[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Name:[/u][/color] Joseph "Joe" Filion (AKA: "Fill" or "Big Joe")[/b][/h3]
[i]When the End of Days began happening, Joe and his family spent most of their available time in church praying. His children were only 5 and 6 years old then. They did not understand and their parents tried desperately to make sense of it for their children. It was easier when Pam was alive, but once the children's mother passed, Joe had a very difficult time explaining what was happening. He forced himself to be strong for the children. He had to reflect back on his combat tours in the Middle East to help him cope with this changing new world.[/i] 
[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Gender:[/u][/color]  Male[/b][/h3]
[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Age:[/u][/color]  47[/b][/h3]
[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Personality:[/u][/color][/b][/h3] Joe suffered from depression when Pam died, but within the first year following the [i]event[/i] that created the current apocalyptic situation, he got over the loss. He experienced the same thing years earlier when his father died and then eventually when his mother, two sisters and their families passed away at all. It was devastating initially, but he did come to terms with it and has hardened as a result. But his heart had toughened up from friends who he'd seen killed in Afghanistan and Iran while he was on active duty.

For the most part Joe is an upbeat positive man. He prefers to give people the benefit of the doubt, but in this crazy world has come to the conclusion that it is dangerous to trust someone too early. Approach with caution is the buzzword when encountering strangers.

If Joe is well rested, he is a sane man. If he gets tired or has to go long extended periods of time without sleep, he becomes irrational. He will yell at people for no apparent reason. His children become nervous and skiddish when he gets like this. He used to beat Joe when he was little, but quickly learned to stop doing that. It served no purpose for his son and the lack of beatings helped to develop a strong relationship between father and son. His daughter idolizes him, looking up the older Filion man.

[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Description:[/u][/color][/b][/h3] Joe looks younger than he really is. This is a quality he inherited from his mother. Once when she was 47 years old, someone asked her why she married such an older man. Dad was 50 at the time and he always looked older due to a rough life of beer drinking and working on the railroad. The older William Filion had lost his father when he was 10 in 1968 and that had a negative impact on him as well. Mom appeared 40, so they must have appeared at least 20 years apart.

Joe typically wore either golf shirts or T-shirts and jeans with a soft brown leather shoe before everything went to hell. He wears a gold/silver colored Seiko wristwatch and his wedding ring. He also wears the dog tags that were issued to him when he was in Basic Training thirty years ago. Today, he wears what is left of his old US Army ACUs; relics from his past life. He outfitted his two children with these uniforms as well. Joe also wears the a dark grey baseball cap depicting the blue and red insignia of the Buffalo Bills. Joe recalls feeling excited for the Bills' prospects prior to the apocalypse.

Joe has a leathered appearance to his skin and a few scars under his clothing you cannot see when he is dressed. There is a small scar, front and back on his left shoulder. They were gifts from a Taliban insurgent in Afghanistan when Joe was 19 years old. 

Joe stands 71" tall and weighs 205 Lbs. He is soft in the middle, but otherwise average to above average strength for a middle-aged man. Joe is primarily of French Canadian Descent, but also one-quarter Seneca Indian. His skin tone is fair, but he tans well in the summer time; attributable to his Native American heritage. Joe's blue eyes have always been one of his more alluring features. Although he prefers a high and tight haircut for his brown locks, as of late, he has allowed them to grow out, to include the beard, which has filled in with many gray hairs. He is always on the lookout for a qualified and willing barber.

Joe's strengths include an organized mind coupled with years of experience in small unit tactics at the squad, platoon and company level. Since his days with the US Army and New York Army National Guard, Joe has always qualified expert with rifle and pistol. People often joke that there is nothing more dangerous than a second lieutenant with a map and compass. Joe enjoys countering that quip with the reality that he has an uncanny sense of direction. He always knows where north is.

[b][i]Danger Sleeping BEAR![/i][/b] Please don't wake him up. Joe becomes irritable if not allowed to sleep at least six hours straight, uninterrupted. This makes him difficult to work with when he gets like this. He becomes crabby and miserable, yelling at people for no apparent reason. His wife used to refer to him as [i]Grumplestiltskin[/i]. Due to three ear infections in the left ear when he was younger and a failure of the left Eustachian Tube to drain properly, his hearing is 10% impaired in the left ear.  Joe can be lazy if not properly motivated. He is easily distracted. It is a terrible thing to admit, but he tends to remember things just a little wrong. Joe talks too much. He tends to be overly friendly and may divulge personal information that is irrelevant to what is going on. He is susceptible to the TMI bug. He engages the mouth before the brain too often; saying inappropriate things.

[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]history:[/u][/color][/b][/h3]  [hider=History]Joe was born and raised in East Aurora, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.  His father, William spent thirty years in the employ of the CSXT Railroad out of Buffalo. His father either worked locals along the Belt Subdivision or ran the lines up to Niagara Falls or out to Rochester. Joe swore that he would never work for the railroad. Since the age of 10, Joe has been reading Military History. It is his fascination. Before the end of days, Joe received regular subscriptions from Military History Magazine, World War II and Military Heritage Magazine.

After graduating High School in 2003, Joe enlisted in the US Army. He was motivated to serve after seeing the Airliners hit the World Trade Center a year and a half earlier. He attended Infantry Basic Combat Training (BCT & AIT) on Sand Hill, Ft. Benning, GA later that year. Upon graduation from Basic and AIT, Joe attended the Airborne School, also at Ft. Benning. Immediately following the four weeks of physical fitness training associated with earning the silver wings or Parachutist's Badge, Joe Filion was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Rangers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Instead of being shipped to Washington, the Army wisely sent him to the Ranger School at Ft. Benning, since he was already there. Ranger school was an extremely challenging course, spending two weeks each at Camp Darby on Benning; Dahlonega, Georgia's Mountaineering school; Eglin Air Force Base's Jungle training and Ft. Bliss, Texas' desert training. Ranger school teaches the student small unit tactics (squad and platoon level) in extremely miserable conditions. The students may sleep two to five hours in a 24-hour period and it is rarely consecutive. They also eat roughly one or two meals worth of food a day. When the eight weeks of Ranger School was complete, Joe Filion was lean at 170 Lbs.

From March to May 2004 and July to October 2004, the Battalion deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Although Joe anticipated being sent to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, home of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, those plans were interrupted. He was permitted to sign into the battalion in Washington, but as soon as he arrived, the battalion packed up and headed to Iraq for a two-month deployment. He did not see his barracks until he returned in May. But it was a brief visit as the battalion returned this time to the [i]Stan[/i] in July for another three month deployment. He finally returned to Lewis-McChord in October, 2004.  

During his first trip to Iraq he was involved in no fewer than five operations including contact with the enemy and somehow managed to remain unscathed. On his second tour, a 7.62mm slug from a Taliban AK-47 entered his shoulder, missed the bone and exited his back; what is known as a "through and through". It was a clean shoot that would heal up quickly. The wound was enough to end Joe's visit to the Middle Eastern paradise.

In 2005, Joe changed duty assignment, being assigned to A Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry (Mechanized), 1st Armor Division, Ft. Bliss, Texas. He hated being in a Stryker Infantry Battalion, but it appeared to be the way to go. Joe often referred to the M1126 Infantry Carrier Vehicle he and his squad mates rode in as "steel coffins". But the Stryker was actually a comfortable ride. 

In the summer of 2006, his three years of active service ended and he returned to New York. Due to his veteran status, he was able to put himself through college at State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY). He also joined the New York Army National Guard that September. At that time, the NYANG had a program that if you attend a state college and you were a member of the guard, your tuition was free of charge. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science graduating in 2011. Due to military commitments, he ended up spending a year longer than planned in school.

In Joe's opinion, the National Guard was weak, professionally and the solders lacked discipline. It disgusted him when he saw US Army regulations disregarded. Joe had been drilled to respect and appreciate the uniform while on active duty. He wore the Ranger scroll on his right shoulder (combat patch) and the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB) over his left breast pocket along with the Parachutist's badge. He also had the Ranger tab on his left shoulder over the 42nd Infantry Division patch. Specialist Filion's uniform was always starched and pressed, his Corcoran jump boots were spit shined and he always wore a high and tight haircut.

In 2008, Joe Filion graduated from the state's Officer Candidate School (OCS) and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (Reserve) in the New York Army National Guard. While an officer in the guard, Lieutenant Filion served as a Rifle Platoon Leader, Heavy Mortar Platoon Leader, and Executive Officer. From 2014 - 2016, He commanded C Troop, 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment in Buffalo. He thoroughly enjoyed his time as an Infantry Captain and Troop Commander. During the Infantry Officer Advanced Course (IOAC) at Ft. Benning, GA, Joe wrote his Battle Analysis on the 1st battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division's actions at Nijmegan, Holland in September, 1944. He also gave a presentation on the Battle of Santiago, Cuba in 1898. 

In his civilian life, Joe worked as a Police Officer for Buffalo Police Department. He hired on at age 21 after he left the Army. The department was busy. His job took him to any of the several hospitals in the city. On one  such visit, he met a young woman named, Pamela Grant who he fell in love with. In 2010 at the age of 25, Joe and Pam married and moved into their home in West Seneca, NY. Joe retained his employment with the BPD. Pam worked at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo. She worked in the CT department (CAT Scans). Due to the demand for qualified health professionals, Pam's salary was far greater than Joe's; at least twice as much in annual figures.

At the end of 2010, their first child, Theresa (Terry) was born. In the summer of 2011, Joseph (Junior) arrived. Due to the [i]event[/i] that killed off 90% of the human population of the planet, Joseph lost his wife, Pam to this mysterious plague. Theresa and Joseph, have somehow survived with their father. Theresa is now 22 years old and Joe Jr. just turned 21.[/hider]


[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Possessions:[/u][/color][/b][/h3]
[list]- Dillon Reloading Press
- storage bin containing gunpowder, ammunition dies, primers and spare projectiles
- Molds for crafting 5.56mm (.223 cal), 7.62mm (.308 cal), 7.62mm (Soviet), 9mm (pistol), .45 cal (pistol) and .30-06 Cal (rifle) projectiles.
- Photographs of his deceased wife.
- Ambrose, Stephen, "Citizen Soldiers" (1997)
- Ambrose, Stephen, "D-Day; June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II" (1994)
- Ambrose, Stephen, "The Victors; Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II" (1998)
- Ambrose, Stephen, "Band of Brothers" (1992)
- Miscellaneous copies of Military History Magazine from 2015 and 2016.
-16ea 20 round aluminum box magazines for M1A
- 6ea 15 round aluminum box magazines for M9
- 12ea 30 round aluminum box magazines for M4
- 8ea 7-round aluminum box magazines for M1911A1[/list]
 
[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Equipment:[/u][/color][/b][/h3]
[list]- Gerber Mark II Survival Knife
- Leatherman Multi-Tool
- M9 Bayonet (Joe Jr.)
- Assault Vest (Joe, Terry & Joe Jr.)
- Sleeping bags (All three)
- poncho & poncho liner (All three)
- M1A SOCOM 16 CQB Carbine (7.62mm) "Joe"
- M9 9mm Beretta "Joe"
- M4 Carbine (5.56mm) "Joe Jr."
- M1911A1 Colt .45 ACP Pistol "Joe Jr."
- Mossberg 500 tactical 12-gauge Shotgun "Terry"[/list]


[h3][b][color=f7941d][u]Notes:[/u][/color][/b][/h3]
1. Shortly after it was clear the end of days was upon the citizens of Western New York State, Joe Filion acquired a High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle which he used to travel around the area in with his two children.

2. Check out: [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/125046-joseph-filions-journal/ooc]Joseph Filion's Journal[/url]. I will remove items below as they happen in the journal.

3. They joined a group of survivors who caravaned together for several years. Over time, the members of the group died off or moved on with other groups leaving Joe and his children alone.

4. Although, Joe began with complete sets of Army Combat Uniforms left over from when he was in the New York Guard, most of those have ripped out and rendered useless. He has taken to wearing dark colored cotton trousers, combat boots, dark colored T-shirts and a black leather jacket. He still wears a Buffalo Bills baseball cap. His dog tags remain around his neck and he still wears his watch and wedding band.

5. Moving around the area allowed him to link up with "Grisha" and O'Keefe. Although Joe has been offered to ride on the inside of the T72, the former Infantry Officer has declined every time. His son, Joe Jr. has filled in has driver and gunner from time to time. But so far Terry and Joe Sr. have remained outside the turret.

6. Not long after linking up with Grisha and O'keefe, the HMMWV they have been using broke down. Instead of attempting to find repair parts, they have been forced to abandon the utility truck and transfer their equipment to Grisha's Tank.

7. Watson brothers drive a car bomb into Grisha's T-72. Joe Jr. punctures an eardrum, but survives the explosion.