KEEL-HAUL. The code name used by U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Everett P. Colby, commander of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Flagg. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia, Colby attended the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Navy Flight School. During the 1960s, he made a name for himself flying Phantom F-4 fighter jets. After his time as a fighter pilot, Colby became intent on becoming a commanding officer and attended both the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and Armed Forces Staff College. Working his way up through the ranks, Keel-Haul had been awarded the Navy Cross, DFC and Air Medal before being given command of the new aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Flagg. He is also a respected military historian, a nationally-rated chess player and a terrible clarinet player. Keel-Haul became an honorary member of the G.I. Joe team when the Flagg was assigned as the Joes' carrier whenever their missions called for it. While under Keel-Haul's command, the Flagg rescued the crew of the Joe team's freighter, the Jane, after that vessel was sunk by a Cobra aerial attack. The carrier also served as a base for the team's air cover during their first assault on the newly-created Cobra Island. During that battle, against Keel-Haul's better judgment, Ace took off in his Skystriker jet despite the fact that the carrier was severely listing after being struck by a tidal wave. Some time later, Keel-Haul oversaw the Flagg's use as a staging ground for the Joe team's invasion of Cobra Island during Cobra's civil war. It was Keel-Haul's plan to use a stolen Cobra helicopter to deliver a recon team to the island just before the operation began. Over the years, the Flagg continued to be used as G.I. Joe's headquarters at sea, and participated in many more missions, as well as the Battle of Benzheen. Keel-Haul remains in command of the Flagg, patrolling various hotspots around the world after the Joe team was shut down in 1994. He was later called back to command the Flagg when the reinstated Joe team battled the forces of a revived Serpentor on Cobra Island.

(GI 36, 40, 41, 73-77, 115; GIv2 24; Figures: 1, 2)