Physical Description

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 180
Hair: Red
Eyes: Ice blue

Distinguishing Features: A tattoo across his left upper arm…remember the ANZACs

Personality: James is a dedicated officer who cares for his men like they were his own kids.  He is tough on them but will be the first to step in if he feels they are being unfairly treated or need help to deal with something.  He does his job effectively and without making a big deal of it but he does it his way and doesn’t listen to what someone else says is the right way.  That doesn’t mean he thinks he knows it all, if he comes across something he has no clue on he will listen to what others with experience have to say and then act on that information.

Personal Quirks: James won’t ask others to do anything he is not willing to do himself.  When time permits he is up at the same time as his men if not earlier to go through the runs and other exercises that they do every day, and if need be he will get in and get his hands dirty doing whatever tasks are needed to be done.  But he will not tolerate others being lazy or halfhearted about things either.

History:James was the oldest of 8 kids born to very poor country family.  He had to work hard at both school and helped at home on the farm from the time he was able to walk.  Because of being the oldest and his parents needing him James only managed to complete year 10 at school before he had to leave and help out on the farm.

When he turned 18 he decided that as the kids were older now and could help with the farm, he could find a job to bring more money into the household.  He ended up joining the army because it was a good paying job and they supplied all his requirements free.  So all of his paycheck could be sent home to his parents, which is what he did.

He was a born soldier and leader of men and his superiors soon saw this and encouraged him to apply for OTS, which he did and was accepted and graduated by the time he was 22.

After having served several years in the regular army and been promoted to captain, he applied for and was accepted into the S.A.S.  After finishing his training and before being reassigned, he got the courage up to ask his GF to marry him.  She accepted and they were wed the day before he had to ship out to do extended and intense training in a wide degree of specialized training.

He was sent to many different parts of the world with his unit and slowly worked his way up through the ranks.  If ever asked if he was in any of the many conflicts he has been through, he will give a half smile and say with a straight face..."There wasn’t any Aussie around during that fight was there?"  Knowing full well that he and his teams had been in and out of the many fights secretly and unknown by most people in the world.

James wife died 5 yrs ago while driving to collect the kids she was hit by a drunk driver who was speeding and died instantly.  James has a personal hated for anyone who is stupid enough to drink and drive and has on a couple of occasions barely managed to escape assault charges after seeing some idiot being barely able to walk and getting into a car to drive somewhere.  As he tends to convince them this is a bad idea with a rather solid argument of his hands meeting their body rapidly and often to try and beat some sense into them.

James’s son is in a university studying to become an engineer because James convinced him that life in the army wasn’t all that great and wanted him to get the start in life that James himself was denied.  His daughter is at boarding school and spends time with her grandparents when school isn’t in if James isn’t able to get leave time to spend with her or isn’t able to be in the country during her school holidays.

When offered the chance to lead the team of troops that was being sent to Mars, James jumped at the chance finally finding something that he could honestly be proud of and tell his grand kids about.  James first priority, and he doesn’t hide this fact from anyone, is the safety of the Australian civilians on Mars.

He is more then happy to help with all other aspects of the Mars program in anyway he or his men can but if it comes down to it in the end the Australian Civilians come first to him and he doesn’t care what anyone says. He has been entrusted with their safety and he will make sure they are safe no matter what.