Steel Brigade “Screaming Eagles”

Personal log: General Hawk
Entry 219 – Steel Brigade “Screaming Eagles”

As we learn more about Cobra’s plans I have discovered that we need more feet on the ground than just the Sigma 6 Strike Team if we’re going to accomplish our goal and the president has reluctantly agreed. Cobra has used deception and misinformation to mislead and distract us from their actions and we are going to respond in kind. In order to keep them guessing about who exactly it is that is gunning for them I am activating a small reserve unit to act as the “public face” of the war we are waging. But make no mistake, this unit is not just a PR stunt. They will be fighting Cobra just as Sigma 6 is only more openly. As we did with G.I. Joe and more recently Sigma 6 I am pulling the best of the best from the Steel Brigade reserve corps to join this new elite unit.

The Screaming Eagles is made up of specialists from the Steel Brigade and will function as both a frontal assault strike team as well as secondary support and reinforcements for the Sigma 6 team. I have assigned Barrel Roll from the active G.I. Joe roster as the field leader of this new unit.

Barrel Roll comes from a family of soldiers. He has seen more than his share of combat and shows an innate sense of duty. His leadership style is much looser and more independent than others and he’s not afraid to change his battleplan to accomplish his mission. I attribute this trait to his years spent as a sniper where working alone he didn’t have the luxury of calling back to base for instructions. But that doesn’t mean he has no regard for the chain of command nor the soldiers he commands. Quite the opposite in fact. Every decision he makes on the battlefield takes into account the safety of his team as well as the mission.

Joining Barrel Roll are three of the top Steel Brigade operators currently serving. These three were all eligible and actively recruited for the main G.I. Joe team but due to budget cutbacks and other beaureaucratic nonsense they were instead assigned to the Steel Brigade.

Rook serves as the teams sniper and medic, Knight is their weapons specialist and Bishop is the comm officer. They all served in the same reserve unit and have a working relationship that is almost second nature. While each man has his individual quirks they are all consummate professionals. Under Barrel Roll’s command I have no doubt that this unit can do the job.


Knight, Rook, Bishop, Barrel Roll

Equipment Brief
From: Hi-Tech
To: General Hawk
Re: JUMP replacements

As I mentioned a few weeks ago the JUMP jet packs are simply too old and costly to retrofit for our needs. We’ve gone back to the drawing board and used what we learned from the JUMP packs and applied it to today’s technology. Using a new hydrogen fuel cell we’ve increased the flight time to just over 70 minutes without any added weight. We’ve added variable wings to allow for maximum maneuverability making air combat a little less dangerous for the trooper. Also using the latest in interactive HUD technology we’ve made controlling the pack almost completely hands free. We’ve integrated a HUD fly-by-sight control system into the linked helmet. The pack also has a “Superman” mode which responds to body movement following the troopers arm, leg and head movements and adjusting the flight controls as necessary. This dual function control system allows for maximum functionality in almost any circumstance. They are fully field-tested and ready for deployment at your discretion.



Rook, Knight and Bishop are all Resolute 5-pack Duke bodies with heads that fit under the helmet. Barrel Roll is RoC Air Raid with a cast Spy Troops Barrel Roll head.

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Talon Stealth Recon Craft

Audio Briefing
From: Hi-Tech
To: Barrel Roll
Re: Talon Stealth Recon Craft

BEGIN RECORDING … … …

Hey Barrel Roll, welcome to the team. Per General Hawk, I’ve been instructed to brief you on your new ride, the Talon Stealth Recon Craft. Built on the same airframe as the Commanche Stealth Helicopter the Talon is made of lightweight carbon fiber composite skin over a reinforced titanium skeleton. She’s powered by two whisper quiet turbofan powerplants similar to the ones used on the F-117 Stealth Fighter. But what makes the Talon truly unique are her twin nullgrav engines. Developed by NASA as a possible orbital launch mechanism the nullgrav engines create a negative ion field around the ship decreasing its relative mass and allowing it to fly. But NASA killed the project due to its high power demands. Apparently the power necessary to make orbit required a powercell so large that it wouldn’t allow for any cargo let alone astronauts to make the journey. Luckily for us I have solved the power cell problem. I can’t say exactly how they work because one its classified and two it wouldn’t make any sense to anyone but a quantum physicist, no offense. Suffice it to say it works incredibly well. When airborne the Talon’s flight characteristics are similar to an attack helicopter only better. You can hover over a dime and make turns, starts and stops as quickly as you can think it. I know you’ve been logging hours in the simulator so I won’t bore you with the operational details of the flight systems. I do however need to go over the mission systems.

First we have the recon sensor suite. In addition to all of the usual anti-detection and radar jamming equipment the Talon is equipped with a reconnaissance package controlled by a virtual AI computer core. Now you won’t have to do much of anything aside from make sure the system is running during your missions but just in case you need to operate anything manually I’m attaching the specs and “quick start” operations manual. The sensor dome and AI are mounted on the roof just behind the secondary exhaust port. Don’t worry, the engine exhaust won’t affect the scans. The rotating dome has every sensor we could fit jammed into it including audio, infrared, radar, night-vision, biometric, radiological and biochemical scanners. It also houses two high-def video and still digital cameras in addition to the forward nose mounted camera. Like I said the suite runs itself thanks to the AI. The AI core learns from each mission and adapts to scan for whatever is necessary to complete its objective. And just so you don’t worry about this going all “Terminator” on you, the AI core is completely independent of the flight control systems. So much so that we can slide the sensor suite out of the socket and you wouldn’t even know it was there.

Unfortunately we haven’t had time to fully arm the Talon yet. You do have a nose mounted cannon but the only real defense you have at the moment is the stealth capabilities and the engines. If you need to run rest assured you can outrun and outmaneuver anything out there without breaking a sweat. We have a weapons package designed but its taken a backseat to getting the bigger hardware up and running.

Oh, I almost forgot. The rear cabin can carry two troops and full gear loadout, including your flight packs so I expect Hawk will have you using the Talon for insertion and recovery ops for your Screaming Eagles as well as the recon runs. With the nullgrav engines you shouldn’t have any troubles finding an LZ.

That covers just about everything. Once we have the weapons package ready I’ll let you know. I’m sure you’ll want that installed as soon as possible. Until then fly safe.

END RECORDING





The Talon is the RoC Cobra Gunship with a few modifications. I really felt this was better suited for G.I. Joe and it fits perfectly in my Aftermath universe. I added some bits to the spring-loaded missile launchers to make them look like engines (pieces from a Spy Troops Depth Charge jet ski). For the sensors I used bits from a SW Ilum droid. Some additional paint and a few Sigma 6 stickers from the Dragonhawk and I have a new ride for my Aftermath Joes.

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Cool team and a very cool story.
I'd like to do something like this as well.

I'm a sucker for a solid repurpose of existing figures and vehicles, and I love sub teams, so this is hitting me in a good way on two fronts.

Excellent backstory as well.