Chuckles got his start as an investigator at the Southeastern Insurance Group in Fort Lauderdale and eventually made his way to the U.S Army's Criminal Investigations Division (CID). From there, Chuckles was involved in so many classified undercover assignments that it's hard to keep track of them all. With his imposing size, outspoken demeanor and the loud Hawaiian shirts he wore, it's hard to imagine Chuckles undercover, but his skills as a deep cover agent went far beyond his outward appearance. His quick wit and natural likability were his greatest assets.

    Chuckles had contact with members of the G.I. Joe team even before its formation. He was working covert security for an Army general when he witnessed an argument between the general and Lt. Colonel Clayton "Hawk"  Abernathy during a peacekeeping mission in Borovia. Hawk refused to give up the name of a sergeant who had beaten up a terrorist to get information on the possible bombing of a school, and took responsibility himself. Though the general threatened Hawk with court martial, Chuckles was surprised to see him years later, still on active duty. During the Joe team's infancy, Chuckles was one of the CID investigators covering the case of Albert Kibbey, a young soldier who had decrypted classfied Army transmissions. It became obvious that he had done it only to prove that he could, and the soldier soon joined the newly-forming G.I. Joe team as Breaker. Chuckles later met with Hawk shortly after the Joe team became operational to pass on intelligence about a mission underway in Sierra Gordo. At the time he called himself Special Agent Provost, but never revealed what agency he was working for.

    Chuckles encountered the Joes again several years later while working for Army Intelligence. He was investigating a high-ranking government official with ties to extremists within the Pentagon and uncovered a suspicious operation. Another intelligence agent was covering up a hidden missle silo on the Jersey shore. To protect the missile, he reassigned the soldiers -- Falcon, Fast Draw and Law -- and told them they were part of the G.I. Joe team. Chuckles tracked them down and told them the truth. The four men "kidnapped" Hawk from the Newark airport and showed him the missile. Meanwhile, a group of Dreadnoks learned of the missile and found out it was aimed at Cobra Island. A brief battle followed, ending when a Cobra helicopter arrived and destroyed the missile just as it launched. Hawk offered Chuckles and the others a spot on the Joe team then and there. After arriving at the Joe's new base in the Utah desert, Chuckles investigated his new teammates' suspicious behavior only to discover they were secretly building the new Pit beneath the desert base.

    Soon after joining the team, Chuckles began leading covert, undercover operations for the team. He set up a group of Sierra Gordan terrorists to attempt capturing the Cobra Consulate in New York, but the entire attack was only a diversion for the Joes to plant a listening device in the building. Other missions included protecting African prince Ngoto and sending undercover Joes in to end a hostage situation at a Army PX in Germany. Some time later, Chuckles and a small group of Joes were sent to the small Himalayan kingdom of Chomo-Lungma to track down rogue CIA agent Cullen Esterhazy. Esterhazy never returned to America after the government recalled him from his mission of fighting the communist Chinese. Only Chuckles was given orders to bring the agent home or to eliminate him. The Joes were pulled into Esterhazy's fight to defend a local monastery instead. Esterhazy was killed in the fighting, thus excusing Chuckles from the dirtiest part of the mission. After the mission, it took the Joes months of traveling across Asia before they reached an extraction site to catch a transport helicopter home. On the way, Chuckles befriended an old farmer who was being bullied by a local bandit chief. He surprised Chuckles by not betraying the Joes to the enemy, prompting Chuckles to order his team to fight to save the farmer. Chuckles later oversaw another undercover operation to save a family that was being held hostage in their surburban Midwest home. Over the next several years, Chuckles continued to use his special skills to undertake covert operations for the Joes. He investigated the reconstructive surgeon Dr. Hundtkinder when the doctor revealed Snake-Eyes' presence in his institute to the Baroness, which resulted in Snake-Eyes being captured and Scarlett being nearly killed by a gunshot wound to the head. Chuckles and Roadblock broke into Hundtkinder's secret files and exposed him. He continued his investigative work months later while tracking down the source of a Cobra Terror-Drome shipment to Canada.

    In 1991, Chuckles infiltrated Castle Destro in Scotland by posing as a gameskeeper named MacHeath, who was hired by Destro. In reality, Chuckles was there to keep an eye on Destro's operations and to help protect him from a potential attack by the newly returned Cobra Commander. Chuckles revealed his true identity when Cobra finally led a major assault on the castle and the Joes arrived to help defend the arms dealer. As the battle turned in favor of Cobra, a transport helicopter stolen by Zartan and Billy rescued Destro and Chuckles, while the Baroness was captured. While the four men got out of Scotland, Cobra Commander put a price on Destro's head. Using Chuckles' contacts around the world, the group avoided mercenaries and Cobra's Night Creepers, all out to collect the bounty on Destro. Eventually, with the help of the Ninja force, Destro was able to get the Baroness back and force the Commander to cancel the bounty. Chuckles continued to work for the Joe team for the next few years until it was shut down in 1994. Shortly after, Chuckles began working undercover for a top secret government "black ops" agency. He worked with former Joe team member Duke to help track down former Cobra agent Firefly and the traitorous mercenary named Mikhail Derenko.

    A few years after the shut down of the Joe team, and after his marriage to his girlfriend Jessie, Chuckles began working to infiltrate Extensive Enterprises, the legitimate corporation headed by Cobra agents Tomax and Xamot. Chuckles hoped to work his way up through the ranks to the point where he could connect the corporation to Cobra. A short time after the reinstatement of the G.I. Joe team in 2001, Chuckles was contacted by Duke to help stop a terrorist plot by Tyler Wingfield. In the aftermath of a fight between Cobra forces and a team of Joes, Chuckles was arrested and put into the government's maximum security Blackwater Prison to maintain his cover and not reveal his true identity. After weeks in prison the Joes arranged to help fake Chuckles' death during a fight with guards in the prison. He left the prison in a bodybag and was brought to a safe house. Cobra agents, working with Wingfield, dealt with the agents guarding the house and kidnapped Chuckles despite the Joes' attempts to stop them. After being held as Wingfield's hostage, Chuckles helped defuse the situation and survived. His undercover work finally completed, Chuckles returned to the Joe team and hoped to return to his wife, Jessie. On what was to become his final mission, Chuckles joined much of the Joe team in its battle against the forces of a revived Serpentor on Cobra Island. While fighting Serpentor's general, Overlord, in hand to hand combat, he was stabbed and killed by the mysterious villain. The Joes have yet to discover that Overlord is in reality Mikhail Derenko. Some time after the battle on Cobra Island, Chuckles' name was added to a new memorial at Arlington National Cemetary dedicated to the fallen members of the G.I. Joe team.

Writer Larry Hama named Chuckles "Philip Provost" after the son of a friend.

Artwork: G.I. JOE #117 (interior) by Rod Whigham and Randy Emberlin.