Colonel, 1st Friesland Regiment
Col. Alois Hammer
FACTION: First Order
RANK: Commanding Officer, 1st Friesland Regiment
SPECIES: Human
AGE: 54
SEX: Male
HEIGHT: 193cm
WEIGHT: 107 kilograms
EYES: Blue
HAIR: Dirty blonde, but greying fast
SKIN: Tan
FORCE SENSITIVE: No
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
Tactician (+): Col. Hammer is an excellent tactician. His ability to read a battlefield like a book is the result of decades of experience and hard lessons learned under fire. He'll be the first to tell you that his skills are not the result of natural talent, but rather, of constantly learning and adapting. He never stops studying, never stops learning, and never passes up the opportunity to improve himself and his skillset. He's keenly aware of his limitations and weaknesses, and takes steps to actively mitigate them.
Fighting Man (+): For some people, the path of the warrior isn't just a job, it's a way of life. Col. Hammer firmly believes in this, and hones his body and mind towards being the best possible soldier he can be. Even though he's getting on in years, he maintains a strict physical fitness regiment and diet, abstains from alcohol, tobacco, and all other vices save for caffeine. Rather than attending parties, he spends his free time at the firing range, or at the gym, where he can be found working out or sparring. The result is that he can run faster, lift more, shoot straighter, and last longer than most men half his age.
Clueless (-): Thanks to the relatively backwater nature of his home planet, Col. Hammer's odd behavior was dismissed as a child. As an adult, he was diagnosed as having high functioning autism. This mainly manifests as difficulty in understanding and connecting with others on an emotional level. Like many who are diagnosed later in life, he's been able to compensate through practice and observation, but even so, he doesn't really understand others and has difficulty coping with his own more intense emotions in a healthy manner. He suffers from intense social anxiety, which he masks with a stony exterior. This gives him the appearance of being cold, unsympathetic, even callous, and makes him one of the absolute worst people to send on a diplomatic mission anywhere this side of Chiss space.
Strategically Inept (-): Tactics win battles, but strategies win wars. Col. Hammer is excellent at reading a battlefield and making short term tactical decisions, but his lack of understanding of neurotypical thought patterns makes him a poor choice for conducting long term strategic planning. Because of this, he'll likely never rise above the rank of Colonel, despite an impressive career. He knows he's not suited towards planning extended campaigns, and he's perfectly clear with his superiors any time the subject is broached.
APPEARANCE:
Tall, muscular, and worn down by years of living outdoors in hostile environments, Alois looks nothing so much like an extremely fit strip of shoe leather stretched over a bodybuilder's frame. Though he cleans up nicely enough for parade, extended stays in combat environments often leave him looking unkempt by field grade officer standards. As he firmly believes in sharing hardships with his men, when they go without showers, barbers, and laundry facilities, so does he. His one concession to vanity are a series of tattoos, most notably, a large one on his right bicep.
BIOGRAPHY:
Friesland, a backwater world in the Outer Rim, would be utterly insignificant if not for two things: firstly, it is the home of a certain Colonel Alois Hammer, and secondly, it was ravaged by the Ssi-Ruu some years before the formation of the First Order.
Born to middle class parents as the youngest child of four, Alois was an academically gifted but socially inept youngster who was much more at home in books and games than in school. He had difficultly connecting with his peers and making friends, to the point where any friendships he made happened completely by accident and through no fault of his own. Nonetheless, he and three of his closest friends joined the Friesland Home Guard at the age of 18. Alois found that the life of a soldier suited him much better than anything he had known before. After finishing his bachelor's degree in science, he commissioned as a Lieutenant at the age of 22, and was on the fast track to promotion when the Ssi-Ruu invaded.
Friesland was utterly devastated by the attack. Though Alois and his comrades fought bravely, they were ultimately overmatched by the lizards. He and a small group managed to make it offworld shortly before a series of asteroid strikes, improvised by the frustrated invaders, wiped out all life on the planet. In short order, everything he had ever known and loved was destroyed. Vowing revenge, he and his contingent of exiles formed the 1st Friesland Regiment.
At first, 1FR was barely more than a battalion in strength. They had a couple of outdated tanks, some light armor, mechanized infantry, and a handful of transport ships to their name. Alois was promoted to Captain on the spot, and then to Major shortly thereafter, where his talent for organization paid immense dividends for the cash strapped Frieslanders. Over time, they distinguished themselves in a number of mercenary actions throughout the Outer Rim, each victory earning them new recruits, new equipment, and new contracts. The 1FR became known within the region as a reliable source of manpower for nearly any mission, and their rabid hatred of the Ssi-Ruu made them extremely popular on the borders of the lizards' Empire.
Unfortunately, there was no way to sustain such an operation indefinitely. Deaths, retirements due to injuries, age, and psychological issues whittled down their ranks until the 1st Friesland Regiment contained only a handful of its original Frieslanders. What's more, several powerful governments had sprung up in the area, each infinitely more capable than the 1FR at protecting the people of the Outer Rim. It was time for a change.
By then a Lt Colonel, Alois made contact with several of the local powers, and eventually decided to throw his lot in with the reformed First Order. Having suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Ssi-Ruu themselves and only recently regained their status as a power to be reckoned with, they were eager to have him and what men he could bring with them. Though many of the 1FR took the chance to be cashiered out, several hundred experienced offcers and NCOs took the First Order's salt. With a strong backbone, a deep well of institutional experience, and the newly minted Colonel Hammer at their head, the 1FR quickly distinguished themselves as one of the premier combined arms regiments within the First Order Army.