BARBECUE. The codename used by U.S. Army Sergeant Gabriel A. Kelly. Known as a "party animal" since he was young, Barbecue comes from a long line of firefighters serving the Boston Fire Department. He decided to bring his knowledge of firefighting to the Army and was assigned to the G.I. Joe team.

In his first mission for the Joe team, Barbecue was part of the group of Joes that defended the Joe air-sea base from Cobra hydrofoil attack. He later joined the Joes in the ground battle shortly afterward on Cobra Island. Soon after, he was onboard the G.I. Joe hovercraft during the rescue of Ripcord and Snake-Eyes off the coast of Cobra Island. He was in the G.I. Joe team's headquarters (the Pit) when it was infiltrated by the Cobra agent known as Zartan. He later joined the strike team that attacked the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. During a training session in the Pit, Barbecue was injured by the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow and then was nearly punched out by Scarlett after insensitively misunderstanding why Snake-Eyes let Storm Shadow leave the Pit unharmed. Barbecue was one of the few Joes who did not take part in the Cobra Island civil war. When Hawk and the Joes who took part in that mission were unjustly arrested, Barbecue and the others who had not been there went into hiding and planned to rescue Hawk from St. Lo's Infirmary where he and General Hollingsworth were being held. The Joes eventually cleared Hawk's name and uncovered the corruption of U.S. Army General Malthus. For a short period of time, Barbecue was assigned to the Eco-Warriors. He later used his flame-projector to defend the Pit against a Cobra invasion. His subsequent missions up to the team's shutdown in 1994 are classified.

When the team was reinstated in 2001, Barbecue signed on as a reserve member. He eventually joined the team in New York, where he assisted in clean-up and rescue operations after Cobra detonated a bomb in a television studio where Hawk was appearing on the television show, "Twenty Questions." After the Joe team 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. Barbecue, like most former Joes, is a reserve member of the new team. He was assigned to domestic operations in the United States during the conflict known as World War III.

One of many Joes listed on the World War III member assignment map first seen in AE #28.

Larry Hama named Barbecue "Gabriel Kelly" after the father of a friend.

(GI 40, 41, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 78, 130; YB 2; OB 1; GIv2 29; BF 1; Figures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)