Name: Malcolm Dennis Talbert
DOB: March 3rd 1979-Fort Worth, Texas
Unit: 2nd Batallion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Rank: E-9, Command Sergeant Major (Ret.)
Current age: 44
Significant other: Monika "IQ" Weiss
Early life: The only child of Derek and Collette Talbert. Malcolm spent most of his free time with his grandfather Dennis, who during WW2 was a part of the Army Rangers 5th Batallion. The younger Talbert was always left in awe of the stories that his grandfather would tell him of the brotherhood of military service, and Malcolm realized that after high school, he would enlist in the US Army.
Malcolm was close with his cousin Ned who was the son of Colette's sister Josephine Talbert, but other than them, there were no other living relatives in their family.
Malcolm and his father had a very good relationship when Malcolm was younger, and in school, their favorite pass time together was to get out early with two saddled horses and ride around their farm until they reached a pond deep in the woods where they would fish until it was time to head home for dinner.
Collette Talbert was the closest thing to an angel in Malcolm's life. When Malcolm was 10, she decided to finally go back to school, and she finally got her dream job as a pediatrician, and on her graduation day, Malcolm and Derek had spent weeks working on a custom wood sign for her office that read "Collette Talbert an angel on 24 hour call, but not in a row."
Ned Talbert was the closest thing Malcolm had to a brother growing up, but after several run-ins with the law, Malcolm and him grew apart in their later years.
Military life: In 1997, Malcolm volunteered for the United States Army, and after boot camp, he was assigned to be a squad machine gunner in the 10th mountain division serving in the horn of Africa in the aftermath of the battle of Mogadishu in 1993 and later being sent to Iraq in 2003 and stayed until the conflict ended in 2011.
During his time in Iraq, he was rotated out several times back to the States for leave and additional training. Malcolm's parents pleaded with their only son to please not re-enlist when his deployment was over, and he was seriously considering it until 2007, when Corporal Malcolm Talbert was recommended for Ranger School by his company first Sergeant a man named Gram Atkins who was a veteran of the Somalia conflict.
Arriving in Fort Benning, Georgia, in August of 2007, for the Benning phase of Ranger school where Malcolm completed the Ranger Physical Assessment (RPA) along with the water survival assessment in Victory Pond.
The part where Malcolm excelled in Ranger School was the land navigation test that starts at 3:30 AM and consisted of day and night time tests, Malcolm was able to see things during the test than anyone else in the class which got him a spot in the next seven week long army sniper course after he received his Ranger Tab.
After the land navigation, Malcolm had to prove he could lead and follow a combat patrol to not only the instructors who would appear out of nowhere in the Georgia wilderness but also to his fellow classmates.
After the buddy runs on the Malvesti Confidence Course, the Darby queen obstacle course, the many graded and non-graded patrols, and the airborne operation, the Benning phase was completed
Tragedy: Halfway through the mountain phase, personal tragedy struck for Malcolm when he was pulled out of the Yonah Mountains and told by the Commander of Camp Frank D. Merrill said that both of his parents had died in a car accident that also killed the other driver as well.
Malcolm was given an extended hardship leave to lay his parents to rest. The funeral was simple, with Malcolm standing by their caskets until it was time for him and five of his parents' friends to carry them to the awaiting hearse.
When he returned to Georgia, he accepted that he would need to restart the mountain phase and completed the mountaineering, OPROD, and air assualt portions of the training, but he was more distant then he was before, he knew the instructors would never show him pity for losing both parents and once, or compliment him on returning but he was determined to see it through.
The Florida phase and its naval portions reminded Malcolm of why he never became a Marine or joined the Navy. He did like to swim, but he never liked staying in the water for very long. The small boat movements and drills were fun, but he hated the diving portion, but he completed the three phase sixty-one day Ranger school and presented his Ranger Tab on November 15th, 2007.
He got lucky after that and was able to go straight into the seven week Army Ranger Sniper School, where he learned the fundamentals of being a long gunner, advanced land navigation, and was trained on many different rifles from the Mk11 and Mk12, the M24 and the monstrous Barrett M82 and M107.
Life in the Regiment: After returning to the Middle East at the beginning of 2008, he was assigned to B Company of third Batallion, which went by two Bravo, but instead of a Corporal he was given his third stripe and made a Sergeant.
Most of his days were spent ahead of convoys that consisted of regular Army behind his rifle with a spotter that he rotated with the conventional troops.
Five of these random spotters would end up being the closest friends he had the whole time he was in the Army.
Specialist Martin Chipps was a native Texan from outer Housten, and the two men bounded over stories that involved horses, ATVs, and trouble they got into.
Specialist Corey Winters came from the northern part of Vermont and would always drop into position with a "How about this weather, eh Sarge?" That never failed to make him smile.
Corporal Richard DeSantis hailed from the beautiful state of Oregon and would always manage to sneak a small thermos of coffee on every mission and would share a slug with Malcolm, the man was a regular coffee snob but his heart was always in the right place.
Corporal Daniel Travers is a man who Malcolm was surprised that he survived this long in the military without. Hailing from New York City, the man was a wizard at procuring items, and he always kept a wide inventory.
The last is Corporal Erik Thorn from Boston, Massachusetts. He was Malcolm's pupil for the longest time, keeping him up to date with his family that worried about him every day. He took an interest in Malcolm's story and vowed to make it where he hadn't tread yet.
Loss: Two Bravo was ordered to hit an enemy safehouse along with a mechanized unit of two Bradley fighting vehicles. Malcolm was ordered to hold a portion of their route with a hand selected team of five men.
When the mission at the safehouse kicked off the entire route started to get bombarded by RPGs and small arms, the four story building they were sheltered in quickly became the point of attraction for the enemy.
Malcolm spread his team around the rooftop to repel the enemy while he ran to each man using them as his spotters to point out the RPG operators.
Fifteen minutes later, the convoy was heading their way, and they had enough room for "six more suicidal sons of bitches." As the report stated but they needed to maintain their position until the convoy turned onto the main stretch.
When the first tan shape of the Bradley made its way around the corner, Malcolm gave the displace order and put Chipps in the point man position due to him being on his second to last mag of ammo for his M4 while everyone was on their last mag.
When they reached the second floor landing, Malcolm heard the whoosh of an incoming RPG and grabbed Chipps by his dragstrap and began hauling backward for all he was worth but all it managed to do was put the poor man in front of him as the stone facade exploded sending all of them flying back up the stairs.
Malcolm quickly pulled his MK11 up and spotted the shooter after the dust took too long to clear. He canted his rifle 45 degrees to the right and lined the barrel up to the man's grinning face.
Two trigger squeezes and a locked bolt later, and the enemy fighter dripped but not before pulling an AK up quickly and was able to put several rounds in their general area, but one slammed into Malcolm's collar bone shattering it.
Chipps was in a bad way. His abdomen was shredded, and his face was covered in blood, making a stretcher out of a tarp, Chipps destroyed M4 and Malcolm's Mk11, the five ambulatory men were able to get to the street and the awaiting convoy.
Dropping into the back of the last humvee before the rear Bradley, a medic began assessing Chipps while the others watched in tense silence until the medic looked up, shaking his head, it was Malcolm's first loss in the Regiment but it was also a friend that trusted him and he had failed him.
After returning to base, Malcolm had separated from his and shoved the medic away from treating his gunshot wound. He quickly found their commanding officer a stout man named Captain Leon Dixon and volunteered for the retaliation mission to find the ones who planned the attack, but Malcolm was immediately shot down for being wounded.
They had lost three of their Two Bravo brothers in the raid, and command wasn't jumping at the idea to send a team back into the hotzone.
The surviving members of Malcolm's team went to Captain Dixon and told them the story of Malcolm's three hundred sixty degree one man sniping show. Dixon found Malcolm later that evening who was in the med shack recovering from his injury.
"Sergeant Talbert, due to your actions today and the injuries you received, I am putting you in for the purple heart and promoting you to Staff Sergeant."
From Sergeant First Class onto Master Sergeant Malcolm was a role model to his men and was especially proud when Winters, DeSantis, and Travers followed him up the ladder while Thorn ended up getting picked up by the Unit in 2015
As a Master Sergeant, Malcolm proposed that the Rangers be allowed to train the conventional troops in some of their tactics to help with joint operations.
Malcolm was glad to see that in 2013 that women were allowed to serve in combat roles, and when it was fully implemented two years later, he was happy to see several of the new female troops wanted to be trained by the Rangers since the same year the first woman earned her Ranger Tab.
Sergeants Rebecca Boone and Wilma Tanner would fill the role that Chipps and Thorn left and could give as much hell as the rest of them.
Glory: At the end of 2017, Malcolm was pulled into a meeting with Command Sergeant Major Gregory Tierney, Clint Striker, Douglas Linton, and Jermaine Walker.
With four E-9s in the same room, Malcolm didn't know what was going on, but when Tierney pulled a folder three inches thick out of a drawer, he began to sweat.
The promotion board went over his entire service record, his squeaky clean disciplinary record, all the commendations he earned, and everyone who ever put a good word in for him over twenty years of active service, officers and enlisted alike.
"Talbert, this is something we don't take lightly." Tierney said his muscular forearms resting over the mess of paperwork.
"We stand for the enlisted. We do not demand loyalty like the officers we earn it by our actions and our resolve." Striker said with his green beret sitting in front of him.
"We know them because we are them and will not give up our stripes, rockers, and star for any bar or cluster." Linton said through the scar that split his lip diagonally.
"If we could go back and talk to our former selves, we would tell them to stay on their path." Walker said his screaming eagle patch evident on his arm.
"Master Sergeant Talbert, this promotion board has voted unanimously to promote you to E-9 with the pay and benefits that go along with it." Tierney said, and Malcolm swallowed his anxiety and stood straighter as Tierney rose and removed his Master Sergeant rank insignia and inserted the new pin.
But which was it? Was it the three Chevron and Rockers with the center star of a Sergeant Major or the same equivalent of a Command Sergeant Major.
"Welcome to the one percent CSM Talbert, your new duty station is Camp Phoenix, and you will report there immediately." Tierney said, saluting Malcolm as the rest did the same, and he made his preparations.
New Station: In 2018, a full year after obtaining his rank, Malcolm was reunited with Erik Thorn, where...
[REDACTED] The remaining portion of this file is classified. Any unauthorized access to this document will be prosecuted under the UCMJ
Team Rainbow: Malcolm was approached by Harry in 2020 at his job in the Pentagon after he resigned his commission and offered him a job as an advisor to team Rainbow, due to lodging limitations he was bunker with Monika Weiss and over the time they formed a strong friendship and eventually a strong love life.
He planned and participated in the mission in Morocco in 2021, along with Sanaa El Maktoub they destroyed a White Masks stronghold run by Pyotr Ivanov and Sergei Grendel, with the latter escaping but being tracked by Malcolm and Mike Baker's team in France where the team was captured by Grendel, if it wasn't for Daryll Gibbons evading capture and tracking them down then they might not have been found.
NightHaven: Saying Malcolm and Kali didn't get along is an understatement. The leader of the PMC wanted Malcolm to join their ranks, but he wasn't about to abandon his principles for money.
They came to blow multiple times, and it became physical at least once, needing to be separated by Sam Fisher.
When the split was discovered, it was too late, Malcolm had been with Monika when they visited the NightHaven headquarters and had even taken place in the testing of new gadgets, but he never expected for his girlfriend of almost three years would join them.
Today: The group of operators leaving Team Rainbow had just left, but Malcolm was confined to base after saying his reluctant goodbye to everyone, including Monika.
Malcolm had threatened Harry that he would follow and take Kali out but was forbidden. After twenty years of service with the Army and three with Rainbow six, Malcolm had never felt more useless and alone as he did right now. What was the point of service if you couldn't help anyone?
Physical condition and equipment:
Height - 6 ft 2 in
Weight - 220 pounds
Physique - muscular
Primary weapon - Mk11 with his custom scope, which has several settings, including night vision, thermal, and FLIR, which was developed in Camp Phoenix and had extensive testing preformed.
Secondary weapons - Beretta 93r and a custom fighting knife with a gut hook taken from Pyotr Ivanov.
Psychological Report
My predecessor had kept an eye on Malcolm Talbert when she reactivated team Rainbow in 2015, but when he had his last run in with specialist Erik Thorn, she decided to finally set her sights somewhere else.
Malcolm is a determined leader and a dedicated soldier. His only regret in his personal life seemed to be his relationship with his cousin. He didn't hate him like he was trying to make me believe, but it depresses him that they never reconciled even when Malcolm and Monika took a trip to Texas and Ned showed up to ask for a favor that neither one of them would tell me about.
When I visited the Pentagon in early 2020 to meet with the retired soldier, I was met by a miserable man wearing a three piece suit that didn't fit him. It took five minutes to get him on board, a new personal record for me.
We had our introduction interview on the following day, and I like to have snacks from the country of origin to ease the new team member, but when Malcolm opened the door carrying a container of cinnamon rolls and carry a thermos that was easily forty years old full of the best coffee I have ever had, I knew he was already at ease.
His attention to detail is extraordinary as well as his memory. He talked about his teammates from his time in the Rangers as well as the ones with upcoming birthdays that he needed to get in touch with.
Malcolm's training of his team, which he called "The Chippies," has inspired others in many different branches to train their conventional troops to think like their special operations brother and sisters.
When I asked him how he would like to be in an advisory role, he told me that as long as his boots are on the ground with the men and not safely buried in a TOC he would be fine.
When I saw he and specialist Monika Weiss were getting close, I wondered if it was merely a relationship of convenience, but after the first year, I could tell they really did care for each other.
Malcolm has worked one on one with every operator on Team Rainbow and has stated that they are some of the best trained men and women he has ever seen, but his dislike of the NightHaven members with the exception of specialist Apha Tawanroong.
Physical Appearance:
He has four tattoos, two on each shoulder, and two going up his calves. His left shoulder sported the state of Texas with his parents' names on the inside. His right shoulder had the Ranger Tab in black ink.
His left calf was encircled by a tan colored scroll with the phrase "Fratribus et sororibus meis, quos in bello perdidi, pro vobis pugno." In Latin, which translates to "To my brothers and sisters who I lost in battle, I fight for you."
His right calf has a black upper case W in all black for the country star Waylon Jennings, whose song "Waymore Blues" helps soothe Malcolm when he is nervous or upset.
Inspiration: Being an avid reader and listener to many great stories, I was inspired to create these characters.
Malcolm's bravery reminds me a lot of Shane Handon from the arisen series, his creativity from Joe Bishop from Expoditionary Force, and the determination and manners of Joe Fitzpatrick from the extinction cycle series.