Operator Codename: Blindside

Name: Luke Hernandez

Date Of Birth: July 12, 1990

Height: 1.96M

Weight: 102KG

Place Of Birth: Galveston, Texas

Biography:

Considering his upbringing, it is no surprise that Hernandez is where he is now. Hernandez was born the only child of middle class, Hispanic, and Catholic parents with a long history of government service. His father was a long time federal law enforcement officer and his mother was a VA trauma nurse. From them, he learned a love of country and the selfless ideals of service.

In his early years, Hernandez was a significantly overweight child who was often bullied. His bullying continued well into his middle school years and built a layer of mistrust around the young man who isolated himself from people at school. His freshman year he joined the wrestling team. The coach saw potential in him and had Hernandez stay after practice for extra conditioning. By the end of season Hernandez lost over 20kg and was a state runner up. In the offseason, he was again approached by his longtime tormentors who still hoped to gain some satisfaction off embarrassing him. The 3 football players shoved him around in the hallways until Hernandez snapped. 2 of the 3 ended up in the hospital and Hernandez was put on a long term probationary status, luckily with nothing on his criminal record. The summer of his sophomore year he hit a growth spurt that left him a 6'5". His former bullies were practically horrified when he returned his junior year, often attracting other bullied students to him. Now, it was his job to protect others, a position that he didn't mind. During this time he also began looking at a career of medicine that would challenge both his intellect and his physicality. Against his parents' wishes and in the face of his exemplary grades, he abandoned their dreams of college and enlisted in the US Air Force soon after graduation.

Pararescue School is no walk in the park. The 2-year pipeline punished both physically and mentally. His indoc class started with 120 airmen and graduated with 19. Hernandez graduated at the top of his class and began searching for a new challenge. He deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan 5 times. His unit was often called over any other medical resources in the area due to both the reputation of pararescuemen and Hernandez himself. One specific operation involved Hernandez and his wingman jumping into a remote area of Iraq to extract a critically injured Polish contractor. The contractor had his leg blown off in an IED attack and required immediate trauma care. Hernandez and his wingman landed in heavy contact and proceeded to fight their way to the man where they began rendering medical care, unphased by the bombs and bullets flying above. He then carried the man 12 miles under fire into a safer area where they could extract him by helicopter. Interestingly enough the man worked for the same company as Ela Bosak. For their efforts, both men were awarded a Bronze Star with Valor. The 24th Special Tactics Squadron was the Tier One unit of the Air Force and were impressed by the young man's exploits. He was approached in 2013 to join and was subsequently deployed all over the world. He interacted many times with DEVGRU, better known as Seal Team 6, and Delta Force, alongside other US and international units. His performance and credibility are unquestioned by all those who worked with him, and that has piqued Six's interest.

Psychological Profile: Specialist Hernandez's early life experiences definitely imprinted onto his personality. His loyalty to his country and to those serving around him is unquestionable. He has repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire while trying to rescue those around him. However, he is often disturbed by those who used their power to extort those weaker than them. Whether this is an innate trait or something learned through his years of relentless torment is unclear.

Hernandez's experiences have hardened the young man and as a result, most of our personality tests were inconclusive. The best glimpses of Hernandez have come second hand through other operator experience. Both Craig "Blackbeard" Jenson and Meghan "Valkyrie" Castellano commented on his exceptional professionalism, teamwork, and work ethic, however, they were disturbed by Hernandez completely disregard for personal safety. According to military records, he went through 4 ballistic plates in 1 month. As soon as the mission was over, Hernandez would disappear.

For as much as we worked with him, we barely had any idea of who he was. Just the crazy airman who would run around like it was a wild west gunfight.

Erik "Maverick" Thorne provided a little more insight considering the pararescueman has helped him on more than one occasion.

Hernandez is a quiet professional. He hates recognition for what he considers part of his job. However, he is also extremely competitive. When he dedicates himself with a task then he will finish or die trying. He is also a hard person to read. I can never tell what he's thinking and it both interests and disturbs me.

For the record, Ela Bosak was asked if she had ever met or worked with Specialist Hernandez. Her facial expression became somewhat odd, however, she suppressed it immediately and responded with "No, not to my knowledge". There is some type of connection but it is unimportant at this time.

Hernandez has had to repeat a battery of personality tests 3 times and everytime his results turn up as inconclusive.

My recommendation is to place him alongside some of Rainbow Team's quieter members. Perhaps Mute and Glaz can break the wall that Hernandez has placed around himself. Maverick is another who may be able to ensure we retain Hernandez and his expertise. Hernandez's experience in wrestling should not be taken lightly, he is a 2x Cadet World Champion and was on the Air Force wrestling team and Team USA. Keeping him engaged with sparring partners such as Maxim "Kapkan" Basuda may be another avenue to break down the young man's walls. His quiet demeanor and large size give him an imposing presence, however, his intellect and expertise in trauma care make even Gustave "Doc" Kateb jealous.

A final sidenote; Hernandez is also an ametuar musician and guitarist alongside many other odd talents and hobbies. The two guitars he own were both presents from fellow airmen who he often entertained in between missions to keep their minds off some of the experiences in that line of work.

Unique Ability/Gadget: Mk 5 "Fog" Smoke Mines, AN-PVS 45 "Watchman" Goggles, PEQ 15 IR Laser

Hernandez's unique gadget is more combination of multiple. Battle proven, Hernandez has used this trio of gadgets to great effect in defense of his patients. The smoke mines allow him to set up an ambush and lie and wait. Once the mines are tripped, the panoramic thermal goggles give the airman the true advantage. The wide field of view keeps him well informed and the laser on his Glock 18C machine pistol keeps him deadly accurate.

Loadout:

Primary:

Mk18

SCAR-L

Secondary:

G-18C