[b]Torsten Stålhandske[/b]

Torsten is the type of gentleman that most young lads try to impersonate. Big, strong, interesting background -- with an impressive beard. The Finnish transplant in the United States has certainly given his younger generation to look up to. The Finn was born in the mid-1980s to loving parents, both of them physicists that worked at the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Finland. They were perhaps a bit dismayed at their child as he grew. He seemed less interested about studying the maths and sciences they so loved and more interested in exploring the wilderness around their home or stuffing his face in a history book. This led to him being rejected by university programs when he graduated grade school. Instead of heading off to college like his parents, he was pushed into the Finnish Army via conscription.

Many men in Finland looked at conscription as a necessary evil, but still an evil. The Army finally allowed Torsten to flourish. He was successful as a conscripted soldier, gladly renewing his enlistment upon the end of his turn to enter the Army formally as a professional soldier. He rose through the ranks swiftly, being sent to the Utti Jaeger Regiment shortly in this third year. He became a [i]Erikoisjääkärit[/i], the American equivalent of the Green Berets. He served through the late 1990s and 2000s in various low-level conflicts across the globe as peacekeeper and general protector of Finnish interests across the globe. His parents, unfortunately, died in a car accident during this time. 

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Torsten was injured in a parajumping incident, leaving him out of service for a year. He was eventually medically discharged from the military, with considerable savings and disability payments from the Finnish government. Rather than lying about, he applied for a position in the state of Oregon, in the United States, to monitor populations of grizzly in the Cascade Mountains. He now lives in a small cabin close to Mt. St Helens, where he spends his off time reading and relaxing. He lives a life independent of the buzzing city of Portland south of him, preferring to stay out of city business. 

[img]http://i.imgur.com/XfwoF.jpg[/img]