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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
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 MANGLER. The code name used by Michael S. Hickey, an arrogant young soldier who nearly became a member of the G.I. Joe team. While many members of the team are simply hand-picked from the elite of the armed forces, some soldiers undergo the weeding out process of the Joes own version of boot camp. As a probationary member of the team, Mangler was sent on a mission in the Middle Eastern nation of Trucial Abysmia as his final exam. The supposedly simple mission to destroy a buried U.S. weapons cache became much more when the team led by Outback and Dusty was ambushed and captured by the local army. The team refused to answer questions, though the brash nineteen-year-old Mangler blurted out that they were from the G.I. Joe team. The unit's overzealous political officer took charge and decided to torture the Joes into talking. He randomly chose the other recruit, Lightfoot, who was severely beaten for a time, but refused to talk. When they finally used alligator clips to shock him with electricity, it was too much for him to bear, and Lightfoot revealed the team's objective. Mangler chastised Lightfoot for giving in, but Dusty and Outback backed him after seeing what he'd been through. When Mangler continued to berate Lightfoot, Dusty silenced him with a swift kick in the stomach. The Joes were left behind with a junior officer with orders to execute them while the rest of the enemy unit went to find the weapons cache. The officer disagreed with the torture of Lightfoot and let the Joes go rather than execute them. Left in the desert with only a small amount of water, the Joes were ready to head for friendly territory, but it was Lightfoot who pushed them to complete the mission. He could barely walk and Mangler carried him on his back through the desert. Mangler was impressed with Lightfoot and apologized to him after they destroyed the cache and made their escape in a stolen armored vehicle. The vehicle, however, proved to be difficult to get up enough speed and the Abysmian army vehicles were gaining on them. Mangler saw that the only way for the Joes to escape was for someone to slow down their pursuers. He jumped from the armored vehicle and stood in the path of the oncoming trucks, firing his machine gun and pistol. The other drivers swerved to miss the young soldier and collided. Mangler was crushed and killed in the accident. He was made a member of the team posthumously and is remembered as a hero. Mangler was buried in Arlington National Cemetary.
(SM 13)
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