Avatar of Gunther

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Recent Statuses

27 days ago
Current Summer break begins today!
1 like
3 mos ago
I will continue to be one of the oldest members of this community in August.
12 likes
5 mos ago
If you are a fan of Warhammer 40,000 or Age of Sigmar, let me know. Maybe we can put together an RP. I play Ironjawz & Kruleboyz in AOS and Salamanders & Drukhari in 40K.
1 like
2 yrs ago
Happy holidays, everyone!
6 likes
2 yrs ago
Summer break is almost over. Back to work/school and all that non-fun stuff.
5 likes

Bio

I am a veteran of the United States Army and the US Army National Guard. I spent three years on Active Duty serving in the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Ft. Carson, CO, and the 3rd Armor Division at Kirch Göns, West Germany. I spent 18 years in the Army National Guard with the 26th Infantry Division "Yankee" and 29th Infantry Division (Light), "The Blue and the Gray". I was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 29th ID (L) in 2001 - 2002. I have also been reading military history articles and books since I was 10 years old. I do prefer Military Role Plays over all other genres, primarily because I have a vast knowledge of the subject including personal experiences. At the very least, my characters are always veterans.

I have been writing for pleasure for at least 35+ years but only got into forum-based Role Playing about eighteen years ago. I do enjoy Nation Role Plays and get into minute detail when designing my military. The only reason I enjoy excruciating detail in my militaries is because for me, it is fun. My education and experience on this subject afford me the insight to see the depth of the structure. It is not just a General and a large pile of soldiers. If someone wants assistance in designing an army, navy, or air force, please send me a PM. I will help. Please specify what level (echelon) or depth you would like me to go. When I say echelon, I mean Army, Corps, Division, Brigade/Regiment, Battalion/Squadron, Company/Troop/Battery, Platoon, and Squad/Section.

When I was a student in High School, I used to play Dungeons & Dragons. Recently, I have been DMing a 5e campaign of my creation for my son and his friends. 5e is so much less cumbersome than earlier editions of D&D. I do have an interest in Tolkien-esque fantasy-styled Role Plays as well. Time travel has always been a fun genre for me, but to do it well, one must have a firm grasp of historical facts.

There are only a few fanfictions I will participate in; Star Wars and Star Trek are two of them. I want to do an exclusively Klingon RP one of these days. I also avoid Canon characters.

I have real-world martial arts experience. I would love to write an RP about hand-to-hand combat, no fantasy magic chit, just hands elbows, knees, and feet. Maybe the occasional head butt thrown in to mix things up. I trained in Krav Maga for six and a half years. I earned a first-degree black belt in Krav Maga on 3 June 2017.

Krav Maga is an Israeli martial art form that employs practical self-defense techniques drawing forms & techniques from Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Taekwando. It is very brutal, demanding, and aggressive. During the seven years I trained, I have bruised two ribs, sustained several muscle pulls, and various lacerations and bruises over my body. I have received a sprained ankle and a fractured wrist. Before the first black belt test, I received a bone bruise to my right shin; where my roundhouse kicks impact. Yet, I am stupid enough to continue training. [Regardless of the physical pain, it is more fun than any other physical activity I have engaged in. Fortunately, the bone bruise healed up prior to the third and final test. EDIT: I did leave the sport over five years ago. :(]

Over two years ago I completed my first novel, a science fiction set in the 24th century. It focuses on a Private Military Corporation solely employed by the earth government. I started a second book in November 2022 and hope to work on that this summer when I have more time.

Send me a PM for a Role Play or if you would like to see what sort of an army I could build for you.

--Gunther (AKA: Old School)



Gunthers Cast of Hooligans

Most Recent Posts

Barioth, Smarty is squared away. I like him too. :)

-Muay Thai Expert, 20 Years Started at age 6
-Muay Boran Expert
-Krabi-krabong Expert

^ This says, "hand to hand proficient.
The line below is mere redundancy.
-Hand-to-Hand proficient

The head instructor at my martial arts school holds a 4th degree black belt in Muay Thai, Krav Maga, Kempo Karate and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has also done some MMA cage fighting. He is only 25 years old, so for your guy to be an expert at these disciplines by age 29 sounds quite reasonable to me. What I have found about these various disciplines, is they specialize in certain areas. Muay Thai specializes in their strike sets; mostly strikes with the hands and some kicking; TKD specializes in kicks and BJJ specializes in ground work. It is nice to have a good frame work in those three. Krav Maga is simply the art of self-counter-attack. Someone comes at you, and you react. Some attempts to start some shit with you and you overwhelm their senses leaving them in a bloody mess. In our school, we train in Muay Thai Strike sets mixed in with our Krav Maga. It is a lot of fun.
Foster said
If you can decide how bad the fighting in an area was by how many medals of honor resulted from it... New Guinea was pretty bad.-I think we handed out 12 of them. Doesn't sound like much until you remember that the US forces sent there didn't get into many history-books.Which is one of the downsides of having multiple smaller engagements happening in and around and/or supporting a larger one, especially in a protracted war, such small actions seldom get noticed...

Thanks for that. I do appreciate reading military history. It is my favorite subject. Have been doing so for most of my life.
That Centralized planning/Decentralized execution which the 32nd ID performed in New Guinea is exactly the sort of operation the US got into in Vietnam and were up until recently performing in Afghanistan. Yes, small fire fights don't get the headlines. Events like the 7th Cavalry at Ia Drang Valley make the headlines. Primarily because it was the battle with the highest American casualty total up until that time of the war (1965). It was also a Battalion (+) sized operation. The Tet Offensive gets the press because it was decentralized execution that occurred on teh same day all over the country.

What you say about the MoH is speaks volumes. Those things aren't handed out very frequently. For one division to receive 12 for one campaign speaks volumes.
Thanks Foster. I'll have to take some time to read up on the 32nd ID in New Guinea. Most of what I know about the South Pacific is either USMC or USN. I see that corps operation involved the 6th and 7th Australian Divisions as well.
Those MEPS doctors are pretty particular, like Mr. Foster states.
Look for weaknesses in your soldier's character rather than his physical abilities.
Psychological weaknesses may get past MEPS, but they will be discovered by Drill Instructors.
This site needs more fixing, HS.
It has been down for what? two days now?
I read the character sheets for Marlena Abdelkadaar, 26, Algerian; Alexander Fox, 24, USA and Esteban Pereyra-Mateo, 28, Cuban FAR. I like Esteban Mateo and what you have stated earlier. It is nice trying on a smaller nation once in awhile. There is no definitive comparison between a Cuban SFC and an American SFC. The trick is in discerning which ranks perform what tasks at various levels/echelons within their army.

Some armies may use Corporals or Sergeants as squad leaders while the American "Army" uses Staff Sergeants. The USMC employ Sergeants as squad leaders. Some armies use the rank Sergeant to describe the platoon sergeant and another higher rank as the Company Senior Sergeant. The British Army may use a Warrant Officer 2 as the Company Senior Sergeant. In an infantry unit, this person would be addressed as Company Sergeant Major even though he wears the rank of a WO2 or WOII. The Warrant Officer 1 is more closely associated with the American rank of Command Sergeant Major or Sergeant Major. There are various infantry and cavalry units in the British Army, that have a different insignia for those soldiers who attained the rank of "Regimental Sergeant Major", but are paid the equivalent of a WO1 or WOI.

But for our Role Play, we aren't really overly concerned with rank. It is meaningless to what we are doing. If you are a rifleman in this new army, that is your title, Rifleman. If you are an Auto Rifleman, Grenadier or Machine Gunner, that is your title. The employers are not assigning ranks to the employees of their Private Military Corporation. You could have been a 28 year old Captain and still get slotted as a Rifleman. It depends more on your character's experience than what rank he/she attained. In fact, your character doesn't have to have been a soldier. A law enforcement background works too, assuming the character has comparable work experiences as an infantryman. Some paramilitary forces around the globe do have combat experiences; namely the Brazilian Police Forces in Sao Paolo.

Welcome Marlena Abdelkadaar to the unit. I see nothing wrong with her.

The recruiter eyeballs Alexander Fox's 201 File and distorts his face in that skeptical sort of way, only a real veteran could. Yea, something's not right in the state of Denmark. This guy could be a case of Stolen Valor; faking it. At 24 years of age, he might be a young Staff Sergeant, but most likely Sergeant with the way promotions are for young NCOs in the 11B (Infantryman) and 18B (Special Forces Weapons Sergeant) MOSes.

The Recruiter's eye is immediately drawn the Asberger's anotation and marks him as unfit for duty. In fact, he would never have been permitted into the US Army with this condition. He would have failed his physical and gone on to flip burgers at McDonald's.

As writers we all know that creating a weakness in our character is important for writing a good story. I say go for it. Weaknesses make a great story. But the men and women being recruited here are professionals. That does not mean you have to possess a wealth of knowledge about the experiences of your character. The true test of the author within you is knowing how to fake it. ;)

Professional Soldiers all KNOW without any doubt that teamwork is the only way in any military operation. Not getting along with others means, you get kicked out. You are not part of the unit. Anyone who cannot be a team player cannot play. It is plain and simple.

The weakness for your character in an RP of this nature, should exist within their character; a lack of confidence, alcohol addiction, emotional issues, laziness (or doing what needs to be done to get by) or a whole host of other character maladies we as authors may sometimes take for granted. But they do exist and we deal with them on a daily basis. What about a person who is constantly negative? No matter what happens, he is always focused on the negative. Wouldn't that also be a huge character flaw in a military organization? "Oh fuck it! We're all just going to get our asses shot off! Fuck this shit!" I know I've heard that line a few times. It is tough to be positive when the shit is going to hell PDQ.
If anyone has questions with military related items, please send me a PM. I have both real world experience and a lifetime of reading under my belt. I'm old too.

~The Grizzled Veteran
Hello HeySeuss! This looks familiar. SFC Brian Park is back for more. I promise a tree won't break a rib after falling on top of him this time.

If anyone has any questions about military related details, please ask.
Character Sheet

Name: Brian Park
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/Nationality: Korean American
Former Unit: Served 16 years in the US Army. Started as an 11B Infantryman, attended Ranger, Airborne and Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQ) at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center (JFK-SWC). Last held MOS was 18B40 - Senior Light Weapons Specialist (Primary) and (Secondary) 11B40 - Infantry Platoon Sergeant. He held the following positions as members of the following units:
- Squad Automatic Weapon gunner, B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry (1-27), 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
- Grenadier, C Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Rangers (1-75), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia
- After being promoted to Sergeant, Brian attended the US Army Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQ) at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Ft. Bragg, NC (JFK - SWC)
- Special Operations Weapons Sergeant, A Detachment, A Co. 1st Bn, 1st Special Forces Group (SFG), Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Tacoma, WA
-Brian left he military with the rank of Sergeant First Class (E7).


Role: Squad Leader

Physical Description:
"The Riddler" stands 5'11", and weighs 195 Lbs. He is of Korean American descent. Brian Park is in excellent physical condition with very short hair; maintaining a standard High and Tight haircut. He has a scar on his left shoulder that is 7.62mm in diameter. A larger exit scar on his back is roughly 3 centimeters in diameter. Brian wears jeans and a T-shirt when not working and a pair of running shoes or hiking boots. He also wears a Boston Red Sox baseball cap and sunglasses.

Skillset:
- Served as a Squad Automatic Rifleman, Grenadier, and member of a Special Operations Alpha Detachment.
- Airborne School
- Ranger School
- Special Forces Qualification Course, John F Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Ft. Bragg, NC
- HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) qualified
- Jumpmaster qualified
- US Army Physical Fitness Score: 300 of 300.
- Expert with his primary weapon, hitting 40 of 40 targets at his last Range Qualification
- Proficient with all available small arms weapons on the planet.
- Leadership
- Land Navigation
- Small Unit Tactics
- Battalion/Brigade Operations (Heavy/Light Mix)
- Krav Maga training, expert

History:
Raised in the Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts. His father works as an Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor) at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Brian's grandfather served as an officer in the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in the 1950s and 1960s rising to the rank of Colonel. Brian entered the Army right out of High school.

Brian served as Squad Automatic Weapon gunner, B Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry (1-27), 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and Grenadier, C Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Rangers (1-75), Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia before attending JFK-SWC. After being promoted to Sergeant, Brian attended the US Army Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQ) at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, Ft. Bragg, NC (JFK - SWC) and has been assigned as Special Operations Light Weapons Sergeant, A Detachment, A Co. 1st Bn, 1st Special Forces Group (SFG), Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Tacoma, WA ever since.

Psychological Profile:
Brian Park is serious about his work. He knows that survival is dependent upon his ability to pay close attention to detail and to insure those personnel he is charged with preparing for combat take their training seriously as well as the preparation requirements for combat. When in combat, Brian Park is "Serious as a Mother Fuckin' Heart Attack" and that is what he will tell you. When he is not on an operation, not training, or not on duty, Brian Park is a fun-loving soldier with a great sense of humor. His sense of humor earned him the sobriquet of "The Riddler".

Equipment: See the character guide and notes on equipment.
Items carried on person: Current Army Combat Uniform (ACU), tan combat boots, black weight lifting gloves, a NCStar CBG2911 tactical back pack, color green, Night vision device (attaches to helmet), and Dragonscale Armor. Olive Green Combat Assault vest, two olive green canteens at the rear left and right along the waist, four pouches containing two each magazines for the HK416 Carbine, a tactical holster on the right outer thigh for the M1911A1, a first aid kit, a butt pack attached to the rear and a camel back hydration system. Brian has a Kevlar construction helmet shaped like the German Falschirmjager helmet of WWII. In his pockets he carries a lensatic compass, a green whistle, grease pencils, black ink pens, a small notebook, protractor, binoculars (7x50mm) and three rolls of black electrical tape. In his butt pack; one MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat) broken down, cleaning rag, weapons cleaning kit, Cleaner, Lubricant & Preservative (CLP) bottle. He has nine spare magazines that are all full, four magazines for the pistol. He wears a current state of the art communication system hardened to withstand EMP. When he is not wearing his helmet, he wears his US Army Special Operations Beret, Green in color. Attached to his helmet is a set of Goggles (Sun, Wind and Dust). Brian has a Gerber Mark II Survival knife attached to his assault vest, a Gerber boot knife at the top of his right boot & a Leatherman tool on his belt.
Items carried in his pack: Three MREs, one extra set of combat fatigues, foot powder, sunscreen, four empty magazines, five Black T-shirts in zip lock bags, seven pairs of wool socks in zip lock bags, wet weather poncho, poncho liner, four bungee cords with hooks, three rolls of OD green duct tape, two hundred feet of 550 foot-Lb parachute cord, one brown towel, a two-quart bladder canteen attached to pack, Entrenching tool (E-Tool) /with carrier, a climbing harness, locking D-ring, figure eight descender, various military snap links, four small spools of trip wire with four small nails inside each spool, Nomex hood.
As someone of Lawful Good alignment and who considers himself a Paladin as well, I am interested in Police themed RPs. Tracking the days leading up to a global event piques my interest also. It could have been a murder mystery and I would have joined you. :)
As a veteran and martial artist, my characters tend to have those traits in their history/background.
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