Phoenix Force is a series of action-adventure novels written by several authors under the shared pseudonym Gar Wilson. Published between 1982 and 1991, and spanning 55 novels (and several anthologized short stories), the series follows the exploits of the five-man, anti-terrorist team Phoenix Force. There were 51 novels in the Phoenix Force series, plus 4 Super Phoenix Force special editions. The characters also appeared in the three Heroes paperback anthologies published by Gold Eagle. The series ended in 1991 but the characters went on to star in the Stony Man series that followed.
Phoenix Force is one of two neutralization teams working for Stony Man, a top-secret anti-terrorist organization. It is a spin-off of the Executioner series created by Don Pendleton. In 1991, Gold Eagle combined Phoenix Force with another Executioner spin-off series, Able Team, and launched the Stony Man book series, which ran a total of 140 novels, ending in 2015.
Characters Originally, Phoenix Force was composed of Yakov Katzenelenbogen, a French-Israeli commando; Gary Manning, Canadian demolitions expert and security engineer; Keio Ohara, Japanese Martial Arts and electronics expert; David McCarter, former SAS operator and pilot; and Rafael Encizo, Cuban survivor of the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Castro's prisons. Ohara was killed in the course of the series and replaced with Calvin James, African-American Vietnam veteran. Katz retired from field work, resulting in McCarter becoming the new team leader, and T.J. Hawkins was recruited by Katz and Mack Bolan to become the fifth member of Phoenix Force.
The Phoenix Force team has used the assistance of John Trent, Japanese-American ninjitsu master; and Karl Hahn, former GSG 9 operator turned BND agent.
Phoenix Force members
David McCarter McCarter is the current commander of Phoenix Force. A Cockney born in London's East End neighborhood, McCarter is a former SAS operator who participated in the Iranian Embassy Siege and spent a tour of duty in Vietnam as a "special observer". McCarter is a big, strong man who thrives on action. He is unmatched in combat, with significant battlefield experience and great marksmanship with a pistol. McCarter is often the first in a firefight, with a degree of desire for action that borders on recklessness. He is an action junkie with Katz summing up "that man would be lost without a battlefield." He is also highly sarcastic and always gets in the last word.
McCarter's attitude often leads to friction between him and Gary Manning, and the two frequently take jabs at each other. However, their conflict is good-natured and not detrimental to the team.
One of McCarter's quirks is consuming large amounts of Coca-Cola.
McCarter's preferred SMG was the Ingram MAC-10 in 9mm, but it had jammed on one mission, causing him to adopt the Intratec KG-99. His preferred pistol is the Browning Hi-Power.
Rafael Encizo Originally from Cuba, Encizo assisted in Fidel Castro's revolution in Cuba. Upon realizing that he had helped install a Communist regime, Encizo turned against the Communists and was subsequently imprisoned. He escaped and fled to America, and later came back during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Encizo was captured a second time as a result, and tortured for several months before making a second escape.
Rafael Encizo's younger brother, Raul, was taken from the family at a very young age, and joined the Cuban army. Rafael and Raul have fought against each other on two occasions, the second of which resulted in Raul's death after he turned on a group of Communist terrorists he was working with.
Encizo's preferred weapons are the H&K MP5 and a Smith & Wesson or a Walther PPK pistol (later changed to the H&K P9). He is also the team's edged weapons expert, favoring the Cold Steel Tanto.
Gary Manning Phoenix Force's Canadian demolitions expert, the team's most talented sniper, and silent weapons expert. Manning grew up hunting and working for his uncle's demolitions company. During the Vietnam War, Manning was attached to a US Special Forces team as an "observer" (much like McCarter). Following the war, Manning settled down, got married and became an executive of a major import-export firm. The marriage failed, but the business prospered. Because of his wealth, Manning is the most unlikely of the Phoenix Force members. He seems more down to earth than the others, and is annoyed at McCarter's actions, although the two are friends.
Manning's weapons of choice are the FN FAL and the Desert Eagle .357 Magnum. In later books, he uses the SA80 and the Walther P5.
Calvin James Hailing from the south side of Chicago, James grew up in an environment full of drugs and gang violence. His parents died when he was young; his mother murdered by a drug dealer. At the age of 17, James became a hospital corpsman with the Navy SEALs and fought in the Vietnam War. His brother, Waldo James, who was also in the Vietnam War, went MIA and was never seen again. After the war, James continued studying to become a doctor, but when his sister, Susan James, died of a drug overdose, he instead joined the San Francisco Police Department as a SWAT officer.
During the time the Black Alchemist terrorist conspiracy was going on, James and his SWAT partner, Don Rambo, were infiltrating the Hilldale Pacific Bank to rescue people taken hostage by the Arma de Liberacion de Puerto Rico, or ALPR. During the infiltration, Rambo was killed by one of the terrorists. James almost shared the same fate, but was rescued by McCarter and Manning, who had infiltrated the building looking for him.
After helping James deal with the terrorists, McCarter and Manning shanghaied him and transported him to Stony Man Farm, where his skills and knowledge of chemistry proved invaluable. After Keio Ohara was killed, Hal Brognola and the rest of Phoenix Force offered him a spot on the team. Since he felt that Phoenix Force was where he really belonged, he agreed, becoming the unit's unofficial medical corpsman. He regularly administers truth serums to captured terrorists in order to gain information. He is streetwise and not as knowledgeable about world affairs as the other team members, but is also a natural con artist to help with undercover work.
James' weapons of choice are the M16 fitted with the M203 grenade launcher, and the Colt Commander. In later books, he is armed with a Beretta 92SB automatic pistol.
T. J. Hawkins Thomas Jackson Hawkins was brought in as a new member of Phoenix Force when Yakov Katzenelenbogen retired from field work and David McCarter became the new commander of the team. Named after famous Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, Hawkins was born in the U.S. Army hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia. He is the second of three sons born to a U.S. Army career infantry NCO who served as an adviser to an ARVN Ranger battalion. His father was killed during the Tet Offensive. At age 5, Hawkins and his entire family moved to Fort Hood, Texas.
Following in his father's footsteps, Hawkins joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1980. When he completed basic training, he volunteered for Airborne training, earning his parachute wings in the process. Later accepted for training by the Rangers and subsequently assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment. During this assignment, he participated in Operation Urgent Fury and Operation Just Cause as part of a recon team.
Years later, he was assigned to Delta Force, leading one of its recon teams into Iraq during Operation Desert Storm to look for Scud missile launchers to be bombed by the Air Force. On one of these missions, the Black Hawk chopper transporting his unit went down outside Baghdad. Hawkins led his team to safety in the aftermath of the crash. For this action, he was awarded the Silver Star.
During Operation Restore Hope, Hawkins and 12 others of his Delta Force unit were assigned to escort a United Nations team sent to secure a Somali village that was being threatened by a small-time warlord and 24 of his gunmen. The leader of the U.N. team, a Swedish major, had backed down from the warlord's threats and was ready to stand by while the villagers were massacred. However, Hawkins was unwilling to follow the major's lead and refused to stand down. The warlord threatened Hawkins with his pistol, but the Georgia native responded by shooting him dead. His men chased the warlord's troops away, saving all the villagers, an act for which Hawkins should have been rewarded.
Instead, upon their return to the U.N. headquarters in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu, the Swedish major declared his intention to bring Hawkins up on murder charges. The young noncom responded by threatening to break the story of the major backing down and deciding to let innocent villagers be murdered in cold blood. Because of the political implications of the incident, Hawkins was allowed to resign his commission. He was honorably discharged, returning to his Texas home shortly thereafter.
Hawkins was reluctant to join Phoenix Force at first, fearing that the organization had too many political connections, but after he saw their after-action reports and was made aware of Mack Bolan's true identity, he agreed to join the team. Since then, his expertise in electronic communications and airborne operations has made him a valuable asset to Phoenix Force.
His friends call him either T. J. or Hawk.
A serious individual when he needs to be, Hawkins has a deep sense of how things should be, and will sometimes conceal his true feelings with his Southernism.
Stony Man crew
Phoenix Force is supported by the Stony Man crew. This crew provides a wide variety of expertise, ranging from piloting aircraft or hacking into a computer database.
Stony Man crew members:
Hal Brognola Harold Brognola is the Stony Man project director. He is responsible for assigning missions to both Phoenix Force and Able Team, as well as providing them with intelligence, weapons, transportation, and anything else they may require to conduct their assignments. Brognola enjoys chewing on expensive cigars.
Jack Grimaldi Stony Man's ace pilot, Grimaldi is often called on to assist in situations which require the use of air assets. Grimaldi is competent with all aircraft, both fixed-wing and helicopters.
Aaron "The Bear" Kurtzman Kurtzman is the computer expert of the Stony Man farm. His role is to obtain intel from other government agencies and process it. Kurtzman lost the use of his legs in an assault on Stony Man Farm, and has since been forced to use a wheelchair. He has made several attempts to regain the use of his legs.
Barbara Price Taking over from April Rose, Barbara Price serves as Stony Man's mission controller. At the request of the President, she assisted with the security clearances when Stony Man was initially set up. She and Mack Bolan are friends and sometimes lovers.
Buck Greene Taking over from the man who replaced the traitorous Captain Wade, Buck Greene serves as Stony Man's chief of security and leads the Blacksuits, a security force maintained by Stony Man to provide security for the Farm.
Charlie Mott A former Vietnam veteran and ex-Marine, Charlie Mott is the second Stony Man pilot, behind Jack Grimaldi.
John Kissinger Taking over from the murdered Andrzej Konzaki, John 'Cowboy' Kissinger serves as Stony Man's weaponsmith. Kissinger first worked for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the predecessor to the DEA. After the dismantling of the BND, Kissinger went freelance, offering his talents to companies like Colt, Beretta, Heckler & Koch, and IMI.
Prof. Huntington Wethers A former cybernetics professor at UCLA, Huntington 'Hunt' Wethers was recruited by Aaron Kurtzman for his expertise in computers and cybernetics. While Kurtzman looks at computers as a means of leveraging information, Wethers looks at computers as a science.
Akira Tokaido