Monday, October 10, 2011

The Cast pt. 5

Blake McGee is an Irishman with an aristocratic upbringing but hasn't kept him from being a Man among men. He is currently the only member on the Team from the U.K. Coming from a long line of wealth, he was groomed to follow his father into investment banking. Boarded at the finest schools England had to offer for young men headed for great things, he participated in Polo and social event the mingled with blue blood on a constant basis. He never thought much of it till he went away to St. Andrews College and like most young people away from home, he 'found himself'. Off came the cuff links and his a suffocating neck tie. Always the athlete, he took up Boxing, Rugby and drinking. He found what he called his 'True Irish Side'.

No slouch in Academics, he steered away from the dreary classes on economics and math after his first year when he discovered his love for Ancient History and the Classics. He soon employed a tutor on top of his regular classes to master Greek and Latin. He found adventure and passion reading the first historians of Greece and Rome. He shunned the philosophy of Aristotle for the History of Thucydides, Epaminodas, and the Boldness of none other than Julius Caesar. He believed that he could always follow his father's business but that he could only soldier as a youth. When he made the decision to join the Royal Marines, his father threatened to disown him and his mother wept.

He however felt freer than he ever had, in spite of the constant military discipline, above and beyond for anyone wishing to be an officer in the Royal Marines. After his first two years of service he went through selection for the Special Boat Service. The most rigorous ordeal of his life, he made it and went on to command a troop. His first taste of action was in Africa during Operation Barrass. He inserted and reconned the area where British soldiers were being held in Sierra Leone. His first taste of Africa resulted in two Advisory missions to the Army of Botswana. His expertise in explosives was well noted and he also found himself doing humanitarian work in Cambodia doing de-mining work.

In 2004 he was selected to join Britains new X Squadron, a mixture of the top performing SAS and SBS operators. The team was formed to hunt High Value Targets in all over the world. Their counter terrorism capabilities led them on secretive missions on 4 continents and left behind many would be threats to Britain's national security. From the Jungles of South America, the Savannah of Africa to the Sandbox of the Middleast, he had experienced things far beyond what he ever thought possible.

After 13 years in the Royal Marines and its high operational tempo, he felt he needed a change. Through contacts of his father's associates, he began to get offers to design and train security personnel for business's worldwide in trouble spots. From South East Asia to the Oil Fields of Nigeria, he found more work and more money than he cared to handle.

Through a chain of people, Blake's name came up to Jim Hadley, the owner of SLE. Hadley made the initial contact to McGee. Thinking that it was nothing more than a no name Security Company trying to find a down and out ex Special Forces soldier, Blake hung up on him. After talking with some of his contacts, he decided to talk more with this 'Mr. Hadley'. When the terms of his employment and pay became clear as well as the type of professional soldier he would be working with, he decided that he would rather go back to soldiering on his own terms rather than run a business and deal with extremely rich and demanding people.

Now a key member of Task Force Intrepid he is back doing what he does best.

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