Code Name: Sandman
Primary Military Specialty: Green Beret
Secondary Specialty: Guerrilla Warfare Advisor
Bio: Sandman grew up in the dry, hot environment around Las Vegas, where he watched his father squander his paychecks in the casinos, and his mother drink herself to the grave. Shortly after their mother's death, Sandman was dealt another blow when his older brother left to join the Army, becoming a member of the Rangers; he was killed in Iraq six months after graduating Ranger School. Determined to follow in his brother's footsteps and not his parents, Sandman left home at 18 and joined the Army, and then becoming a Ranger. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan with distinction for five years, fighting against Sadam's Republican Guard, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. His successes against these groups led to his being accepted in the Green Berets.
Sandman continues to work in Afghanistan these days, fighting in the mountains against insurgents who threaten the locals into joining them, or face annihilation; he trains the locals so they can send those who would threaten them running with their tails tucked! It was Flint who recommended Sandman for the Joe Team, having worked several missions that brought the two in contact. It was during one of these assignments that Flint (who was flying a chopper, and unable to assist him at the moment) witnessed Sandman fight off about twenty hostiles alone, in order to save an injured villager; the man turned out to be a village elder, and Sandman earned the respect of the people, as well as Flint, that day.
On a side note: Sandman recently went home on leave, where he found his father had gone into a gambling rehab program. He and his father also recently founded a youth program in the Vegas area, to help children who have parents that serve in the military and are called to duty in other parts of the world. Sandman doesn't get to spend much time there himself, due to his status as a member of GI Joe, but his dad spends every free moment he has at the center; Sandman says it is the first time he can ever remember being proud of his dad.
LMK what you think...
