Age: 35 (Born Albany, NY, June 1995)
Languages spoken:  English (Native speaker), Spanish (basic law enforcement and tourist phrases)
Primary Weapon: Heckler & Koch HK416 Carbine w/ Aimpoint CompM4 red dot sight
Secondary Weapon: Glock 22 Automatic pistol w/ multilight
Melee Weapon: Baseball bat


Callsign: Doc

Skills
Expert (12+): Medical (Trauma Aid), Small Arms (Rifle)
Advanced (10+):  Biology, Ground Vehicle (Wheeled), Medical (Diagnosis), Medical (Surgery), Small Watercraft, Stealth, Swimming, Unarmed Martial Arts
Professional (8+): Armed Martial Arts, Autogun, Chemistry, Climbing, Computer, Electronics, Grenade Launcher, Interrogation, Intrusion, Leadership, Navigation, Observation, Persuasion, Scrounging, Survival, Thrown Weapon
Competent (6+): Forgery, Ground Vehicle (Motorcycle), Ground Vehicle (Tracked)

Appearance

Mike Carswell is five feet eleven inches tall, with a jaw that is covered by a semi permanent layer of stubble and dark hair is usually worn under a faded and crumpled desert tan baseball cap with a Don't Tread On Me morale patch velcro'd to the front, while his grey eyes are often concealed behind a pair of wraparound Oakleys.

Mike's usual field attire is a set of OD BDU's which are devoid of any insignia except a low viz MEMS patch on his left shoulder, over which he wears a black plate carrier assault vest. If he's expecting trouble he'll stick his ballcap in a pocket and replace it with an OD TC-2002 'gunfighter cut' MICH Helmet. His vest used to have a Medic patch velcro'd on to it but he's long since discarded that, having come to the unfortunate conclusion that there are some sick fuckers out there who saw it as a nice little bullseye to aim at, so these days other than the patch on his arm he doesn't wear anything that would give a clue as to what his role is, carrying his 'on hand' medical supplies in a pair of anonymous black MLBE pouches, while his main 'stash' is an equally non descript black 5.11 Rush12 backpack.

Background

Born in Albany, New York, Mike Carswell moved to Arkansas with his family when he was sixteen when his father landed a job as a VP with Bank OZK (at the time known as Bank of the Ozarks). After leaving school with his GED, Mike Carswell spent a couple of years drifting from one job to the next. Realizing that he didn't want to work in retail or an office he briefly considered enlisting in the military - specifically the Navy - before deciding to apply for a place at the MEMS (Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, the Little Rock EMS service) Rookie School, following which he qualified as an EMT.

Mike spent two years as an EMT before qualifying as a Paramedic in 2019. He got a buzz out of his job. On the good days he was saving lives, making a difference.  Although there were bad days too. That came with the job. He met Luisa in 2020. She worked for Stephens Inc, a Little Rock based independent financial services firm. They got married the following year.

In 2024 Mike was looking for a new challenge, and successfully applied for a place on the MEMS STAR (Special Tactics Advanced Response) team. Sworn in as a Law Enforcement Officer, he was part of a small team that provided medical support to Federal, State, and local LE agencies tasked with high risk operations throughout the State of Arkansas. He also managed to get himself a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from UA Little Rock.

Things with Luisa had been on the rocks for a while though and she and Mike ended up getting divorced in 2025. He hooked up with Gabby shortly afterwards (Luisa wrongly thought that Mike and Gabby had been sleeping together while she and Mike were still married). Gabby was a cop with Little Rock PD. Things were different with her. They got each other, could talk about the stuff that happened during a shift. The bad stuff.

Then the War started. Mike expected to get drafted but wasn't. "Essential occupation", some shit like that. When the nukes started flying things went to Hell real quick and Mike and Gabby found themselves facing a whole new world of challenges, ones that they could scarcely have imagined a few years ago.  Still, they stayed together, and  when the Governor set up his Recovery Task Force they both volunteered, ended up on different teams. Maybe they'd be able to make a difference, help some people, although sometimes it feels to Mike like all they're doing is putting a band aid on a major trauma.

Oh, and Luisa works in the Governor's office.

Contacts

1 x Opposed Criminal
1 x US Criminal
1 x Allied Law Enforcement
1 x Allied journalist
1 x US White Collar
1 x US Blue Collar
1 x US Law Enforcement

Psychological Profile

Cruelty: Low to Moderate. Mike has, on occasion, done some bad things since the War started, things that he's not particularly proud of and doesn't plan to talk about, other than maybe with Gabby. He rationalizes that by telling himself that it's not like he did it for kicks, he did it because he had to.

Loyalty: Moderate to High. Mike's fiercely loyal to those close to him, primarily his family and friends. If anyone tries to mess around with any of those people his reaction is likely to be swift, acting without thinking.

Passion: Moderate to High. He can come over as a bit of a wiseass sometimes, cynical, flippant, gives the impression that he doesn't really care about shit but that's partly his way of coping with stuff.

Piety: Low. Mike's not overly religious, doesn't particularly dwell on the thought of some higher power.

Sanity: High. He's reasonably level headed, plans on making sure it stays that way. He's seen what can happen to people who let things get to them and mess with their heads, doesn't intend on being that guy. His one weakness is probably Gabby. He worries about Gabby when she's out in the field - even though he knows that she is more than capable of looking after herself as far as he's concerned the worst part of what they do is the fact that they are out of contact with each other for extended periods of time so if anything has happened to her he wouldn't know.

Selfishness: Low.