Age: 27 (Born Los Angeles, California, Feb. 28th, 1974)

Languages Spoken:
English (American) (Native Speaker)
Spanish (Fair)

Primary Weapon: AK-47 7.62mmS with wooden stock and foregrip
Secondary Weapon: SM-2 Koncerz pattern AT weapon

Appearance

Jose stands fairly tall for someone who clearly has a strong latino heritage, at about 5'10", and looks to be in his mid 20s. He is powerfully built, and from his heavy musculature it's apparent that he does weight-training with some regularity. He has black, close-cropped hair that is starting to grow out just a tad, kept slicked back, and keeps a clean shaven face. He has what looks like a bad scar running front to back on his left cheek, and part of his left ear is missing as a result of a gunshot wound. His skin is a lighter shade of brown, with a hint of olive coloring. A look at his knuckles reveals heavy scarring, and just the tip of what might be a tattoo creeps out of the top of his Woodland Camouflage pattern BDUs.

In combat, Jose wears a PASGT Kevlar vest, typical ALICE webbing, and American K-pot style helmet, all in woodland camo. His BDUs, webbing, vest and helmet all are starting to show signs of wear after so long in the field, with a small but noticeable hole in the left shoulder from a near miss. He is a big believer in camouflage face paint, and regularly wears it to break up the light reflecting from his lighter skin. He carries with him an older model AK, clearly a weapon from a foregone era, but kept in immaculate condition. Over his right shoulder he also carries a large-tubed AT weapon - the SM-2 Koncerz AT Weapon System, colored in dark olive green.

Though not the tallest member of the unit, an air of brute power follows Jose that reminds others of a caged predator. His voice and demeanor seems at odds with his appearance however, generally with levity in his voice and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Biography

Born 1973, Jose was raised in poverty in East Los Angeles. His mother raised him and his brother on a maid's part-time salary, and he survived mainly off of food stamps and the generosity of others. Struggling with a mild learning disability (dyslexia), he had a hard time throughout school, and ended up dropping out in his sophomore year. Also around this time, Jose ended up getting involved with some of the rougher kids from school, and against his mother's wishes he ended up joining a gang, the East LA Marauders.

During his time with the Marauders, Jose focused on gaining muscle mass and used his size to help intimidate the gang's rivals. He also learned how to survive on the streets of LA and picked up some limited Spanish along with a lot of bruises from constant brawls. In the spring of '92, the LA riots occurred, and the Marauders used the ensuing chaos as an opportunity to gain some territory. After looting an electronics store, Jose and a small band of Marauders got into a scrap with the 'Reavers', a neighboring gang. Jose squared up against the leader of the group of Reaver's and beat the man half to death before a squad car came around the corner looking for looters. Jose was arrested and sent to prison.

Spending a few years behind bars calmed Jose's temper, and he found a measure of peace in meditation and in strength training. One day, after speaking with a few of the old timers in the yard, Jose realized that he wanted a better life, and swore that once he got out of jail, he'd leave his criminal past behind him. He started thinking about joining the military in order to build his confidence and get some discipline in his life. Before his sentence was officially up however, the war had come for him. His sentence was to be commuted if he would join the Army and go fight in Europe against the Soviets. As Jose was already considering spending some time in the military, this was a no brainer. "Just a year or two in the Army, and then my life's my own again!," Jose was heard to be saying, on the way out of San Quentin. Little did he know...