Antwon Ridgeway

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>  **- Antwon Ridgeway** | ”
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## Antwon Ridgeway

### Occupation

Salesman (formerly)
Maryland National Guard Officer (formerly)
United States Marine Corps Officer (formerly)
 MARSOC Special Operations Officer
JTF Officer (formerly)

### Rank

 Colonel (formerly) General (self-promoted)

### Education

* Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC)
* B.A. in Economics & Political Science (United States Naval Academy)
* M.A. in Government and Politics and Economics, Master of Arts (University of Maryland, College Park)

### Specialized Training

* Marines Awaiting Reconnaissance Training (MART)
* Reconnaissance Training and Assessment Program (RTAP)
* Force Recon Selection & Indoctrination Program
* Basic Reconnaissance Course
* Combatant Diver Course
* SERE School
* Army Airborne School
* Army Reconnaissance and Surveillance Leaders Course
* Mountain Warfare Training Center

### Factions

Joint Task Force
 True Sons

### Affiliations

* United States Marine Corps (formerly)
* 15th Expeditionary Unit (formerly)
* 1st Battalion, 4th Marines (formerly)
* Marine Force Reconnaissance (formerly)
* MCSOC Detachment One (formerly)
* MARSOC (formerly)
* Marine Raider Regiment (formerly)
* United States Army (formerly)
* United States Army National Guard (formerly)

**Colonel Antwon Ridgeway** was a colonel of the DC branch of the Joint Task Force and the self-appointed General and leader of the True Sons in Washington, D.C. until his death. He would become a martyr for the True Sons and an example for his successor, General Skyler Brooks.

Ridgeway served during the start of the outbreak in Washington, D.C. and was given the responsibility to administer the quarantine on Roosevelt Island to make sure everything ran smoothly. When the chaos erupted in the quarantine, he deployed guards to make sure nobody could leave the area. He let people starve to death and withheld medicine from the infected.

Ridgeway abused his authority for a long time until the commander of the JTF discovered him and imprisoned Ridgeway for his actions. Once loyal members of his unit freed him, Ridgeway gathered men from his former unit and the stockade where he was held prisoner, they captured JTF officers that had imprisoned him and held a symbolic tribunal for them, only to execute them all moments later.

## History

Ridgeway was once a top salesman as well as "weekend warrior" in the Maryland National Guard. Having financed his college studies through ROTC he went on to become a reserve officer and his effortless charm and dogged salesman's perseverance won him early favor with his superiors. He was commanding a company of the Maryland National Guard as a Colonel when the pandemic struck.

As the National Guard was assimilated into the JTF, he became increasingly disgruntled with how things were run, and led his unit in a rebellion in early February, taking command to form the True Sons militia. After some infighting amongst the primary instigators, he emerged as the sole and undisputed leader of the True Sons and he has led them ever since, promoting himself to general, as he will never take orders again.

## Inheriting Willpower

A Baltimore native, Ridgeway’s father “Alexander” was one of the first African American police to be promoted to the rank of Major, in the mid-1970s. But during the War on Drugs in the 1980s, Major Alexander Ridgeway reportedly began ordering his officers to use excessive tactics on street gangs, in order to locate suppliers and their drug stash houses; at first, the Commissioners did not object to his methods of interrogation, especially since they proved successful in reducing crime. An Internal Affairs investigation was put in place on his father and his fellow officers under his command, after a raid on a drug stash house, the money recovered from the crime scene went missing. The charges were forced to be dropped due to lack of evidence, but Alexander was demoted to “Captain” instead and forced into a desk job.

Despite these circumstances, he was still admired by the officers under his command and his son to do whatever it took to win War on Drugs through commitment, conviction, and willpower, without letting any form of ethics get in the way of the mission.

## Military Career

Ridgeway graduated NRTOC from the Annapolis Naval Academy with a degree in Economics & Political Science, where he met another fellow Marine officer and future True Sons Lana "Doc" Simpson, Ridgeway had a reputation for being a “weekend warrior and would work as a salesman in his spare time. Ridgeway's first deployments began in Afghanistan, during the Fall of Kabul in 2001, as an infantry officer part of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Ridgeway later joined Force Reconnaissance in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion and was redeployed to Iraq to help perform operations against the Ba’ath opposition. In one operation shortly before the Battle of Baghdad, Ridgeway’s unit was tasked with sabotaging MIG-25 fighter jets within the hangers of the Saddam International Airport, before they could interfere with the Navy’s bombing run on strategic targets.

His participation in operations in Iraq had Ridgeway best specialize in counterinsurgency and psychological operations, which lead to Captain Ridgeway to being selected into the Det One pilot program and becoming one of the first operators in the newly formed MARSOC, in which he took part in the Second Battle of Fallujah with the Navy Seals.

In 2006, after the successful founding of the Marine Forces Special Operations Command and its ground unit; the Marine Special Operations Regiment, Ridgeway was promoted to Major and was given command of Charlie Company within the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion performing operations in Afghanistan.

However, his active combat career came to a close, when a whistleblower leaked documents detailing an operation in which Ridgeway participated in the ‘accidental’ shooting of surrendering enemy combatants, forcing him to transfer to the Maryland National Guard in 2009.

## True Sons

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>  **- Antwon Ridgeway** | ”
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When the pandemic broke out, chaos and panic quickly spread across Washington, D.C. In an attempt to control the spreading of the virus, the newly formed JTF established a quarantine on Roosevelt Island, Colonel Antwon Ridgeway formerly of the Maryland National Guard was given the responsibility to enforce the quarantine and ensure that everything ran smoothly. Seeing all the tragedy caused by the virus and how overwhelmed the JTF had become, Ridgeway started to lose faith in his commander's ability to save Washington, D.C. He quickly came to the conclusion that there needed to be drastic actions taken to ensure their survival.

As a strong believer in the need for proper authority and discipline, Ridgeway decided to take matters into his own hands. In frustration and fear for the city's future, he ordered his guards around the quarantine to bar the entrances and exits and not let anyone in or out even the medical staff attending to the sick. He started to redirect essential resources from going into the quarantine, letting people starve to death and withholding medicine. In his eyes, the sick and the weak were already dead, so his number one priority became to secure the future of his own men. When confronted by a CERA doctor that she would report Ridgeway's actions to his superiors, he murdered the doctor right in front of terrified civilians. He then ruthlessly ordered his men to put down any resistance from inside the quarantine.

Ridgeway's actions were tainted by his willingness to do whatever it took for the well-being of his soldiers and his repulsion of the sick. Due to the chaotic state of the city, he was able to abuse his authority for a long time before the commander of the JTF found out and dispatched a Division agent to investigate. This led to a confrontation at the CERA Constitution Camp where the Division agent witnessed Colonel Ridgeway murder a civilian for breaking quarantine, this led the agent into shooting one of Ridgeway's unit and place Ridgeway under arrest on 55 counts of murder. He was then court-martialed along with several officers of his unit and found guilty on all counts and imprisoned in the American History JTF stockade. However, it did not take long until Captain Keates and Major Ashford, two loyal members of Ridgeway's unit, seeing the JTF's actions as a betrayal, broke into the stockade with Corporal Masters and Staff Sergeant Greystroke and freed him.

In Ridgeway's eyes, he had done nothing wrong. According to him, he was the only one with a realistic and viable solution to the situation. Therefore, the betrayal of his fellow JTF officers and imprisonment filled him with rage and hate towards the JTF and the federal government. As soon as he got out, he gathered men from his former unit and the stockade where he was held, prisoner. Together they captured the JTF officers that had imprisoned him and held a symbolic tribunal for them, only to execute them all moments later – and so the True Sons were born.

## Personality

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>  | *I give you an order. You follow it, or you don't. But don't think for a goddamn second that I won't have your ass strung up for disobeying it.*
>  **- Antwon Ridgeway** | ”
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> Ridgeway was ambitious and had a strong desire to lead. He would always dominate the conversation and express his concerns if he disagreed with the people. He was decisive when under intense pressure and was extremely aggressive as the leader of the True Sons and sought to achieve victory at any cost.
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> During his time with the JTF, Ridgeway was likely dutiful and possessed competent leadership and planning skills as he achieved the rank of Colonel and was tasked with administrating the quarantine on Roosevelt Island. During the quarantine chaos, Antwon proved to be quite cold as he prioritized the safety of his men over the infected and allowed them to die. Conversely, he could be caring and charismatic to his men as some of his soldiers defended his actions during his arrest.
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> Ridgeway could tolerate those who question his priorities as he could easily persuade them into agreeing with him. However, Ridgeway would not tolerate insubordination, and worse, desertion, and would personally execute those who tried. Ridgeway was a strong believer in discipline and authority, talking harshly and brooking no insubordination.
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> Ridgeway had established a cult of personality within his faction as he self-promoted himself as a General and had the fierce loyalty of those under his command. He also viewed himself and the True Sons as the only hope in restoring order in Washington D.C. and thus justified the act of demanding tribute from other settlements. He and his men believed it was mutually beneficial as the settlements received protection, and in exchange the True Sons received supplies despite some settlements wanting nothing to do with the faction or believing the demands as too harsh.
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> Consequently, Ridgeway considered those who offer tribute (willing or by force) to be, by default, part of the True Sons and thus as his "citizen" he expected them to obey. A phone recording between him and a random civilian showed him intimidating the civilian into handing over his supplies by indirectly threatening him by mentioning the civilian's neighbor was "not a good citizen" and was "dealt with". Throughout the conversation, while Ridgeway clearly intimidated the man, he treated the civilian nicely by calling him a "good and model citizen" and that he was doing his part by contributing to the True Sons but nonetheless told the civilian that he expects more supplies to be handed over the following week.
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> As the True Sons started to lose more men and territory to The Division, Ridgeway became increasingly more impatient and egotistical, ordering a large counter-offensive while they still had the chance. Although a True Sons' Strategist advised there would be heavy casualties, Ridgeway retorted that they would either lose men, or lose control.
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## Death and Legacy

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>  | *Ridgeway was a good man. He could be cruel, but he had a code of honor to him. He was a visionary, he saw what had to be done, and he wasn't going to wait for others to take action. He had a will that very few people have anymore. I wish I could've met him. We can only hope his sacrifice wasn't in vain.*
>  **- Skyler Brooks on Ridgeway** | ”
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When the Division stormed the Capitol Building, cutting a swathe through the zealous True Sons Defenders, Ridgeway, rather than fleeing, decided to stand with his men even to the death. After the Division team breached the building, barely surviving a set of proximity charges placed by the True Sons, Ridgeway ordered his men to be ready to ambush the Division inside. Upon recovering the RFID briefcase belonging to President Andrew Ellis, Ridgeway spoke with Captain Nelson, whom he ordered to delay the Division from extracting the case.

However, Nelson and her unit were felled, so Ridgeway ordered the deployment of SAM (surface-to-air missiles) systems to prevent the Division helicopter from coming close enough to extract the case. The Division proceeded to the main courtyard, disabling the systems and successfully extracting the briefcase.

Rallying the remaining defenders, Ridgeway personally engaging the Division in combat. Despite a fierce defense, Ridgeway was killed, and the Capitol was lost. With Ridgeway and most of their officers dead and bases captured, the True Sons scattered, until being reunited by General Skyler Brooks.

To most of the True Sons, Ridgeway is considered a martyr and a patriotic hero. They deeply admire the fact he died with his men rather than fleeing when he had the chance. Brooks sees Ridgeway as an admirable man, and owing to her personality, seeks to prove herself a worthy successor, which she seems to have done. However, while Brooks believes Ridgeway built the True Sons vision to be greater than him, in private, she believes he thought too small, and she seeks to take his vision national, thus her creation of the New England Republic.

## Quotes

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>  | *Strength and loyalty. Not just empty words, but the virtues I expect you to live by every day. The foundation upon which the True Sons stand. We are at war. Our enemies are the hordes of degenerates who would see this city burn. And the failed remnants of a corrupt government. The same impotent government which lost our fine country to sickness and ruin. We will destroy them all. But we can only win this war if we stay true to the cause. And to each other. Loyalty is the glue that holds us together. Without it our foundation will rot, crumble, and fall. So when I encounter disloyalty, where I find such rot, I must cut it out before it spreads. Now these soldiers swore the same oath as you did. They swore to be loyal to the cause. To me. They proved to be neither! Instead they abandoned their post and tried to sneak away in the night! They are oath breakers! They are deserters! We are at war. And in war, the punishment for desertion is death!*
>  **- Antwon Ridgeway sentencing two True Sons deserters to death** | ”
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>  | *I’ve been shot plenty of times, Never once it has been enough good to get the job done.*
>  **- Antwon Ridgeway** | ”
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>  | *This is war, Sergeant. We either lose soldiers or we lose control.*
>  **- Ridgeway to an advisor on the need to launch a counteroffensive on the Division or risk being put into an unwinnable situation.** | ”
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>  | *This weapon gave me freedom as it gave others death. Respect it and it will respect you.*
>  **- Ridgeway upon gifting his custom sidearm to Captain Kendra Nelson** | ”
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>  | *Send them to Roosevelt. This is no longer about prevention. It's about damage control.*
>  **- Colonel Ridgeway ordering refugees be sent to Roosevelt Island in order to make sure they all die in one place** | ”
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>  | *Before we came here we ran into a neighbor of yours. He didn't seem to appreciate the good work we do around here. I couldn't accept that, not after all that my men have been through. But, I don't think we are going to have the same problem. Like I said, a house tells you a lot about a person. I can see that you're compassionate. Generous. (Please, just take what you want) That really is mighty kind, Mister Williams. People like you are making a real difference. It's inspiring. We'll be back in the week, I trust you'll have more for us then.*
>  **- Ridgeway subtly threatening a civilian leader into giving "tribute" or face death** | ”
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