Thomas Jefferson Wilkins

This [being a SEAL] is all we know how to do, good or bad, and for most of us, a nine to five office gig is not an option.

Personal Information

Born: November 1, 1947

Place: Fayetteville, Arkansas

Height: 6' 1"

Weight: 185 lbs

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Siblings: 1 older brother (Douglas Wilkins)

Children: none

Parents:

William Robert Wilkins (b. 1915)

Megan Julia Thornton Wilkins, deceased

Education

Hot Spring County High School, Arkansas (graduated 1965)

Profession

US Navy SEAL (BUD/S Class 64 Honorman), SEAL Teams 2 and 8 based in Little Creek, VA
Naval Officer, lieutenant (ret. 1989)

Skills

Combat diving, underwater demolition, low jumps and Hand to Hand Combat specialist and several others
Languages:
- English
- Russian (basic)

Awards and Distinctions

Purple Heart (1968)
Bronze Star (1971)
Navy Cross (1976)
Navy Presidential Unit (1986)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (1989)

Miscellaneous Facts

Vietnam War veteran recommended for SEAL training after he and fellow Marine Miles Scully successfully extracted two US Air Force pilots from a camp in the outskirts of Danang, Vietnam
Survived the October 1983 attacks on the Marines barracks in Beirut, Lebanon
Weapon of predilection: M4 Carabine and its accessories, and according to him, the “perfect woman because it can do everything a soldier needs then shut up about it"
Often eats breakfast twenty minutes before bedtime so that “calories are ready to be burned” by the time he starts his training session the following morning
Suffers from chronic insomnia. Refuses to blame it on years of PTSD.
Hates soda
Loves beer. Correction: Really loves beer
Never told a soul that staring at a sunset “makes him cry inside, because it would hurt his bad-ass image”

Quotes

One, I’m a soldier, I don’t do politics. Second, I can handle being confused, but I can’t let my doubts spread within a unit I lead. Besides, we’ve been kicked in the balls too many times to really give a fuck anymore.

-On doing the right thing on the job

I don’t get to pick and choose which war I want to fight. I have voluntarily sworn an oath to carry out orders; can’t just forget my commitment to the team and walk away.

-On why he remained in the service despite his doubts

There’s nothing like alcohol induced amusement to unite my boys and strengthen team spirit.

-On how to maintain off-duty cohesion in his squad

Can’t let it stretch for too long.

-On how he handles distress after a teammate’s death

It’s an old joke but it comes like new to everyone I know.

-On death

Told those lame-ass pencil-pushers I would get my men back even if it meant I would have to grow wings and fly my way back to them. Bringing my men home every time is the only decent thing I can pull off the shitty mess they often leave us in.

-On once being told not to rescue men left behind

It’s a creative way to get my fucking wages paid.

-On the use of "black" illicit funds to finance covert military operations

Certified Incompetent Assholes me and the boys always have to get out of trouble.

-On the C.I.A.

She could be smelling a rose with one hand while shooting someone in between the eyes with the other. How can something so cold be so fucking hot?

-On Lieutenant L.P. Armitage

Killer eyes that can make me forget my fucking last name. I thought the whole thing, you know, her being assigned to my unit was a joke; but she turned out to be everything but a joke. She's quite a piece of work.