Mack Gerhardt

History
Mack's extensive history can be found here.

Boomtown History
Mack arrived in New Dodge at the beginning of March, 2014.

Personality
Master Sergeant MacDonald James Gerhardt, US Army Special Forces, known as Mack to just about everyone, is a pretty simple man to understand on the outside. He portrays the typical, no-nonsense, gruff military-type, one whose spent his years in camo with his boots on the ground. It's very likely that this is the case, as Mack bears badges and tabs from the 24th Infantry, as well as the 101st Airborn Divisions in the US Army.

Mack is a Senior Special Forces operative, trained for covert missions into enemy situations, where the aim is to blend in and often capture or take down a target with minimal distruptions or fuss. Due to this, Mack is very good at hiding his true self beneath personas, easily switching roles, adapting and changing to his environment.

Mack is, also, one of the most cold-blooded members of the Unit. He'll easily shoot down someone without a second's thought if it will jeopardise their mission. Whilst he isn't immune from guilt, as when he was forced to shoot a young boy who was going to betray their location to the enemy, as well as their guide when he realised they couldn't free her from under heavy farm equipment, he never lets it interfere with the mission, choosing to bury it deep down.

Married, with two daughters, Mack adores his girls, and dotes on them, even going as far as to dress up like a woman for his eldest's History project. His relationship with his wife, Tiffy, is rocky, to say the least. It's established early on that Mack may have been abusive towards Tiffy to the point where Col. Tom Ryan and Sgt. Jonas Blaine had to step in to make it stop. When Mack's anger flares, he's shown to manhandle Tiffy, and she seems generally scared of him when he does that. The secretive nature of the Unit's missions put a strain on their marriage, and, no doubt, contribute to the tensed air of their relationship.

Whilst Mack is shown to generally be in control of his emotions, there are certain times where he shows no restraint at all. When he suspected Tiffy to be having an affair with a lawyer, called Wilson James, with whom she served her Community Service, Mack stole a "throwaway" gun from a street gang, with the intent of killing him. Once Tiffy found out, she had to urge her boss, who had become attracted to her, to leave the State, even telling him the Unit's secret in order to get him away. It's heavily implied that, if Mack caught up with him, he would have killed Wilson easily.

It's established early on that Tiffy is having an affair with Mack's CO, Col. Tom Ryan, often whenever he sends Mack on missions. Once Mack finds out, he has to be stopped by his teammate, Bob Brown, from going straight to Ryan and killing him. Mack, himself, doesn't have a spotless sanctity of marriage record, however, and, before confronting Tiffy about the affair, he admits to sleeping around when on Missions. This doesn't stop him from wanting to kill Ryan, however, and when he gets his chance, he finds he can't do it. This is likely due to his own guilt about sleeping around, and the threat that Tiffy would take his kids away from him if he did. Either way, Mack reluctantly showed mercy.

He is shown to be wracked with guilt, believing that he allowed one of his teammates to be shot dead. Mack was rear guard as they loaded another wounded team member onto the evacuation truck. Out of the blue, a sniper fired and killed Sgt. Hector Williams. Mack holds himself responsible for Hector's death. The canon point he's from, The Spear of Destiny, Mack is injured and near-death. During which, he has a series of visions, or hallucinations, involving that time, and all the others he feels guilty of; killing the young boy, killing their guide, and letting Hector get shot. This shows that he carries this baggage with him all the time, that there probably isn't a moment where he doesn't think about it. This will likely be Mack's motivation to accept Eli's offer, another chance to move on, to think and try to deal with it in another setting.

All around, Mack has a tough exterior with an explosive interior. His job comes with stresses and guilt that he needs to work through, but it also provides a release for the anger and violence inside. Whilst shown to have an explosive temper, as long as he has something to channel his energy into, that side will not often surface without good reason or restraint. He is a quick decision-maker, a strong tactician, and isn't afraid to do what's necessary to ensure his survival, the success of their job, protection of his friends, and the security of his country.

Appearance
Mack is about six feet tall, with light brown hair, often cut short. He often sports a short stubble, adding to a scruffy, laid-back look.

Clothes-wise, Mack seems most comfortable in t-shirts and jeans when off-duty, occasionally going for smart shirts.