Antonela Filipović

Antonela in 2015

"***With all due respect, General. You see this thing on my neck? Our predecessors, some of the bravest men worthy enough to wear this have been Italian, Japanese, Mexican, even Filipino. Now I dare you, say that again to my face that we immigrants are not worthy.***"
—Antonela Filipović

**Antonela Filipović** is an original character designed by Oneechanisgood. Antonela Filipović resides in the *The Order* universe.

Antonela is a retired United States Army Major and the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor since American Civil War. Antonela is now a performance artist for Minato Dragons Taekwondo demonstration team.

## Biography

Antonela was born in the Croatian village of Lovas on July 10, 1986. Her father Jordan Goodman is an American and her mother Sonja Filipović is a Croatian. When Antonela was 3 years-old, her father left the family and she assumed her mother's family name.

During the Croatian War of Independence, her hometown was occupied by the Yugoslav People's Army. Antonela witnessed various war crimes and brutality against her town, her neighbors, even to children who were her age. Her family fled to an Italian coast city with large Croatian population, Termoli. Her mother planned to use the American embassy to get to her husband in America. The family was about to get deported by local authorities but eventually they were housed by a Molise Croatian family until they can go to America.

The family arrived in Louisiana on January 1992. The Goodman family was not too welcoming to them so she was not too fond of her new family. The couple got divorced in 1994. Her mother took her to Vernon Parish where she will work as a nurse at Fort Polk and met her current husband, then First Lieutenant Michael Stewart, an Army Surgeon.

Her mother got married again in 1996. Unlike with her previous family, Antonela enjoyed great relationship with the Stewart family especially her father. He inspired Antonela to follow his path to become an Army medic. During her childhood, Antonela trained in martial arts initially to beat up bully boys who often mocked her Slavic accent.

In 2004, Antonela was accepted to be a cadet at United States Military Academy at West Point. However she has to cancel her intention to be an Army medic since her aptitude in Natural Science was low and she showed better aptitude for Combat Support and Combat. Since at the time woman was not allowed in combat, Antonela chose to be a Military Intelligence Officer, learning Foreign Languages as her major. In her last year as a cadet, Antonela was chosen to be the First Captain, the head of all West Point cadet and graduated in 2008 as a valedictorian.

Antonela was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2008 as a Company XO (Executive Officer) in the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade in Yongsan Garrison, South Korea.

In 2009, Antonela was assigned to 321 Military Intelligence Company in Iraq, detached to the 72nd Infantry Regiment. Early morning on July 4th, 2010, 321's secret compound in Sulaymaniyah Governorate was assaulted by 120-150 enemies. Compromised in every direction, Antonela and her Commanding Officer, Captain Theodore Martin reached the decision to retreat to the nearest FOB (Forward Operating Base). Martin and their Company's Senior NCO, Sergeant Joseph Engel commanded defense while Antonela exposing herself to enemy fire, commanding the retreat. In the middle of the fighting, the F Company 522th Battalion came to provide backup for the evacuation after hearing the gunshots. The fighting lasted for 2 hours and Antonela was responsible for at least 20 body counts that day. Upon returning to the defense position, it was occupied by Captain Eric Peterson from F Company and his men. In the end, 71 lives were saved that day with 8 allied casualties, including Captain Martin and Sergeant Engel. Antonela received no less than 8 wounds and a fatal hit to her right abdomen and right eye, leaving her partially blind after the battle and have to wear an ocular prosthesis.

For her action, Antonela was promoted to Captain and received various awards including the Medal of Honor. The other Medal of Honor was awarded to Captain Eric Peterson. Antonela was not pleased and insisted that the award be given to Martin and Engel. The testimony from F Company and general ignorance of the 321 during the chaos led to the conclusion that Captain Peterson commanded the defense and the medal was still awarded. Antonela was registered for medical retirement because her right eye's condition but she appealed for the decision, saying she wanted to fulfilled her service obligation of 5 years.

Antonela struggled with emotional problems after returning from Iraq, mainly from killing people for the first time and losing her comrades. She was later almost handed a GOMOR (General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand) when deployed at Fort Sam Houston.

After tours to Poland and Turkey, Antonela was officially registered for her impending medical retirement in 2013. She continued her study in foreign language at University of Illinois, majoring in East Asian Studies and graduated in 2014. Antonela wanted some time out of the country for 'sabbatical leave' and went to Japan based on some friends' suggestion. Antonela found a job as a Taekwondo instructor at Tokyo International Club and lived there on Skilled Labor Visa. The club founded its demonstration team, Minato Dragons and Antonela is one of their ace performers until now.

## Appearance

After her retirement from the Army, Antonela let her brown hair grow longer. Antonela has blue eyes and wears an ocular prosthesis that looks exactly like her eyes on the right.

## Personality

Being a former soldier, Antonela is highly disciplined and has high sense of duty. She’s very organized and greatly cautious with her actions. Antonela was pretty energetic and outgoing, giving this tomboyish vibes to people around her. Simply said, she’s like everyone’s bro-sister. She’s also pretty altruistic and has high motivation to help people around her.

As an Iraq returnee, Antonela still had some emotional issues. Even though she still has control of her emotions, she’s still prone to anger. Her vulnerability to negative emotions also caused her to have some depressive episodes sometimes when reminded of her time in Iraq.

Throughout the years, the hobbies she loves the most are motor activities (e.g: exercising, dancing), hiking, swimming, cocktails, and recently picked up cake decorating. Antonela is a lover of nature and has been to various hiking trails such as Kanto Fureai Trail, Główny Szlak Sudecki, Appalachian Trail,and Colorado Trail. She also enjoys cocktails, with Mojito and Cuba Libre as her favorite.

## Abilities

* **Information Expert:** As a former Military Intelligence Officer, Antonela is an expert on gathering, processing, and manipulating information whether it's human intelligence or digital intelligence.
* **Martial Arts:** Antonela is trained in Karate, Taekwondo, and Army Combatives. Antonela received her 5th degree black belt in 2014, having practiced Karate for 19 years. She received her 5th degree black belt in Taekwondo since 2008 but is not eligible for 6th degree promotion since she didn't fulfill the minimum age requirement.
* **Multilingualism:** Antonela majored in Foreign Language at West Point and is a fluent speaker of Croatian, Russian, Chinese and Arab. In addition, she has highest language certification for Japanese, French, Korean, German, Polish, Turkish, and Serbian.

## Relationships

### Family

* **Michael Stewart:** Step Father
* **Sonja Filipović:** Biological Mother
* **Jordan Goodman:** Biological Father
* **Nataša Stewart:** Younger Sister
* **Adam Stewart:** Younger Brother

## Trivia

* Antonela's name originates from the Bulgarian village of Anton, her mother's childhood home and the place she considers to be the most beautiful in the world.
* Antonela is affectionately called Lieutenant/Captain/Major Phil in the army, short for Filipovic.
* Antonela's Medal of Honor citation reads as follows: "First Lieutenant Antonela Filipovic distinguished herself by acts of gallantry and interpidity at the risk of her life above and beyond call of duty while serving as an Executive Officer for 321st Military Intelligence Company, detached to 72th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, during combat operations against armed enemies in Qadir-Karam, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraq on July 4th, 2010. On that day, First Lieutenant Filipovic was a part of an intelligence gathering mission with her company consisted of three platoons. Before the sunrise, the Company's compound was assaulted by approximately 120-150 enemy combatants. In the middle of the chaos, First Lieutenant Filipovic assessed the situation and concluded that the base is lost, and suggested retreat to nearest FOB. Compromised in every direction, First Lieutenant Filipovic spearheaded the evacuation and got involved in direct combat. With complete disregard for her own safety, First Lieutenant Filipovic charged the flank of enemy's formation and killed an enemy with her knife. This action disrupted the enemy's formation and created an opening for counter-attack. After an opening has been created, First Lieutenant Filipovic stayed to give medical treatment for wounded allies while being exposed to enemy fire. While carrying a fellow American out of combat zone, First Lieutenant Filipovic received critical wounds in her right abdomen and right eye, but she had bought enough time for her comrades to evacuate. First Lieutenant Filipovic's courage, selflessness, and precise leadership while under extreme enemy fire was integral to her Company's ability to eliminate the threat and prevented more casualties. First Lieutenant Filipovic's extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty at the risk of life are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect credit upon herself, the 321st Military Intelligence Company, 72nd Infantry Regiment, and the United States Army."
* Antonela has been awarded the following
	+ **Right Side**
		- **First row**
			* **Army Presidential Unit Citation**
	+ **Left Side**
		- **First row**
			* **Medal of Honor**
			* **Army Distinguished Service Cross**
		- **Second row**
			* **Silver Star**
			* **Legion of Merit**
			* **Soldier's Medal**
		- **Third row**
			* **Bronze Star**
			* **Purple Heart**
			* **Army Commendation Medal**
		- **Fourth row**
			* **Army Achievement Medal**
			* **Iraq Campaign Medal**
			* **Global War on Terrorism Service Medal**
		- **Fifth row**
			* **Army Service Ribbon**
			* **Army Overseas Service Ribbon**
			* **NATO Meritorious Service Medal**
		- **Sixth row**
			* **Distinguished Rifleman Badge**
			* **Combat Action Badge**
* Antonela's theme music is 'Across the Line' by Linkin Park