Gung-Ho

Melee
RV 20

Coordination
RV 6

Brawn
RV 20

Fortitude
RV 10

Intellect
RV 6

Awareness
RV 6

Willpower
RV 20

Lifestyle
RV 10

Repute
RV 0

Health:
Fortune:

56
32

Origin:

Like a very large majority of his fellow Joes, Gung-Ho is but a normal human: one who doesn't have mutant powers, psionic training, or a mystical background with which to fight the forces of evil. Despite this, he possesses a nigh-indomitable will, and the ability to fight against all odds for what he believes in - something about his Cajun origins make him quite obstinate in that regard!

Known Powers:

(none)

Limitations / Enhancements:

(none)

Equipment:

Colt M1911A1 Pistol: a handy backup should his heavier projectile weapons be rendered inoperative or inadequate for the task at hand, Gung-Ho usually wears this pistol in a hip holster. He can fire this semi-automatic weapon to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a single shot, or rank value 10 Piercing damage in a magazine-burning burst of doom!

Grenades: you never know when you'll need to blow something up. Keeping this in mind, Gung-Ho carries two of these with him whenever he goes into action, both of which are pinned to his vest. He can throw these (likely fragmentary) grenades to inflict rank value 30 Slashing damage to everything within the sector they detonate in, if said things (or people) are not somehow under cover.

Knife: a knife fighter since his wee youth, Gung-Ho naturally carries a blade with him on missions, should he find himself unarmed or need to utilize stealth in the elimination of a foe. This blade is of m.v. 30, and can inflict rank value 20 Slashing damage in melee. On occasion, Gung-Ho also carries with him a much longer (and more imposing) machete - because why not?

XM-79 Grenade Launcher: when he needs to blow stuff up, and said stuff isn't within throwing range, Gung-Ho simply lobs a grenade at it with this handy dandy launcher. This thing fires fragmentary grenades that inflict rank value 30 Slashing damage to everything within their target sector, and can strike a target up to three sectors away from Gung-Ho.

Quirks:

(none)

Skills:

Guns: part of his essential Marines training, Gung-Ho has been schooled in the proper use of guns - any guns. Whether it be a standard, semi-automatic, or fully automatic rifle or pistol, Gung-Ho can use it as though his Coordination trait was +1 RS higher than the rank value listed above; the only guns Gung-Ho doesn't gain this bonus on are high tech, directed energy weapons.

Marksman: in addition to his ability to utilize standard weaponry, Gung-Ho has been educated in the use of heavier ballistic devices. Whether he uses a grenade launcher, mortar, rocket launcher, or tank, Gung-Ho can fire such a weapon as though his Coordination trait was +1 RS higher than is listed above - and he so loves to use this skill against the forces of evil!

Martial Arts styles B and C: Gung-Ho's military training has merely fine-tuned his already impressive melee combat skills. In essence, the man receives a +1 RS on any unarmed combat maneuver, whether it be a punch, kick, head butt, knee smash, elbow jab, grapple, or even a dodge or escape maneuver. Of course, he enhances this skill constantly with... practice... in the field.

Military / United States: having gone through years of training with the Marine Corps, Gung-Ho can be considered a natural with this skill. He knows military protocols like the back of his hand, and can easily exist within an armed organization. Furthermore, this skill gives him numerous Military contacts, and is the basis for most of his combat skills - save for the knife fighting.

Skill / Knives: in his formative years, Gung-Ho was a first rate knife fighter, a skill which he maintains to this very day. In melee combat, Gung-Ho receives a +1 RS on any Melee roll used to resolve a knife attack made by his person. Of course, he'd rather just fight with a grenade launcher or some such these days, but in a pinch he'll do what he has to.

Survival: Gung-Ho grew up in a swamp, and years of healthy living in the middle of Cajun country have given him the ability to subsist off the land there, no matter what condition he finds himself in. Additional military training has extended this capability to just about any terrain, from jungles to deserts. Should he find himself left in the lurch somewhere, Gung-Ho will most likely come back... with a vengeance!

Contacts:

As a member of the GI Joe team, Gung-Ho can readily depend on the various operatives of this group to cover his behind in a pinch - the Joes definitely protect their own. Furthermore, his time with the Marines has given Gung-Ho innumerable Military contacts in the Marine Corps, and if he needs to, he can always request aid from his 'backwater' Cajun clan if he's in the area.

Costume:

When he first joined the GI Joe team, Gung-Ho tended to wear a decidedly non-standard uniform into action. It consists of a light blue vest with two grenades pinned to it, typically unbuttoned as to show off his tattoos, a pair of trousers with a blue and green camouflage pattern on them, a light blue belt, gray boots, a gray watch, and of course, Gung-Ho's trademark green cap.

Personality:

Gung-Ho is one of the toughest, gruffest human beings around, at least when he's fighting - otherwise, he's one of the most easy-going and relaxed people you'll know. When his life's not on the line, he doesn't bother to get worked up over the little things. He is a strange one, though, being one of the only people capable of eating - and liking - ham 'n lima bean C-rations. No, really!

Real Name: Ettienne La Fitte, Grade E-7 (later E-9 for a time)
Occupation: Recondo, jungle warfare
Legal Status: American citizen with no known criminal record
Marital Status: single
Alias(es), if any: none
Group Affiliation: GI Joe, the Mega Marines (a GI Joe sub team), Night Force (another GI Joe sub team)

Height: 6' 2"
Hair: none (shaved bald)
Eyes: brown
Weight: 190 lbs
Other Distinguishing Characteristics: Gung-Ho has a rather large array of military tattoos, the most notorious of which is his large, chest-mounted Marines Corps logo. He also wears a thick, drooping moustache most of the time - which sometimes morphs into either a goatee or no facial hair at all.

Story:

Gung-Ho was born on the bayou to a rather large Cajun clan. He grew up in the middle of nowhere with no one but his relatives and the local alligators to keep him company, until he moved to New Orleans in his early teens. Once he did that, he learned the hard way how to become an expert brawler and knife fighter, and did so to make a living until he joined the Marines at the age of eighteen.

Being stationed at Parris Island, Gung-Ho graduated in the top of his class, and went on to attend Recondo School, Airborne school, and the Marine Ordnance School. Being tough and crazy enough, Gung-Ho earned a position on the one and only GI Joe team, and even excelled in this capacity. In fact, on his very first mission, he stunned his fellow Joes with his combat prowess.

This while wading into combat bare-chested, in Alaska, at temperatures below zero - if only to show off his tattoos. After this odd introduction to his new teammates, Gung-Ho went on to serve with distinction on various Joe operations, including several tours of duty in war-torn Sierro Gordo, and multiple operations on Cobra Island, being present for both the nation's formation and its civil war.

In fact, he was present during all three of Cobra's attacks on the Pit, the Joe team's secret headquarters - one at each of the Pit facilities, actually! Furthermore, Gung-Ho was placed in command of the so-called 'Mega Marines' for a time, an elite group of Joes wielding advanced armor and weaponry that they used in the fight against various genetically engineered horrors created by Cobra.

Shortly after that battle was won, however, the Joe team was mothballed, as the government had decided that Cobra - now the power behind war-torn Borovia - was no longer a direct threat to its interests. With this move, Gung-Ho had suddenly acquired a lot of spare time. Exactly what he did with said time has yet to be revealed, but he was one of the first Joes to return three years later.

You see, it was determined that the move to close down the Joe team was rather short-sighted, and while the team was out of action, Cobra practically tripled in its power and influence. As such, the Joes were reactivated a few years later, and when he returned, Gung-Ho was placed in command of the Joe team's armor - in other words, he got to drive the Slugger in to battle!

Gung-Ho continues on as a Joe to this very day.

1987 Variations

Equipment:

Sword, Ornamental: whenever he's in ceremonial dress, Gung-Ho tends to carry with him an ornamental blade, one that isn't all that practical in combat. Nonetheless, he can use it in a pinch to inflict rank value 20 Slashing damage should he need to, as it is crafted to be of material value 40. And it looks pretty keen, too, when you get right down to it!

Costume:

Gung-Ho's second uniform, though technically his original, is actually his dress blues. This uniform consists of a blue pair of trousers with red racing stripes on the outsides, a dark blue jacket with a red collar, white gloves, a white cap, a white belt with a gold belt buckle, and shiny, black leather boots. Of course, he supplemented this with his many awards and badges earned via years of courageous service.

1992 Variations

Equipment:

Rocket Launcher: when not carrying his trusty grenade launcher around, Gung-Ho instead lugs a large rocket launcher about. This weapon fires rocket propelled grenades at his opponents, each of which are aided by an infra-red targeter beam that allows for a +1 RS to hit. The rockets fired by Gung-Ho's launcher possess these 'vehicular' statistics:

Handling
RV 10

Velocity
RV 40

Durability
RV 10

Damage
RV 30 Slashing (fragmentary)

Costume:

Gung-Ho's third uniform consists of a pair of light green trousers, a grass green vest with black 'tiger stripes' on it, a black arm bandana, a black headband, a brown belt, a brown holster for his pistol, and a brown pair of boots. He naturally complements this uniform with a large bandoiler that carries multiple rounds of whatever weapon of choice he's currently carrying into battle.

1993 Variations

Equipment:

Helmet (v2): this metal helmet, coated with a special ray-shielded compound, complements Gung-Ho's Kevlar body armor well - it completes the ensemble, in fact. In addition to providing like protection from attack (see below), this helmet is equipped with a communications headset that has rank value 4 range (10 mile comm radius), and a likely encryption rating of rank value 10.

Kevlar Body Armor (v2): this odd armor suit, worn while he was the leader of the so-called Mega Marines, is a diamond laced, Kevlar body suit (with additional plating) that is effectively laser and bullet proof. Overall, the suit provides the man rank value 10 protection against both physical and energy assaults, all over his body (assuming that he's wearing his accompanying helmet).

Machine Gun: during most of his military career, Gung-Ho carried a machine gun with him on missions, though the exact type varied from mission to mission. He can use these firearms to inflict rank value 6 Piercing damage in a single shot, rank value 10 Piercing damage in a small burst, and rank value 20 damage in a magazine-burning, full-auto barrage of lead.

Pistol Grip Shotgun (v2): this implement was one that Gung-Ho carried around while he was one of the Joe team's so-called 'Mega Marines'. He can fire this weapon to inflict rank value 20 Piercing damage per blast, and can do so twice before he must reload it; this takes one full turn to accomplish, but Gung-Ho does wear a bandoiler brimming with spare shotgun shells when carrying this weapon.

Handling
RV 10

Velocity
RV 40

Durability
RV 10

Damage
RV 30 Slashing (fragmentary)

Costume:

Gung-Ho's fourth uniform is simply a variant of his third - the same, but with wildly different colors. His vest is bright red, though it retains the black 'tiger stripes', and he changed the color of his trousers to an earthy brown. He maintained the rest of the uniform, however, including the large bandoiler - which he'd since taken to loading up with a plethora of shotgun shells.

His fifth combat suit is a Kevlar body armor that came with his temporary membership in the Mega Marines division of the Joe team. The base color of the Kevlar is a dark brown, though it has numerous plating additions on top of that, in a bright yellow; these included shoulder pads, gloves, boots, thigh pads, a yellow belt, and a sort of yellow codpiece element.

1997 Variations

Equipment:

Slugger: when he hooked up with the Joe team after its '97 reformation, Gung-Ho took to driving an overhauled Slugger, the basic ground armor vehicle the Joes made use of that year. Since Thunder was no longer around to pilot this beast, Gung-Ho gladly took the job - it was a new challenge, after all! See the Slugger's entry for more information.

Costume:

After hooking back up with the Joes when they reassembled, Gung-Ho adopted a variant version of his original uniform; it looks the same, but it comes in different colors. The vest was brown, though it had light blue trim on the zipper, collar, etc. The trousers were brown, with a dark green camo pattern dyed on, and the other accessories were of a dark green color (though the boots had light blue pads on front).

2001 Variations

Equipment:

Costume:

Gung-Ho's sixth ensemble didn't cut it for him, so he quickly reverted to a variation on his third uniform (it seemed to work for him better or something). It consists of dark green trousers, a tan vest, a black arm bandana, a black headband, a green leather belt, a black leather holster for his pistol, and brown leather boots. He also carries a bandoiler full of rounds for his rather large machine gun.

2002 Variations

Equipment:

the Assault Quad (v3): having proven himself behind the wheel of the Slugger a few years back, Gung-Ho was given a slightly different vehicle to play with. This one, the Assault Quad, is a small ATV that has a back-mounted rocket launcher, a secondary (hidden) launcher under the front bumper, and even a small, side mounted rotary-barrel machine gun! This miniature destructive engine is described in its own entry.

Costume:

Gung-Ho changed his field uniform again in 2002, adopting a slightly more standard military outfit. This is comprised of an Army green pair of trousers, an Army green, long-sleeved shirt (with a light blue shirt beneath it), a green Marines cap, black leather boots, black leather gloves, a black leather belt, black webbing to hold his various gear, and of course black and brown sheathes and holsters for his weapons.

His ninth uniform is a slight variation on his eighth - very slight, when you get down to it really. It consists of a grass green pair of trousers, a grass green, long-sleeved shirt (with a white T-shirt beneath it), a grass green Marines cap, black leather boots, black leather gloves, black webbing to hold his various gear, and black and brown sheathes and holsters for his weapons.

Gung-Ho's tenth uniform is another minor variation on his eighth - again, it's a very slight alteration. It consists of a dark green pair of trousers, a dark green, long-sleeved shirt (with a white T-shirt worn beneath it), a brown Marines cap, black leather boots, black leather gloves, black webbing to hold his various gear, and dark green sheathes and holsters for whatever weapons he's currently carrying.

2003 Variations

Equipment:

the Rock Crusher (v2): this curious vehicle is primarily another all-terrain vehicle like Gung-Ho's assault quad, though it has its differences. Built from top-secret, pre-fab 'BTR' technology, this vehicle is field-modifiable, and can be re-configured on the fly from what is in effect the Mark II assault quad into a land luge, if necessary. This strange piece of equipment is described in its own vehicular entry.

Costume:

Gung-Ho's eleventh field uniform is an all new creation - though Gung-Ho seemed quite fond of his previous get-up. This one includes light gray trousers, black knee pads, brown leather boots, an Army green T-shirt beneath a blue padded vest, dark gray webbing over his vest to hold various accessories, a dark gray leather belt, gray straps on his upper legs to hold various equipment pouches, a gray cap, and blue wrist bands.

His twelfth uniform is one he wore when driving the GI Joe team's 'BTR' Rock Crusher, an all-terrain vehicle like his assault quad, but built from a pre-fab, field-modifiable technology. This uniform includes dark green trousers, black and brown leather boots, black knee pads, a light green jacket with an oversized collar over a light green T-shirt, a light green leather belt, brown webbing, and brown leather wrist guards.

2004 Variations

Equipment:

Rocket Launcher (v1): when not carrying his trusty grenade launcher around, Gung-Ho instead lugs a large rocket launcher about. This weapon fires rocket propelled grenades at his opponents, each of which are aided by an infra-red targeter beam that allows for a +1 RS to hit. The rockets fired by Gung-Ho's launcher possess these 'vehicular' statistics:

Handling
RV 10

Velocity
RV 40

Durability
RV 10

Damage
RV 30 Slashing (fragmentary)

Costume:

Gung-Ho's thirteenth uniform saw him reverting once again to a variation on his eighth - he does like it so. This get-up consists of khakis-colored trousers, a khakis-colored, collared shirt over a khakis and white colored T-shirt, black leather boots, black leather gloves, a black leather, accessory-laden belt, black webbing to hold even more accessories, additional khakis-colored arm and leg straps, and a dark green cap.

His fourteenth, on the other hand, is a slightly different animal from everything else he's worn in the past. It includes a deep blue sleeveless shirt worn over a white tank top, brown leather gloves, gray wrist guards, an optional black vest for additional gear, two-toned green and gray camouflage pants, brown leather boots, brown knee pads, a brown leather belt, a brown holsters for his handgun, and a green cap.

Gung-Ho's Night Force field uniform is a recoloring of his eleventh. This one includes black and gray camouflage patterned trousers, dark gray knee pads, brown leather boots, an Army green T-shirt beneath a dark green padded vest, dark gray webbing over his vest to hold various accessories, a dark gray leather belt, black straps on his upper legs to hold various equipment pouches, a black cap, and green wrist bands.

His sixteenth, Desert Squad uniform is a recoloring of his third. It includes a pair of desert camouflaged trousers, a dark green vest that shows off his tattoo, a brown arm bandana, a dark green headband, a brown belt, a brown holster for his pistol, and a black pair of boots. He naturally complements this uniform with a large bandoiler that carries multiple rounds of whatever weapon of choice he's currently carrying into battle.

2005 Variations

Equipment:

Kevlar Body Armor (v2): this odd armor suit, originally worn while he was the leader of the so-called Mega Marines, is a diamond laced, Kevlar body suit (with additional plating) that is effectively laser and bullet proof. Overall, the suit provides the man rank value 10 protection against both physical and energy assaults, all over his body (assuming that he's wearing his accompanying helmet).

Costume:

Gung-Ho's seventeenth uniform is quite similar to his fourteenth in composition. It includes a deep blue sleeveless shirt worn over a white tank top, brown leather gloves, gray wrist guards, an optional black vest for additional gear, two-toned green and gray camouflage pants, brown leather boots, brown knee pads, a brown leather belt, a brown holsters for his handgun, and of course a green cap.

His eighteenth uniform, on the other hand, is a return to his fifth, albeit painted in more subtle colors. The base color of the Kevlar is a camouflaged gray, though it has numerous plating additions on top of that, in a dark gray and black; these included shoulder pads, gloves, boots, thigh pads, a black belt, and a sort of black codpiece element.

2008 Variations

Costume:

Gung-Ho's nineteenth GI Joe uniform is similar to his very first, but... with some minor changes. It consists of a grass green and brown camouflage patterned vest, worn unbuttoned to show off his tattoo, a similarly colored pair of trousers, a brown leather belt, black leather boots, a black holster for his handgun, a black leg strap to hold ammunition for his grenade launcher, and a brown cap.

Extra Goodies:

Gung-Ho 4C System: Edition 13 Text File Download

Other GI Joe directories featuring a version of Gung-Ho:

1983

1987

1992

1993

1997

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2008

* Note: 1993 saw two versions of Gung-Ho (Versions 4 and 5), while 2002 saw three (Versions 8, 9 and 10), and 2003 saw two (Versions 11 and 12). 2004 saw four Gung-Ho action figures (Versions 13, 14, 15, and 16), while 2005 saw two (Versions 17 and 18).

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