STEELER. The code name used by U.S. Army Major Ralph W. Pulaski. Steeler was part of a blue collar middleclass family in Pittsburgh, and was a heavy equipment operator before enlisting in the army. Once there, Steeler entered Armor school at Fort Knox and graduated at the top of his class. He was then assigned to the Cadre- X-AFV Project at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds from 1978-1980. Afterward, Steeler became one of the original 13 members of the G.I. Joe team. He was part of many of the Joes' major missions including the rescue of Dr. Adele Burkhart. Steeler, along with Breaker and Clutch, drove his MOBAT tank in the Armed Forces Day in New York city when Cobra attacked and tried to steal the tank. The three Joes defeated Cobra despite the fact that they had no live ammunition, and they nearly captured Cobra Commander. Steeler was part of the mission on which the Joes first met with the Soviets' October Guard. He was involved in many other important operations, as well.

After the re-dedication of G.I. Joe headquarters, aka "The Pit", Steeler and many of the other original Joes were taken off active duty. Even so, Steelercontinued to occasionally participate in missions with the team. He was part of the security team during the Joes' invasion of the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Steeler's next assignment was to be a part of the contingent of Joes who researched and tested new weapons systems and vehicles for the Joe team. Later, the Joe team was on the losing side of the Cobra Island civil war. A group of corrupt generals in the Pentagon denied having any knowledge of the debacle. When many members of the team were unrightfully taken into custody, several other Joes, including Steeler went underground. He and the other Joes who had escaped arrest organized a mission to rescue Hawk and General Hollingsworth when they were arrested for acting without orders and entering the civil war. During the rescue, Hawk and Hollingsworth were cleared of all charges and the corrupt generals responsible were exposed. Later, Steeler was assigned to training and choosing potential members of the Joe team.

During the Joes' major operation into the middle east, Steeler returned to active status and behind the wheel of an armored vehicle (the Pulverizer) during the Battle of Benzheen. During the operation many Joes lost their lives. Early in his career, Steeler often had trouble with authority figures, in particular superior officers. From the beginning he was an important part of the Joe team, and he was always willing to show off his own physical strength. Once on the team, Steeler was less likely to clash with his superiors and enjoyed the camaraderie of the team. Steeler's subsequent missions for the team mostly included training and research & development, but he stayed with G.I. Joe until it was disbanded in 1994. Some time after the team was reinstated in 2001, Steeler and many other former Joes joined the team on another invasion of Cobra Island, this time to fight the forces of a revived Serpentor.

(GI 1-8, 11, 16, 19, 25, 28, 30, 31, 49, 50, 52, 59, 63, 78, 82, 114; OB 2; GIv2 24, 36; Figures: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)