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...is the code name for America's highly trained special mission force, formed to combat domestic terrorism.

Officially known as the "General's Initiative: Joint Operational Effort," the team is named for General Joseph E. Colton, who was instrumental in the unit's creation.

While the team wasn't officially formed until the 1990s, the idea behind it has its origins several decades earlier. 

1962

President John F. Kennedy signs an executive order creating a top-secret special mission force, accountable directly to the White House, charged with handling covert operations too sensitive for the regular Army. This small unit is made up of the best America's military has to offer, and is placed under the command of a young but highly decorated Captain named Joseph T. Colton, who had served with distinction since the earliest days of the Vietnam War.

Capt. Joseph T. Colton, circa 1962

1968

Major Joe "Eagle Eye" Colton's team returns to Southeast Asia after operating clandestinely in theaters around the world. During a mission of critical importance to the Vietnam conflict, Colton first meets and recruits Second Lieutenant Clayton Abernathy, an artillery coordinator with a keen tactical mind. Colton nicknames the young officer "Hawk" and takes him under his tutorial wing, cross training him in intelligence and grooming him to be his eventual replacement.

       

Major Joseph Colton(pictured at left) and Lt. Clayton Abernathy, circa 1968

1974

As the office and authority of the President come under intense scrutiny following the Watergate break-in, Colonel Colton's team is abruptly disbanded. Colton himself is promoted and called to Washington, where he becomes one of the youngest advisors to the Joint Chiefs. First Lieutenant Abernathy and the rest of the team are folded into Army Intelligence.

 

General Joseph Colton, circa 1974

1980

Captain Abernathy debriefs 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta following the failure of Operation: Eagle Claw in Tehran. He is impressed by the bravery and dedication of a young Corporal, Conrad "Duke" Hauser, who pulled three fellow servicemen on the operation to safety after a helicopter crash. Abernathy makes a personal note to follow Hauser's career.

Cpl. Conrad Hauser, circa 1980

1990

Major Abernathy commands a small black ops team in the Middle East, responsible for gathering intelligence crucial to the U.S.'s swift victory in Operation: Desert Storm. His team works co-operatively with a U.S. Army Ranger squad under the command of Sergeant Lonzo "Stalker" Wilkinson. Upon Abernathy's recommendation the entire squad is cited for meritorious service following the mission, during which a member of Hawk's black ops team was severely injured.

Warrant Officer William Hardy, Cpl. Wayne Sneeden, Pfc Charles Iron-Knife and Sgt. Lonzo WIlkinson, circa 1990

1993

Lieutenant Colonel Abernathy is attached to the Domestic Anti-Terror Task Force, a military advisory body led by General Colton. Following the failed bombing attempt on the World Trade Center in February of that year, the group recommends the creation of a joint-operational team specifically to combat the threat of terrorism on American soil. The Joint Chiefs reject this recommendation, asserting that Delta and federal authorities can continue to handle terror threats in whatever form and wherever they might arise.

 

1994

The infamous New Year's Day bombing of the Springfield Federal Building compels the Joint Chiefs to reconsider General Colton's anti-terror proposal and provisional funding is approved for a small team to be formed under the command of Colonel Abernathy with Colton acting as its liasion to the Pentagon.

Little did anyone know that the Beginnings of the Joe team would be so closely intertwined with the origins of a terrorist organization that would rise to become one of the greatest threats to the American government and way of life...

 

For more information on the members of the G.I. Joe team and the enemies they face, you can access Hawk's Files.