Julius Salnikowski

Captain Julius Viktor Salnikowski is a character and an antagonist in Danger Close: Red Tide. 
Salnikowski was a member of the NVA during most of the campaign, heading his own company in combat against NATO forces. Salnikowski ultimately defects to the Americans at the height of the Soviet invasion of the United States.
== Biography ==
=== Early Life ===
Salnikowski was born in Schwerin to an impoverished family that once believed in the promises of Communism. Salnikowski, aware of his family's situation, joined the NVA at the age of eighteen to hopefully acquire some state benefits for his military service. He served as a guard in the Berlin Wall and also toured around the world during displays of East German solidarity with its allies, participating in trips to Hungary, North Korea and Namibia.
=== Missions ===
Salnikowski is known to have been in the Western European Front as early as 1979 in West Germany, but he is not introduced to the player until July of 1980 in the mission "In the Mist" as a lone sniper, and is referrenced in later missions until his return in "The Enemy of My Enemy" as a defector to the US. 
During the remainder of the campaign, Salnikowski aids the Americans in defeating the Communists by providing them with crucial details on Soviet lines of defence and supply routes. During the final assault on Capitol Hill, he is killed by mortar fire as US troops were crossing the Washington Channel.
== Personal Life ==
At the time of his death, Salnikowski was 33 years old, it is unknown whether or not he was married or if he had any children; however, he mentions that both his parents were living on an extremely limited supply of food and were considering escaping to the West.
Despite his eventual defection to the US, Salnikowski's parents had been ardent supporters of Communism their entire lives. However, as the problems that came along with it became more apparent, they became disillusioned with the East German lifestyle, which inspired Salnikowski to pursue military service in hopes of earning some sort of remuneration. As he ascended through the ranks of the NVA, it became apparent that he will never be rewarded with the benefits he had hoped, which led him to question his blind faith on Marxism. In 1984, during the US occupation, he received a letter from his parents stating their desire to escape to West Germany due to their living conditions in the DDR, which was the nail in the coffin for Salnikowski's Marxist beliefs.
Salnikowski is described as a zealous and extremist, viewing the world exclusively in sharp contrasts of black and white.