The Memoirs of Kell Tainer

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Psych Evaluation: Major Tainer, Kell, CNC 5th Battlegroup
Authorization: Dr. Rachel Whitcomb, Chief Medical Officer, 5th Battlegroup


The Major is a man of many facets, shaped by the horrors and miracles he has witnessed over the years of his service. At the core, his actions have demonstrated a pacifist streak uncommon among his colleagues and a deep belief in the inherent good present in others. He's become noteworthy among his comrades for having a tendency to see the best in others, despite evidence to the contrary (Authors note: It has burned him from time to time) and recognizing talent where it exists. Case in point, he has served as a mentor to not one, but three separate members of the High Command, Eriksson Ravenov, Jeremy Hunter and Michal Golanski. Contrasting most of his colleagues, he prefers to use diplomacy over force and even then, only once all other options have been exhausted, being a firm believer in the concept of “Just War”.

This even extended to threats such as the Nomads and the Core, whom he has faced a considerable amount of derision from his colleagues over. However repeatedly, Kell has demonstrated a willingness to use the maximum force required to bring about victory once diplomacy fails, this has served to silence most of the criticism, however he has always refused to use more extreme tactics such as that known as the “Base Delta Zero” and torture to obtain information and/or victory.

However, this was the pre-Fall Kell. In the immediate aftermath of the second battle of Minor, the Major became cold and machine like, issuing orders necessary for the survival of the remainder of his command. The battle had changed him, though he brushed off all attempts at psychiatric help, diving into his duties and becoming increasingly erratic in his behavior. Where once Kell had been highly moralistic possessing a strong sense of ethics, he began to break his own codes repeatedly, to the point of ordering a nuclear strike after an op to eliminate any potential witnesses.

What is not widely known is that there were non-combatants in the area. Some short months later, the Major finally snapped, memories of the Fall of Toledo, including the near loss of his wife manifested themselves as delayed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Major disappeared for three years, before being found unconscious on New Tokyo.

In the depths of his despair, the pain over past decisions, the lives lost, and the deaths of innocents indirectly by his own orders had broken a man once regarded as unflappable. He turned to alcohol to drown his sorrows and entered a death spiral. The man that was found in 823-824 was a broken shell. He spent the next year recovering and acclimatizing to his former role, undergoing rehabilitation, mending his relationship with his wife, and most importantly, reflecting upon past mistakes.

What the Major will do now is uncertain, as a colleague who has known him since his days in the LSF, there is a certain hardness to his demeanor in these later days, intermixed with the pain of loss over minor, largely healed, but still present nonetheless. However, it should be noted that the old fire is still present. As he has himself expressed, he still firmly believes in Just war and violence as a last resort, however, he acknowledges that certain measures are called for when dealing with some groups, notably the Nomads and the Core. However mercy is still of paramount importance to him.


Seeing his stability return over the course of a year, I am in concurrence with the other medical staff who oversaw his recovery, his is fit for active duty. The errant behavior present immediately post-Minor is gone. However I do worry that when he encounters the Core next he may go too far.

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