Alex Williams

Alex Edwin Williams (callsign Blaze) is a former Osean Air Defense Force pilot. During the Circum-Pacific War he was the leader of Wardog/Razgriz Squadron and also led the latter during the Lighthouse War when he returned to service in 2019. He again led Razgriz Squadron in 2027 in the Second Belkan War. Alex is alive as of 2029, married to Kei Nagase with two childen, Marcus and Zoe.

Early life
Alex was born in the remote winter village of Helmsdwarf, Belka in 1987. An only child, he and his parents moved to Osea in 1991 after his dad, Edwin Williams, retired from the Belkan Air Force. Alex was caught in a forest fire in 2003 which left him with severe burn scars on both forearms; these scars would later become the basis of Alex's callsign in the Air Force.

Alex joined the Osean Air Defense Force in 2009. He met Kei Nagase and Alvin Davenport during advanced flight training. On February 5, 2010, during final flight exams, an arson attack on Heierlark's fuel depot caused an explosion that killed 14 trainees and injured another 30. Alex was among one of the injured but his injuries did not stop him from commissioning on February 10, 2010 and being sent to Sand Island under the 108th Wardog Squadron and Captain Jack Bartlett. Until mid-June when Kei and Alvin recovered and commissioned, Alex was the only member of the 2009 class to be sent to Sand Island.

Circum-Pacific War
Alex was absent from Sand Island on the 23rd of September to visit his uncle, Maxwell Williams, who had been hospitalized because of an air engagement over Belka. He missed the near-destruction of his squadron because of this. Alex quickly returned to Sand Island and was allocated the rear-guard position in what remained of Wardog Squadron.

Retired ace
Following Operation Arcadia and the end of the war, Alex disbanded the Razgriz. Alex travelled to Yuktobania for a year to see first-hand what he and his squadron had done there. He returned in 2012, intending to meet Kei again, but could not find her. Assuming that Kei had passed away, Alex became depressed for a month before a dream knocked him out of his stance. The following day, Alex became an avionics engineer and worked in that field until 2019. In 2016, Alex was contacted by Kei and found out what happened to her; she had been invited to the International Joint Space Program and made the commander of the Pilgrim I deep space mission.

Carrier Operations
At the outset of the Lighthouse War, Alex was working at Naval Station Oured Bay, repairing and restoring old Navy F-14s. The Erusean attack on Oured hit the hangar that Alex was working in, lightly wounding him and injuring a nearby pilot. Alex took control of the latter's F/A-18C Hornet and took to the skies, assisting other Navy formations in warding off the invasion. After the attack was countered, Osean Naval Command ordered all assets to head to sea. Alex headed to the aircraft carrier Vulture II. The day after, he was formally inducted as a Navy pilot based on the fact that he was an exceptional pilot and the Vulture II carrier fleet had a shortage of pilots.

On May 17, Alex, now a Navy Lieutenant-Commander and member in Panther Squad, was deployed to attack an Erusean carrier group operating in the Spring Sea close to Osea. He sunk the carrier first-hand as well as some of the escorting destroyers. During this engagement, Shilage ace and experimental pilot Mihaly A. Shilage appeared on the field. Alex countered him and sent the old man returning to the Usean continent.

Later that day, Alex assisted the rest of the fleet in countering an anti-ship attack against the carrier. The counter attack was successful.

Vulture, her attack aircraft and some land-based fighters launched an assault against the airbase that was running bomber operations against the fleet. Alex was among them. However, he was one of two pilots to get shot down in the operation, the other being Marine Captain Walter Atkins. Alex was shot and injured on the ground, but warded off his injuries long enough to be rescued by a CSAR squadron from the Vulture, assisted by Panther, Razor Squad and a mixture of pilots from Grimm's 242nd Wing.

After some weeks of recovering from injuries, Alex was permitted to go back on flight operations, now flying a new Su-33M3 Enhanced Flanker. Vulture and two escorts were assigned to a submarine hunting operation on May 25. Benjamin Bernitz, a Belkan Intelligence Office assassin and son of Ashley Bernitz, had boarded the carrier when it left port on May 15 and caused an explosion in the carrier's magazine in an attempt to kill Alex. The explosion crippled the Vulture, however the timing was off and Alex managed to escape the explosion. A nearby Erusean submarine chose to attack the fleet. Utilizing sensor information from the destroyer Drake, Alex damaged and destroyed the submarine.

With the Vulture II disabled and sent back to Osea, Alex was reassigned to the carrier Hubert and given command of his own squadron; the VFA-118 Razgriz. On May 30, Operation Dual Wielder started. The air-wings of the Hubert, Valkyrie and Kestrel II launched an assault on Farbanti, Alex included in that attack, becoming responsible for sinking several naval vessels and running anti-air operations against Erusean interceptors.

When the carriers came under attack, the air wing was called back. They did not arrive in time to discover a sinking Valkyrie. The air wing proceeded to the closest friendly area, however, the modified Typhoon-class submarine Redemption struck with burst missiles and killed almost every fighter pilot in the air wing. Alex, Marcus Snow, Panther Squad and Razor Squad were the only survivors of the attack. Later on, Alex and Snow took on an entire advanced Erusean fighter squadron including experimental aircraft like the ADF-01, shooting down every aircraft. Alex's Su-33 was damaged in the dogfight. The final ace was destroyed by Nathan Mobius Wilde, a friend of Alex. As an ISAF pilot, he, Maxwell Cipher Williams and James Yellow 13 Roald escorted the two back to the ISAF headquarters at the Twinkle Islands.

The day after, Alex borrowed Yellow 13's Su-37 and sunk an Erusean AEGIS destroyer after the latter attacked Pilgrim I, carrying Kei on it.

After the success of Operation Lighthouse Keeper, Alex and Snow returned to Osean-controlled Fort Greys Island. Erusean EW aircraft jammed their IFF systems, almost causing a friendly fire incident with Titan Squadron, led by Grimm. Because of Panther's near-destruction during Lighthouse Keeper, Alex was assigned to the 444th Penal Squadron as an advisor.

Spare Squadron
The day that Alex arrived, he and a group of Spare pilots countered an Erusean air attack.

On June 10, Alex was visited by Rear Admiral Logan Tahir, the commander of the Vulture II and the man who had inducted Alex into the Navy. He showed Alex images of a Scinfaxi-class super-submarine bought by the Erusean Navy. Because of his experience dealing with the Scinfaxi and the Hrimfaxi, Alex was temporarily reassigned to the Deep Strike and Reconnaissance Unit (the precursor of the LRSSG) and promoted to full Commander. Sent to the light carrier Orca, Alex was given command of the DSRU's Strider Squadron.

On a lone mission, Alex assisted the Marines assigned to the task force getting into the submarine dock where the sub was docked.

The day after that, Alex and the DSRU launched their attack on the submarine dock. The first target they destroyed was the Dragonet-class submarine Norksoi. The super submarine had escaped through an underwater tunnel. However, ASW helicopters from the Orca intercepted and damaged it, forcing the submarine to surface. Alex and the DSRU then used missiles to put an end to the third Scinfaxi-class submarine.

A month later during Operation High Card, Alex, Spare Squadron (now joined by Trigger) and the new 242nd Wing advisors (Grimm, Mythic, Huntsman and Taipan) repelled the major air assault on the base.

Alex accompanied the squadron sent on Operation One Pair. He destroyed some hardened aircraft shelters and repelled UCAV reinforcements, but much of the work was done by Trigger.

During a stand-down period, Alex conversed with Trigger and discovered that the latter was a capable mechanic and engineer (Trigger having modified his F-15E with the radar salvaged from an F-35).

On Operation Two Pairs, Spare Squadron went into the Yinshi Valley to escort Strider and Cyclops Squadron away from Stonehenge. Alex destroyed half of the SAM batteries and later saved Captain Webber when the latter was shot down by Mihaly.

On July 15, Colonel McKinsey ordered Count, Champ, Trigger and Keystone (the four worst criminal offenders in the squadron) into a suicide charge against the Erusean air-defence network located at Snider's Top. After being informed about this, Alex struck the colonel before flying out to the area and ordering the four to return to base. He then took it upon himself to personally complete the mission, Trigger electing to stay with and assist the captain.

On July 21, Alex led a mission to strike at the Artigilo Port Refinery at dusk, utilizing most of the squadron to completely destroy the facility.

A week later, on July 22, Alex led most of the veteran pilots on an attack against the communications network at the Waiapolo Mountains. It was here that Alex first encountered the Erusean's IFF scrambler technology where the latter used the technology to screen a squadron of drones as an Osean fighter squadron. However, Alex recognized the false IFF signatures as those from Panther Squad (which he had served with several months prior) and subsequently destroyed the drones.

The LRSSG
When the 444th Squadron was pardoned and deployed as a regular unit, Alex would not rejoin them. Alongside Trigger, Count, Mythic, Grimm and Avril, he would be transferred to the Long Range Strategic Strike Group and granted command of the Razgriz Squadron. The group transferred on August 5, but encountered an ambush. The group cut down the ambush forces, but Alex encountered who the ambush was actually set for; Captain Alvin Chopper Davenport, who was now part of the REDEEMER drone program.

After transferring, Alex led Razgriz Squadron on the attack on the Njord Fleet, successfully sinking all vessels of the fleet without loss.

Alex and the Razgriz were involved in defending the Stonehenge gun batteries during Operation Dragon's Breath. Marcus Snow joined Razgriz Squadron for the second time following the operation.