2004, taking part in joint training exercises and combat patrols in support of CJTF-Horn of Africa. Received extensive familiarization training with the AK-47 assault rifle and related weapons systems in cross-training exercises with military personnel from Djibouti and Ethiopia. Spent most of the remainder of 2004 and the the first half of 2005 stationed in Baghdad, performing combat operations and security patrols to ensure the successful completion of Iraq's national elections. Participated in a number of air assault operations in the south of the Baghdad governorate. Joined the 75 th Ranger Regiment in 2006. Deployed to Afghanistan with elements of the Regiment's 3rd Battalion in 2007 to engage Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents in Nangarhar province. An amateur weightlifter and semi-professional surfer before joining the military. Won a reputation as a bass virtuoso playing for local area rock bands. Perspicacious, if somewhat naive. Outwardly easygoing, but possesses an inherent and uncompromising sense of justice and fair play.
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Pathfinder School, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Tactical Information Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Graduated from UCLA hoping to become a scenic designer. Instead, spent the next five years laboring as a freelance set carpenter. Enlisted in the Army in 2002 after the Geffen Playhouse went with a different contractor despite his two years of collaborative experience with the theater's production staff. Assigned to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment, honed his combat skills in numerous JRTC OPFOR exercises in Fort Polk against light infantry and special operations units. Deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion's B Company in 2004. Transferred to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's newly organized Long Range Surveillance Troop shortly after his return from overseas. Returned to Iraq in 2008, participating in various joint reconnaissance missions in Ninawa governorate.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM ONE)/M.A.A.W.S. EXPERT OPERATOR File Name: Melendez, Rafael J. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: ZapBirthplace: New York City, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Civil Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): Combat Engineer AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Javelin Gunnery Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Infantryman AIT, Anti-Armor Leaders Course, Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, Combat Lifesaver Course, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Rappel Master Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Comes from an upper middle-class family of Puerto Rican origin with an established tradition of civic duty and volunteerism, brother a Harlem-based attorney known for his pro bono work, sister a pediatrician with Médecins Sans Frontières. Joined the Army in 2002. Initially trained as a combat engineer, assigned to the 37th Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat). Saw combat in Northern Iraq, 2003. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, engaged Taliban and al-Qaeda forces alongside elements of the 10th Mountain Division in the eastern and southern regions of the country while also contributing to provincial reconstruction and humanitarian efforts. Re-classed as an infantryman in 2007 and joined the 75 th Ranger Regiment soon thereafter. Returned to Afghanistan in 2008 as a member of the CJSOTF-A forces operating in Kunar province. Fluent in Spanish. Has a knack for finding and exploiting the built-in weaknesses in earthen bunkers and similar structures, a skill he uses to great effect with tactical explosive devices and the M3 MAAWS.
DECEPTION OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR (AIR & MISSILE DEFENSE) File Name: Menninger, Edward J. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: BackblastBirthplace: New York City, New York, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: I Troop (Air Defense), 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Mathematics (York College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Air and Missile Defense Crewmember AIT, Basic Airborne School, Pathfinder School, Air Assault School, Stinger Fighting Vehicle Master Gunner Course Phase I, Stinger Fighting Vehicle Master Gunner Course Phase II, Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Tactical Information Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Enlisted in 2002, initially assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. Deployed to Kuwait in 2003 during the build-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom. With the rest of 3-4 ADA, sent to Iraq in 2006 in support of elements of the 82nd Airborne Division. Re-assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment's Air Defense Troop (I Troop/”Krazy Horse”) in 2008. Participated in various exercises as part of the Regiment's OPFOR mission, lending his air defense experience not only to I Troop, but also to the OPFOR Deception Force's missile decoy teams. Occasionally displays a sometimes unwelcome penchant for gallows humor, but teammates know he means no offense.
LONG-RANGE SURVEILLANCE TEAM LEADER (L.R.S. TEAM FOUR)File Name: Metzger, Wendell A. Pay Grade: E-8 (MSgt)Call-Sign: LeatherneckBirthplace: Stromsburg, Nebraska, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Reconnaissance Training Company, Advanced Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry (West) (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: BA in History (University of Nebraska)
Relevant Training (partial list): Marine Rifleman Course, Basic Reconnaissance Course, Combatant Diver Course, Basic Airborne School, Infantry Squad Leader's Course, MEU(SOC) Certification Joint Training, Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol Course (NATO I-LRRP School Pfullendorf), Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope Suspension Technician Certification and Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course, Military Free Fall Parachutist Course, Desert Operations Course, Marine Combat Instructor Course, Drill Instructor School, Advanced Personnel Administration Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Senior NCO Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Marines in 1991, assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Took part in security missions protecting ethnic Kurds in Northern Iraq from government reprisals in the wake of Operation Desert Storm throughout 1992. Deployed to the Balkans in support of Operation Deny Flight and Operation Provide Promise (1994). Supported IFOR units in Bosnia throughout 1996. Joined the 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company in 1998. Participated in joint training programs in Germany, Egypt, and Israel in 1998, including an extended exercise with the elite Fernspählehrkompanie 200 at the NATO I-LRRP School in Pfullendorf. Was a member of a Marine detachment charged with protecting American nationals in Albania later that same year. Deployed to Iraq in 2003 during the beginning stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Returned to Iraq in 2004, and again in 2005, providing deep reconnaissance support to conventional and special operations forces. With 2nd Force Recon's deactivation in 2006, re-assigned to the School of Infantry (West) as an instructor in the Reconnaissance Training Company. Conversant in German. Brutally honest, holds no qualms about being seen as uncouth and opinionated. Has no patience with those he considers indecisive, lazy, and dishonest. Not terribly popular with his GIJOE teammates, but someone they trust and respect on and off the field.
COMMAND INTELLIGENCE OFFICERFile Name: Mewett, Clifford V. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: CourageBirthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Expeditionary Support Branch, Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (USMC)Post-Secondary Education: BA in International Relations (Boston University), MS in Information Operations-Joint Information Operations Curriculum (Naval Postgraduate School), AA in
Arabic (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Marine Rifleman Course, Machine Gunner Course, Machine Gun Leaders Course, Infantry Squad Leader's Course, MEU(SOC) Certification Joint Training, Officer Candidates School, The Basic School, MAGTF Intelligence Officer Course, Counterintelligence Officer Course, Advanced Counterintelligence Course, Multi-Discipline Counterintelligence Analysis Course, Counter-terrorism Analyst Course, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Special Operations Forces Interagency Collaboration Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Advanced Intel Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the service in 1991 straight out of out of high school. Started his military career as an enlisted rifleman, assigned to the 15 th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Participated in humanitarian relief distribution and convoy escort missions in Somalia during Operation Restore Hope (1992-1993) and in Rwanda (1994). Spent most of the mid-1990s involved in peacekeeping and security operations throughout Eastern Africa. Received his officer's commission in 2001 through the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Educational Program (MECEP) after graduating from Boston University. Served as company S-2, B Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion on two seven-month deployments to Iraq: the first in 2003, the second in 2004. Re-assigned to the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity's Expeditionary Support Branch in 2005. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard, Iraqi, and Yemeni).
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM TWO)File Name: Meyers , Andrew D. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: FootlooseBirthplace: Gary, Indiana, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: 89 credit hours towards the fulfillment of the requirements for the BS in Kinesiology, major in Physical Education Teacher Education (Indiana University-
Bloomington)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Pathfinder School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, Ranger School
Miscellaneous Notes: Valedictorian of his high school class and captain of the track team. Accepted into IUB on an academic scholarship. Was 35 credit hours away from earning a bachelor's degree in kinesiology when he unexpectedly left school and hitchhiked his way to the West Coast. Spent the next three years living in a California bohemian commune. Was selling overpriced bead necklaces to Venice Beach tourists when he heard news of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Enlisted in the Army not long after, his high ASVAB line scores mitigating any negatives suggested by his past personal history (his AFQT score placed him squarely in the 99th percentile). Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne). Spent his first deployment overseas in Iraq, conducting combat patrols in and around the city of Kirkuk through most of 2003. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, working alongside conventional and special ISAF forces in Zabul province. Returned to Afghanistan in early 2008 for another tour, this time, in the country's northeast. GIJOE teammates will occasionally have their laughs at his expense, poking fun at the time he spent as a folk art-peddling New Ager. But the jokes never go beyond innocuous jabs. They know that in many ways, Meyers' journey is a microcosm of the one collectively being taken by a whole generation of arrested adolescents still trying to come to terms with their place in a new world filled with fear and uncertainty. It may have taken a tragedy of truly horrific proportions to make him realize the frivolousness of an existence built around self-indulgent complacency, but all that really matters to them now is that he's trying to do all the right things and make his way through the world the best that he can.
IMAGING EQUIPMENT OPERATOR (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Michaels, Leonard Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: ScoopBirthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera), 114th Signal Battalion, 21st Signal Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AAS in Electronic Publishing (Southwestern Illinois College), BFA in Photography (Columbia College Chicago)
Relevant Training (partial list): Combat Documentation/Production Specialist AIT, Information Security Orientation (DSSA), Department of Defense Information Assurance Awareness Course (DSSA), Insider Threat Course (DSSA), Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Combat Lifesaver Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Worked for five years as a cameraman and videographer for Chicago's WMAQ-TV. Looking for a career change, joined the Army in 2004 after finally tiring of network television's growing disposition towards sensationalism and scandal-mongering. Assigned to the 114th Signal Battalion's 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera). Spent ten weeks in Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment (Light), documenting the unit's initial forays into Taliban-controlled territory in 2006, engaging in close quarters combat on occasion. Attached to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) in 2007, capturing for posterity images of ISAF forces conducting combat and humanitarian missions. Familiar with most COTS analog and digital still and motion cameras, trained in the use and basic maintenance of all standard DoD-issue analog and digital still and motion cameras, portable power generation equipment, and electronic and film based image processing, editing, and printing equipment.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (L.R.S. TEAM FIVE)File Name: Millman, Peter R. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: SpearheadBirthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: F Company (Pathfinder), 4th Battalion (Assault), 101st Aviation Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Economics (University of Washington)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Pathfinder School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Ranger School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: A highly successful insurance salesman before changing careers and enlisting in 2004. Joined the Army out of a sense of duty and responsibility more than anything else. Assigned to F Company (Pathfinder), 4th Battalion (Assault), 101st Aviation Regiment in 2005. Deployed to Iraq later that year, conducted assault zone reconnaissance missions for air assault operations originating primarily from Forward Operating Base Remagen on the outskirts of Tikrit. Returned to the US in 2007. Observant and thoughtful, eloquent and persuasive in his speech but never insincere. A natural-born leader.
SCOUT-OBSERVER (ARCTIC RECON TEAM)/COLD WEATHER SURVIVAL S.M.E. File Name: Moore, Harlan W. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Snow-JobBirthplace: Rutland, Vermont, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Statistics (University of Vermont)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Arctic Light Individual Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Sniper School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, Cold Weather Leaders Course, Scout Skier Course, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, ISAF SOF Operations Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: An alternate on the 1998 Winter Olympic Games US men's biathlon contingent, and a fourth place finisher in the 2000 and 2001 Biathlon World Championships individual and sprint events. Feeling that he had progressed in the sport as far as he could under the national biathlon team's guidance, enlisted in the Army in 2002 in search for a different approach to training, a development welcomed by a US Army Recruiting Command looking to further raise the service's public profile and a national biathlon program desperate for its first Olympic medal. Participated in Operation Avalanche, Operation Mountain Blizzard, and Operation Mountain Storm in Afghanistan's Paktika province as a member of 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment in 2003. Returned to Fort Richardson, Alaska with the rest of the 1-501 Infantry in the summer of 2004. To the consternation of USA Biathlon and US Army Public Affairs, committed to extend his enlistment in 2005 and declined participation in the 2006 Winter Olympics altogether. Deployed to Iraq in 2006, conducting full-spectrum missions out of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah. Took part in contingency operations in Al Anbar governorate in 2007. Has a well-deserved reputation among his GIJOE comrades as a bit of a prankster and practical joker.
TRANSMISSION OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR (COMMUNICATIONS STATION ONE)File Name: Morelli, Giacomo S. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: Dial-ToneBirthplace: Eugene, Oregon, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Signal Detachment (Europe), 112th Special Operations Signal Battalion, 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Physics, Applied Physics option (Oregon State University)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Pathfinder School, Radio Operator-Maintainer AIT, Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPRLS) Net Control Station Operator Course, Network Management (ENM) NCS-A Enhanced Operator Course, White House Communications Agency (WHCA) Console Control Operations Course, SERE Level-C Training, Department of Defense Information Assurance Awareness Course (DSSA), Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: An avid electronics hobbyist since his early teens. Built a 386BSD-based personal computer at the age of sixteen using parts bought with money earned from bagging and delivering groceries. Joined the Army out of high school in 1996, initially seeing it as a means to earn money for a college education. Served as an infantryman with the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment (Air Assault), taking part in hurricane relief operations in El Salvador and Nicaragua in 1998, deploying for six months as a member of the American MFO contingent in the Sinai Peninsula in 1999, and serving on an OPFOR and desert warfare training rotation at the Fort Irwin National Training Center in 2000. Separated from the service in early 2001. Received his bachelor's degree in physics from Oregon State in 2005, worked briefly as a university laboratory assistant before re-enlisting in 2006. Joined the 112 th Special Operations Signal Battalion after graduating from Radio Operator-Maintainer AIT, assigned to the battalion's European detachment. Supported ISAF and CJSOTF-A operations in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan throughout 2008. Fluent in Italian, conversant in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.
PHYSICAL SECURITY OPERATIONS PLATOON LEADERFile Name: Morris, Earl S. Pay Grade: O-3Call-Sign: BulletproofBirthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Military Police Officer (USMC) attached to the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Contingency Response Field OfficePost-Secondary Education: BS in Political Science (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Master of Systems Analysis (Naval Postgraduate School)
Relevant Training (partial list): US Marshals Service Basic Training Program, Protective Investigations Training, High Risk Warrant Service Course (IPTM), Tactical Drug Law Enforcement Course (IPTM), US Marshals Service Special Operations Group Qualification Course, Advanced Airborne Counterdrug Operations Training, Officer Candidates School, The Basic School, Military Police Officers Basic Course, Commercial Vehicle Counter-terrorism Training Program (FLETC), Critical Infrastructure Protection Training Program (FLETC), Reactive Shooting Instructor Training Program (FLETC), Vehicle Ambush Countermeasures Training Program (FLETC), Survival Shooting Training Program (FLETC), Protective Detail Refresher Program (FLETC), SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Law Enforcement Supervisor Leadership Training Program (FLETC)
Miscellaneous Notes: Started his law enforcement career as a federal marshal with the US Marshals Service in 1991. Assigned to duties with the Federal Witness Protection Program before joining the Service's full-time Special Operations Group cadre stationed at the Marshals Service Tactical Operations Center in 1998. Participated in a number of interagency counter-narcotics operations along the US-Mexico border in 2000. Left the US Marshals Service in late 2001, entered Marine Corps OCS in 2002, graduated at the top of his class. Attached to the NCIS Contingency Response Field Office in 2004. Conversant in French, Italian, and Spanish. Highly discerning and observant, possesses acutely honed survival instincts eminently suited to overseeing personnel protection and physical security operations.
COMBAT OBSERVER (COMBAT OBSERVATION/LASING TEAM)File Name: Morris, Lamont A. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: Heavy DutyBirthplace: Chicago, Illinois, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Instrumental Performance (Columbia College Chicago)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School,Combat Lifesaver Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Squad Designated Marksman Course, Sniper School, Ranger School, ISAF SOF Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Graduated cum laude from Columbia College Chicago with a bachelor's degree in instrumental performance, specializing in classical guitar. Worked briefly writing jingles for a Chicago-area advertising agency before embarking on a career as a studio musician, appearing on albums by local Chicago blues, hip-hop, house music, and R&B acts. Found commercial music work to be artistically unsatisfying. Enlisted in the Army in 2004. Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry regiment (Airborne). Deployed to Afghanistan in 2006, participating in combat and armed reconnaissance missions alongside ISAF and CJSOTF-A forces in Zabul province. Served on a second tour of Afghanistan in early 2008. Meticulous and detail-oriented, approaches the work of a soldier with the same creative passion and single-minded dedication he exhibits in his artistic endeavors.
OPERATIONS CHIEF (RECONNAISSANCE ELEMENT)File Name: Nash, Clifton L. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: IcebergBirthplace: Brownsville, Texas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: B Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Environmental Sciences (University of Texas-Brownsville)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Stryker Transition Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Air Assault School, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, Basic Airborne School, Arctic Light Individual Course, Cold Weather Leaders Course, Ranger School, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Army in 2002, initially assigned to the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Participated in numerous OPFOR exercises with light infantry and special operations units in the Mojave desert area as a member of the 1st Squadron's mechanized infantry A Troop. Deployed to Baghdad in 2005, participating in full-spectrum missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Having had his fill of living, working, and fighting in arid environments, went out of his way to get assigned to a cold weather duty station upon extending his enlistment, eventually getting his wish by being sent to the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry Regiment, stationed at Fort Richardson, Alaska. Returned to Iraq in 2006, conducting security, direct action, and armed reconnaissance missions out of Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah. Took part in contingency operations in Al Anbar governorate in 2007. Conversant in Spanish.
RECON TEAM LEADER (ARCTIC RECON TEAM)/COLD WEATHER SURVIVAL S.M.E. File Name: Natale, Gregory M. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: BlizzardBirthplace: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Training Branch, Northern Warfare Training Center (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Interdisciplinary Studies, minor in Arctic Skills (University of Alaska-Fairbanks), AA in Russian (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Arctic Light Individual Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Winter Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Assault Climber Winter Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Cold Weather Leaders Course, Scout Skier Course, Ranger School, Basic Instructor Course, Small Group Instructor Training Course, Patrol Course (International Special Training Centre), Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Battle Staff NCO Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Spent the bulk of his pre-GIJOE military career stationed in Alaska. Joined the Army out of high school in 1993, assigned to the 1st Brigade, 6th Infantry Division (Light), staying with the unit through its 1998 re-flagging as the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate) and posting at Fort Wainwright. Attended the nearby University of Alaska-Fairbanks while serving on part-time cadre at the Northern Warfare Training Center. Received his bachelor's degree in 2002. Served on an extended 16-month deployment in Iraq from 2005 to 2006, seeing combat numerous times in the greater Baghdad area. With the 172nd Infantry Brigade (Separate)'s inactivation in December of 2006, assigned to the US Army Northern Warfare Training Center's Training Branch. Served as a Mobile Training Team instructor in JCET exercises with the Danish Jægerkorpset in Greenland in 2008. Fluent in Central Alaskan Yup'ik and Russian; conversant in Danish, Greenlandic (Kalaallisut and Inuktun dialects), and Nunavut (Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun dialects). Outwardly grim and sullen except in the most unguarded situations. Physically and mentally tough, totally dedicated to the craft of cold weather survival and the science of cold region warfare.
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TECHNICAL OFFICER (COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TEAM)File Name: O'Hara, Shana M. Pay Grade: W-2Call-Sign: ScarlettBirthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: A Company (CI/HUMINT), 524th Military Intelligence Battalion, 501st Military Intelligence Brigade (US Army) Post-Secondary Education: BS in International Affairs and Modern Languages, Japanese concentration (Georgia Institute of Technology), AA in Arabic (Defense Language Institute
Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Intelligence Analyst AIT, Enhanced Tactical User Terminal Course, Collection Management-TENCAP System Specific Module, Intelligence in Combating Terrorism Course, Counterintelligence Special Agent Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Defense Against Sound Equipment Course, USAF Countersniper School, Advanced Foreign Counterintelligence Course, Fast Rope and Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Warrant Officer Candidate School, Counterintelligence Technician Warrant Officer Basic Course, Counterintelligence in Cyber Space Course, NATO SOF Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO SOF Advanced Intel Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Father and three older brothers all martial arts instructors specializing in different styles and techniques. Began serious martial arts training at the age of eight, received her first degree black belt in Kukkiwon taekwondo at age 16. Awarded the shodan rank in Kodokan judo shortly after graduating from high school. Received extensive training in the use of the Zhūgě nǔ (ancient Chinese repeating crossbow) and sunogung (medieval Korean repeating crossbow). After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1997, joined the Army as an enlisted intelligence analyst. Initially assigned to the 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion stationed in Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Re-classed as a counterintelligence agent in 2001, re-assigned to A Company (CI/HUMINT), 524th Military Intelligence Battalion. Took part in various counterintelligence operations near the Korean DMZ in 2002 and 2004. Conducted counterintelligence missions in Iraq in 2005 while assigned to the MNF-I Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Camp Cropper. Received her warrant officer appointment in 2006. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard and Iraqi), Japanese, and Korean; conversant in Mandarin (Standard dialect). Quick-thinking and resilient, able to deal with fast-moving, ambiguous, and unstructured situations; has maintained a healthy sense of humor despite the high levels of stress associated with counterintelligence work.
EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL N.C.O. (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Owens, Cory R. Pay Grade: E-5Call-Sign: LightfootBirthplace: Wichita, Kansas, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 744th Ordnance Company, 63rd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group (EOD) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BS in Chemistry (Wichita State University)
Miscellaneous Notes: Worked as a chemist for the Kansas-based Hodgdon Powder Company for four years before enlisting in the Army in 2004. Joined the Ordnance Corps, seeing it as a natural extension of his civilian career. Deployed to Iraq in 2005, providing EOD services to units conducting security operations in support of the country's national elections. Sent to Afghanistan in 2007 as a member of a small EOD detachment supporting ISAF operations in Kandahar province. Trained alongside members of the British Army's 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment at the International School for Security and Explosives Education in Chilmark, Wiltshire, England in 2008.
INTERROGATION & STRATEGIC DEBRIEFING SUPERVISOR (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Paolino, Michelino J. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: FacesBirthplace: Parma, Ohio, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: C Company, 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: BA in Psychology (Brown University), AA in Arabic (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center)
Relevant Training (partial list): Intelligence Analyst AIT, Enhanced Tactical User Terminal Course, Collection Management-TENCAP System Specific Module, Human Intelligence Collector AIT, Defense Strategic Debriefing and Interrogation Course, Basic Airborne School, Air Assault School, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, NATO Intel Course, NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course, NATO Advanced Intel Course
Miscellaneous Notes: The youngest son of Italian-American parents; father a civil engineer, mother a music teacher. Enlisted in the Army in 2002 after graduating from Brown University. Initially trained as an intelligence analyst, assigned to the 24th Military Intelligence Battalion. Re-classed as a HUMINT specialist in 2006, transferred to the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade's 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion in 2007. Served on a twelve month deployment in Iraq in 2008. Fluent in Arabic (Modern Standard and Iraqi), French, Italian, and Spanish; conversant in German, Persian (Dari and Farsi dialects), and Portuguese. Cultivates an amateur stand-up comedy act in his spare time, although his limited repertoire has yet to go beyond crude off-color humor and uncannily accurate impressions of celebrities.
CHIEF FORENSIC COMPUTER EXAMINER (SENSITIVE SITE EXPLOITATION TEAM)File Name: Parker, Blaine L. Pay Grade: E-7Call-Sign: MainframeBirthplace: Phoenix, Arizona, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: Special Technical Operator (USMC) attached to the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southwest Field OfficePost-Secondary Education: BS in Computer Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Relevant Training (partial list): Infantryman AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Data Network Specialist Course, Defense Message System Course, Tactical Data Systems Supervisor Course, Advanced Personnel Administration Course, Information Security Orientation (DSSA), Department of Defense Information Assurance Awareness Course (DSSA), Insider Threat Course (DSSA), USMC Network Operations Program training, Information Assurance Manager Course, Information Assurance Technician Course, Data Chief Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Information Systems Security Professional Certificate (Naval Postgraduate School), System Administrator Certificate (Naval Postgraduate School), Certified Ethical Hacker Program (Air Force Information Operations Center), Managing Computer Investigations Course (DCITA), Advanced Log Analysis Course (DCITA), Network Exploitation Techniques Course (DCITA), NATO SOF Technical Exploitation Operations Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Joined the Army straight out of high school in 1985. Assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Infantry Regiment. Participated in combat operations in Honduras during Operation Golden Pheasant (1988) and in Panama during Operation Just Cause (1989). Went to MIT after fulfilling his active duty terms of service, graduating with a degree in computer science and engineering in 1993. Spent most of the mid-1990s working as one of the top programmers-for-hire in Silicon Valley. By 1997, found himself bored with the corporate grind and decided to return to the military, taking the unorthodox but not-unheard-of option of joining the Marines as a non-Marine prior-service enlistee. Breezed through Marine combat training and data network specialist training. A member of the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity's Cryptologic Support Battalion from 1998 to 2005. Attached to the DCIS Southwest Field Office as a Special Technical Operator in 2005. Digital forensic evidence he helped gather throughout 2007 and 2008 was instrumental in the 2009 indictment of a spy caught attempting to acquire sensitive military and NSA-encryption gear from on-line auction and shopping website eBay. Affable and genuinely humble, teammates and superiors alike are sometimes inclined to forget that he has put in his time as an elite front-line fighter.
DETECTION/TRACKING DOG HANDLER (H.V.T. TRACKING TEAM TWO)File Name: Perlmutter, Stanley J. Pay Grade: E-6Call-Sign: MuttBirthplace: Iselin, New Jersey, USAUnit assignment prior to GIJOE selection: 108th Military Police Company (Air Assault) (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) (US Army)Post-Secondary Education: AS in Criminal Justice, Correction Administration option (Middlesex County College)
Relevant Training (partial list): Correction Administration Certification (Middlesex County College), Law Enforcement Survival Spanish Training Program (FLETC), Basic Narcotic Detection Course LE (CBP-CETC), Passenger Processing Course LE (CBP-CETC), Military Police AIT, Air Assault School, Basic Airborne School, Military Working Dog Handler Course, Combined Detector Dog Handlers Course, Backcountry Tactics and Tracking Course (FLETC), Fast Rope & Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction Master Course, Rappel Master Course, Military Police Investigator Course, Conventional Physical Security Course, Protective Service Training Course, High Risk Personnel Security Course, SERE Level-C Training, Individual Terrorism Awareness Course, Basic Military Mountaineer Summer Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Critical Infrastructure Protection Training Program (FLETC), Suicide Bomber Mitigation Training Program (FLETC), Jungle Skills Course
Miscellaneous Notes: Spent five years working as a corrections officer and sentry dog handler at the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Facility in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Led a volunteer K-9 team in search of survivors in the ruins of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Joined the Army in 2002. Deployed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan as a member of the 65th Military Police Company, 503rd Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne) in 2003, where he served as a military working dog handler until 2005. Transferred to the 108th Military Police Company (Air Assault) (Airborne) in 2006. Designated company kennel master in 2007. Participated in inter-service cross-training exercises with USMC personnel stationed at Camp Gonsalves, Okinawa in 2008. Conversant in Spanish. Possesses an innate, almost instinctive, capability for establishing rapport with animals, so much so that teammates sometimes think he prefers canine company over human socialization.
