TRIPWIRE. The code name used by U.S. Army Sergeant Tormod S. Skoog. After being born in Hibbing, Minnesota, Tripwire moved on to a naval base in Yokosuka, Japan where his father served. While there, Tripwire dropped out of high school and spent two years pondering the meaning of life in a Zen monastery. He was expelled from the monastery for breaking too many dishes and spilling every possible liquid, thanks to his being naturally clumsy and nervous. He enlisted in the Army at age 19 and found his true spiritual awakening on the grenade range. He discovered that the only time he wasn't jittery and awkward was while working with high explosives. They actually seemed to calm him down. He became an expert in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and demolitions after training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He eventually was assigned to the G.I. Joe team.

On his first mission for the Joes, Tripwire helped battle Cobra in the streets of Washington, DC. Other missions included fighting off Cobra's invasion of Fort Wadsworth, and evading Cobra's high command in the Florida Everglades. While on board the Joes' freighter, the Jane, Tripwire risked his life to save his teammates by throwing himself on a soon-to-detonate bomb. Roadblock took the bomb from Tripwire and tossed it overboard, while commending his bravery and telling him never to do anything like that again. Some time later, Tripwire was back onboard the Jane during a Cobra Rattler attack. Tripwire and a few other Joes barely survived by taking out the Rattlers. Unfortunately, the freighter was too badly damaged and the Joes were forced to abandon ship as the Jane sunk beneath the ocean. Tripwire and the others were rescued soon after.

Tripwire participated in many more operations over the years, including the battle to push Cobra off of the newly-formed Cobra Island, the invasion of the town of Springfield, the capture of a Terror-Drome in Sierra Gordo, the Joes' involvement in the Cobra Island civil war and the defense of Cobra's attack on the Pit in Utah. Tripwire served with the Joes until the team was shut down in 1994. He later made his way to Philadelphia where he served on the police department's bomb squad, and became something of a local hero.

After the G.I. Joe team was reinstated in 2001, Tripwire rejoined once the Joes took over the abandoned Philadelphia Navy Yards and made a small base there. His missions with the new team included stopping Cobra from getting their hands on a stolen nuclear device, and helping stop a terrorist plot by Tyler Wingfield. Tripwire was later one of the many Joes who took part in an attack on Cobra Island to battle the forces of a revived Serpentor. Some time later, after the Joes stopped a plot by Cobra to unleash the weapon known as the Tempest, and defeated a new threat, the Red Shadows, the military again disbanded the team. One year later, the Joe team was reformed with a smaller roster of active members. Tripwire, like most former Joes, is a reserve member of the new team.

(GI 16, 17, 19, 22, 25-29, 36, 40, 41, 48-50, 52, 56, 74, 75, 131; GIv2 8, 24; FL 11, 12; Figures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 )