Shit, man, I just wanted to get out of South Miami and get money for college. How was I supposed to know the Army was gonna have a war?
Alison Ortiz is a short, well-muscled Latina with intense eyes and a prominent burn scar on her left cheek. Cuban-born, she came to Florida with her family as part of the 1980 Mariel boatlift. As a teenager in South Miami, she split her time between the emerging street-racing culture and her parents’ Key Biscayne dive shop.
Alison enlisted in the Army at 18 to earn G.I. Bill benefits. Originally trained in supply and logistics, she took the opportunity to cross over to infantry duty when the Army opened up combat careers to women in late 1996. She figured that if she was going to get sent to war anyway, her chances of survival would be better around actual soldiers than in the middle of a collection of clerks and jerks. In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea, but it’s gotten her this far.
Alison was formerly a squad automatic riflewoman in 3-143 Infantry, one of the component units of the U.S. 5th Infantry Division. She was captured after the Battle of Kalisz when her vehicle was struck by artillery fire and spent several weeks as a Soviet POW before the team liberated her. Currently, her usual assignment is driver for the expedition team’s 10-ton truck, Industrial Light and Mayhem.
Strength B: Heavy Weapons B, Stamina C (Load Carrier)
Agility B: Driving C (Racer), Mobility C (Diver), Ranged Combat D
Intelligence B: Survival D
Empathy C
Key Gear: RPK-74; M9
Languages: Cuban Spanish (native), English (fluent but accented), Polish (pidgin)