Action Force

## Background

Action Force is the codename for a multinational counter-terrorist unit created to counter the threat of the Red Shadows. Originally founded by NATO, Action Force was later expanded to include recruits from the Warsaw Pact, as a gesture of goodwill. With the Black Major's capture by Baron Ironblood, followed by the theft of the second Heavy Artillery Laser prototype and the death of a senior Soviet officer, Action Force lost US and Soviet support. The US opted to reform their GI Joe team, whilst the Soviets founded the Oktober Guard. Some representatives of the US and the WarPac nations remained in AF, but it was reformed into SAS Force, Z-Force, Q-Force, Space Force and the Special Weapons Force. Action Force has fought both the Shadows and Cobra Europe through the 1980s and more recently, groups like The Coil, Skull Squad and the Black Dragons Action Force takes recruits from any nation that volunteers and meets their high standards. Besides NATO's European nations, members also hail from Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Russia, Singapore, India, Tawaichu and Australia.

## Stories

Action Force appears in the following stories:

Heroic Commandos

International Heroes

Codename Bodycount

War of the Red Shadows

The Fall of Cobra

High Seas Hijack

Operation Bao

The Fall of Cobra

Operation Cheetah

Real Scandinavian Heroes

Codename Shade

The Raid

Battle Beyond the Skies

Skulls in the Sand

Steel Raptors

Berserker Road

## Character swaps

Which characters would replace which Joes. If there's no one listed, it's because I've yet to work it out.

Ace – Space Force pilots, EG: Moondancer, Hot Jets, Blast
Off or Hawkwind

Airborne – Either my Z-Force HALO jumper Angel or
Sparrowhawk

Blowtorch

Breaker – Z-Force Breaker

Cutter – Either Mako or Broadside, my Q-Force WHALE
operators

Deep Six – Either Dolphin or Leviathan

Doc – Z-Force’s The Doc

Duke – Either Eagle or Skip.

Flash – Either Bombardier or SWF character Sniper.

Gung-Ho – Any Z-Force Infantryman

Mutt & Junkyard – My SASF K9 handler, Hound and MWD Rex

Recondo – SASF member Boonie (based on a custom from BFTB)
or Beaver for when he uses the Silent Attack Kayak.

Ripcord – Either Sparrowhawk or my Z-Force HALO trooper,
Angel (particularly for the story with Ripcord as a new recruit.)

Roadblock – Either my Z-Force machine-gunner Lock’n’Load or
SASF machine-gunner Firepower

Scarlett – Mostly Quarrel. Except when she flies a
Skystriker, then my Space Force pilot Afterburner

Snow Job – my SASF arctic specialist North Star

Stalker – Quickfire or Stakeout

Torpedo – Shark or my own Aquatrooper Tempest (particularly
in ‘Target: Torpedo’, which would be ‘Target: Tempest’)

Tripwire – Scout or Tracker

Airtight – Bombardier

Alpine – my mountaineer Ice-pick

Back-Stop – Only appears in one story, so could actually fit
as Backstop himself, given how little he appeared in GI Joe!

Barbecue – Either of my Z-Force firemen Backdraft and
Inferno

Bazooka – my Z-Force anti-armour specialist Warhead

Beach Head – Stakeout or Quickfire or maybe another SASF
attack trooper

Crankcase – Mostly Wheels or SASF Stalker, except in ‘Holding
the Baby’ when Tracker or Scout is better)

Crazy Legs – Angel

Cross-Country – my Z-Force HAVOC driver, Torque

Dial-Tone – Either Z-Force Breaker or Ring-Tone my Z-Force
comms guy.

Dusty – Desert Rat, my SASF desert specialist

Falcon – Either Quickfire or Mustang, my Z-Force junior
officer.

Fast Draw – Either Warhead or Kickback, another Z-Force
anti-armour guy

Flint – Either Eagle or Skip.

Footloose – Any SASF Attack Trooper.

Frostbite – Either Drift of Glacier, my SASF arctic vehicle
drivers

Hawk – The Commander, except ‘Havoc in the Outback’ when
Eagle.

Heavy Metal – Either Hunter, Z-Force Steeler or Saxon, one
of my Z-Force tank drivers.

Hit & Run – Boonie or Kukri, a Ghurkha SASF commando

Iceberg – Either North Star, Drift, Glacier or another
Arctic guy, ‘Cold Shot’ based on a BFTB custom

Jinx – my SASF character, Shade

Lady Jaye – Usually, Quarrel

Leatherneck – Any Z-Force infantryman

Lifeline – My Z-Force medic Tourniquet

Lift-Ticket – Any of my Z-Force Tomahawk pilots, Fennec,
Rose or Evac

Mainframe – Jammer or my Z-Force IT guy Wireless

Outback – Boonie, maybe

Psyche-Out –

Quick Kick -

Sci-Fi – Sniper of SWF

Shipwreck – Except for in ‘Doppelganger’; Dolphin, Leviathan
or Mako. In ‘Doppelganger’ – Moondancer

Slip-Stream – My Space Force Conquest pilot Hornet

Snake Eyes – Quickfire or Sparrowhawk

Tunnel Rat – Z-Force Tracker

Wet-Suit – Any Q-Force aquatrooper, except Tempest.

Wild Bill – Any of my Z-Force Dragonfly pilots,
Rooivalk, Whirl or even Peregrine.

Cover Girl - Quarrel - although Cover Girl was never released in the UK, she appeared in AF Monthly, operating undercover, a role ideal for Quarrel.

Lowlight - Either of my SASF snipers Longshot or Bolt. Lowlight wasn't released in the UK until after AF Monthly was cancelled, but he appeared in issue #7.