Age: 31 (born Oakland, CA October 1999)
Rank: Captain, United States Air Force
AFSOC: 31PX (Security Forces)
Languages spoken: English (Native speaker), Vietnamese (Native speaker), German (Basic)
Primary Weapon: M4A1 Carbine w/ M68 CCO and AN/PEQ-2 laser sight
Secondary Weapon: M1911 Automatic Pistol
Melee Weapon: Gerber StrongArm Knife

Callsign: Falcon

Skills
Expert (12+): Navigation, Observation, Small Arms (Rifle)
Advanced (10+): Armed Martial Arts, Autogun, Forward Observer, Grenade Launcher, Survival, Unarmed Martial Arts
Professional (8+): Autogun, Climbing, Computer, Ground Vehicle (Wheeled), Instruction, Leadership, Medical (Trauma Aid), Parachute, Persuasion, Scrounging, Scuba, Small Watercraft, Stealth, Swimming, Thrown Weapon, Tracking
Competent (6+): Meteorology, Pilot (Rotary Wing)

Appearance

Lauren Cao stands five feet seven inches tall, with dark hair that falls to her collar when she lets it down but is usually worn pulled back into a tight bun. She is usually attired in Airman Combat Uniform fatigues in the Operational Camouflage Pattern, OCP or multicam, camo pattern, over which she wears an OCP Soldier Plate Carrier System vest which has the usual assortment of pouches attached. In non combat situations she will frequently replace her Enhanced Combat Helmet with either an OCP boonie cap or no headgear at all, while her eyes will be hidden behind a pair of ballistic sunglasses.

Her fatigues bear a full color U.S. flag on the upper left sleeve as well as a nametape with the words U.S. AIR FORCE over her left breast pocket and second nametape with her surname over the right. Rank insignia is worn on both of her collar points. Out of uniform she'll favour casual civilian dress, usually jeans or, in low threat situations and the heat of an Arkansas summer, cargo shorts, and a hooded top, while she'll occasionally be seen in a blue Air Force Falcons tee shirt (she was a member of the women's soccer team at the AF Academy).

Background

Lauren Cao was born in Oakland, California, in 1999. Her grandparents had sought sanctuary in the US after the collapse of South Vietnam in 1975 (her grandfather had been a Captain in the ARVN's 81st Ranger Group and faced a long spell in a “re-education” camp at best and summary execution at worst had he stayed in Vietnam). They brought with them her father, then an infant, and, along with her two siblings, Lauren was the first generation of her family to be born in the United States of America.

Her grandparents settled in California, worked hard to make a new life for themselves and their family. Lauren's father went to medical school, is a surgeon, or at least was before the War.  In the family home Vietnamese was the first language, particularly when Grandpa was around, and Lauren grew up virtually fluent in the language. As she became older and her grandfather told her stories about Vietnam she also came to hate the Communists, and developed a deep sense of wanting to give something back to the country that had taken her family in, culminating in her securing a place at the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, obtaining a Congressional nomination from her US Representative, who knew both her father and grandfather.

Lauren was determined to do well at the Academy, throwing herself into every aspect of it, realized that as a girl in what was primarily a boys' club she had to give as good as she got. Graduating from the Academy in the class of 2020 with a Bachelor's Degree in History, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and assigned to the 86th Security Forces Squadron at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.  Before she left for Germany her grandfather gifted her the M1911 automatic pistol that he had carried during his own service with the ARVN, a weapon that she still carries.

Routine promotion to First Lieutenant followed in due course, and in 2024 Lauren was accepted for training as a Combat Rescue Officer (CRO).  Determined to be one of only a handful of female CRO's in the USAF, she completed the initial phases of the training - Army Airborne School, Combat Diver School, basic and advanced SERE - but dropped out midway through the actual seventeen week CRO course itself, something that she did not take well at all.

When the shit hit the fan Lauren was a newly promoted Captain, serving with the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. She was still at Barksdale when the War started, watched the BUFF's take to the skies once the nuclear genie had slipped out of the bottle. When lack of fuel grounded the last remaining B52's she initially found herself taking part in various operations aimed at maintaining law and order and providing humanitarian aid in north western Louisiana, until the Mexican led Allianza crossed the border and drove north.

As Allianza forces approached the Texas / Louisiana State line Lauren was part of an ad hoc American force that had been flung together to try and halt the invaders. The fighting was bloody, brutal, with Mexican columns making it as far as Barksdale itself, causing heavy damage before they were repelled. Lauren was in command of a provisional Company that consisted mainly of surplus Air Force support and maintenance personnel and State and local law enforcement officers, and her unit was hit hard, almost overrun. After it was over it was suggested in some quarters that she had been reckless, had pushed too far forward, allowed her unit to become almost surrounded by the invaders. A few people went as far as to say it was only through good fortune that the whole Company hadn't been wiped out, and, as is the nature of such things, various versions of Lauren's role in what has become known as 'the Battle of Barksdale' are in circulation, most of which have been through various stages of embellishment.

Shortly afterwards Barksdale - or at least what was left of it after the fighting - was evacuated, with the Air Force blowing up anything they could not take with them. One column headed for Texas to reinforce the American forces fighting the Allianza there, while another, smaller, column went north, eventually ending up at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas. Lauren was in the latter group, and, along with other Air Force personnel at Little Rock, soon found herself engaged in operations supporting the Arkansas State Guard.

Contacts
1 x US White Collar
1 x Allied Military
1 x US Military
1 x US Academic
1 x US Government
1 x US Journalist

Psychological Profile

Cruelty:  Low to moderate. Lauren would deny that she has ever intentionally behaved cruelly towards anyone but sometimes she's had to make hard choices. She would argue that she has always acted in accordance with her training and has always tried to treat everyone that she's encountered fairly and decently but when you do make tough decisions, no matter how well intentioned, sometimes there are unintended consequences.

Loyalty: High. Lauren learned loyalty from an early age, loyalty to family, loyalty to her country. That loyalty manifested itself in a desire to give something back and serve her country. She firmly believes that a leader should not ask a subordinate to do something they're not willing to do themselves, so will lead from the front wherever possible, even when that may not be the most astute thing to do tactically.

Passion: Moderate to High. Lauren has always been driven to succeed, setting high standards for herself. She believes in the mission, believes in helping people that can't help themselves, although this may not always be obvious as she can sometimes come over as relatively cool and distant, can count her close friends on one hand. As a teenager she used to listen to her grandfather telling stories about Vietnam, about fighting the Viet Cong and the NVA. These stories left their mark on Lauren, caused her to have a deep loathing for the Communists and what they did to Vietnam (at least as seen from her grandfather's perspective).

Piety: Moderate. Lauren was brought up in the Buddhist faith and taught the veneration of her ancestors and although she continues to respect those teachings to a degree, religion does not play a major part in her life.

Sanity: Moderate. She's managed to stay reasonably level headed despite some of the things that she's seen since the War started, although she has been called reckless on occasion, with some people claiming that she pushes both herself and others too hard sometimes.

Selfishness: Low. Lauren would describe herself as an unselfish individual. who tries to put the team and mission needs ahead of her own.