Joseph Robert Eastman

== Joseph Robert Eastman ==
David Gardiner, born as Joseph Robert Eastman, was a British-American Army officer and strategist who was later the Grand General for the army of Seaboard under Michael Sisk. He was known by his enemies and allies alike as being wise, thoughtful, and thorough in his reign as Seaboard Grand General. He was responsible for orchestrating the military preparation of the Seaboard army prior to the Great Collapse, and afterwards was the highest ranking general of Seaboard.
Gardiner commanded the Northeastern Army Corps, and very quickly took control of New England, and did so using minimal firepower or casualties. Because of his military experience, he was favored by Michael Sisk. His position as Grand General meant he was the most powerful member of Seaboard aside from Sisk himself, and he used his position to influence the region. He often sought to modify supply routes, recourse distribution, and projects between other directors that concerned the use of the military.
A prior veteran, Gardiner was an enlisted soldier and later officer in the Army. He became an officer and was in command for the 1982 intervention of Lebanon, the Invasion of Grenada, and the Gulf War. His personal life and public statements following his discharge from the Army gained the attention of Sisk, who recruited him into the ranks of his corporate empire.
== Early Life ==
Joseph Robert Eastman was born in 1958 near Brighton, England. He was raised by a wealthy family in the country, and received an expensive private education. At twelve years old, Eastman and his family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, in the United States. He quickly attained his citizenship, and continued receiving a private education. 
In 1976, Eastman disobeyed his parents wishes and joined the Army reserves while attending the University of Virginia. After four years, he became a commissioned officer, and was involved in multiple international conflicts. He was first deployed as a First Lieutenant in 1982 during the Intervention in Lebanon. He gained experience during the conflict, and then was reissued in the Invasion of Grenada where he managed a platoon, receiving and giving orders based on information fed to him.
During the Gulf War, Eastman was a major in the Army. He worked as a commanding officer on base in Iraq, and did so until the end of the war. In 1992, Eastman was honorably discharged from service. The thirty-four year old veteran did brief work in different sectors, but two years later was hired by Raytheon Technologies as a defense contractor. He quickly rose the corporate ladder until he was the head of many programs responsible for weapons development.
== Involvement with Seaboard ==
After 11 September 2001, Michael Sisk put himself on the radar of Eastman when he made a public statement denouncing the Military Industrial Complex and its heads, including Gardiner. He shut down any public weapons and weapons programs from Seaboard Technologies, claiming that he would not profit from rampant corruption and conspiracies within the government.
At the time, Eastman was living in the Boston greater area. Concerned with Michael Sisk, he sought out to confront the executive himself. He traveled to Connecticut, and kept a watchful eye over the Seaboard headquarters. When Sisk was on his own time, Eastman caught him off guard and out of sight of anybody else. They discussed, and Michael Sisk divulged his opinions on Eastman and the matter as a whole. Admiring Eastman's boldness in confronting Sisk personally, he had Levi Frazier make sure to keep watch on his actions.
Realizing he was being watched, Eastman and a team of hired men were able to intercept and record calls, audio logs, and files between Sisk and Frazier. He stored these items, and then blackmailed Michael Sisk. Frazier attempted to kidnap Eastman, however, his plan went terribly wrong and ended up apprehended himself. He demanded Sisk met him, which he did. Michael Sisk was beyond impressed with Eastman's ability, wishing he worked for him. Eastman, knowing Seaboard was planning on beginning a weapons and armament production program and had no lead, agreed to work as an executive in the defense sector of the company. To Frazier's surprise, Sisk agreed, hiring him with a salary that was secretly far above Frazier's with a salary of 3 million and a cut of the company worth around 10 million a year.
Eastman quickly became an important head of Seaboard, using his past connections to procure the machinery and engineers needed for mass production of weaponry, armor, explosives, vehicles, and other items that would be essential to the Seaboard Trailblazer- which was in very early stages of development.
In the 2010s, Eastman developed comprehensive political plans and strategies to carry out during and after the Jinanvirus outbreak. He theorized that the Northeast, with the population, access to routes, and cargo ports, would be easy enough to control while also yielding strong returns. In his plans, Pennsylvania was originally an essential part of the Seaboard territories.