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Description

Joseph is a tall, broad-shouldered man, standing at approximately 6'00". His muscular build, weather-beaten face and numerous scars on his arms and chest are a testament of the hardships that he has endured throughout his life, from Montreal to Afghanistan. He has short, chesnut hair and pale blue eyes. He is twenty-nine years old, but his hard-set features and serious expression give him the allure of a grizzled military-man. It is worth noting that he is left-handed, and on his left forearm he wears a broken silver watch engraved with the words "Van Doos" on the back, which is the Royal 22e Régiment nickname, a mispronunciation of vingt-deux ("twenty-two" in French.)

Personality

If there's one thing you can say about Joseph, is that his job is the single-most important thing in the world for him. The other members of his battalion are his family and friends. The Canadian Forces is all he has. The only time he feels at home, his comrades in arms say, is when he's deployed abroad as far away from North America as possible. The only places where Joseph can function properly are in the most dangerous countries on the globe, in places other comfortable North-Americans would gladly give a wide-berth. If you encountered Joseph at a military base in Kandahar province, you'd see a young man who's content with his situation, and at ease with others. But back in Canada, he's the complete opposite. When he isn't deployed across sea, he spends most of his time confined in his military quarters. The military is the family Joseph never had. Without the security of the strict military life, this troubled man is lost and confused in a world he doesn't understand.

History

Joseph Lauzon was born in Montreal, Québec, in Februrary of 1981. His mother was undeserving of him, often neglecting him. His father (whose name Joseph never even knew, and vice versa) was all but present in his life. At the age of seven, Joseph was taken from his mother by child services when a neighbour saw him sitting on his front doorstep, crying and malnourished. He was placed in the foster care system, where he stayed until the age of sixteen, after which point he was adopted by the parents of one of his classmates, his best friend David. The pair were inseperable, and both aspired to join the Canadian Forces. In 2000, both decided to pursue a career in the military. The pair enrolled, and were soon on their way to the Royal Military College of Canada, in St-Jean Sur Richelieu. When they completed their studies and basic training, they were officially non-commisioned officers of the Canadian Forces. That was in Februrary 2003, a few weeks after Joseph twenty-second birthday.

Later that year, both were assigned to the Royal 22e Régiment, the "local" infantry regiment for Québec. David, being an anglo-Canadian, often jokingly called the regiment Van Doos. He was to be deployed to Afghanistan before Joseph, so as a parting gift to his friend he bought David a silver watch on which he engraved the nickname attributed to their regiment by the English-speaking soldiers. Two months later, the watch was returned to Joseph along with the body of his friend. Cadet Officer David Campbell had died while on patrol, killed by an IED blast. Joseph slipped into depression, until he in turn was deployed across seas. He became accustomed to, and soon enjoyed, the harsh conditions and hectic lifestyle which was introduced to him. He made and lost friends in service to his country, but it was all worth it. When he was on-mission, he could take his mind off of his deceased friend. But this was short-lived. When he was not deployed, he confined himself to his military quarters on-base. He could have easily afforded a more luxurious living space-- but without being constantly surrounded by his surrogate family which is the armed forces, he couldn't cope in society.

Captain Joseph Lauzon's Story