Code Name: Duke
Real Name: Hauser, Conrad

Duke's past is a well-documented and storied one. Joining the Joe team while it was still young, this upstart Sergeant quickly took charge, but ended up making a few enemies along the way. He wasn't there to make friends or be everyone's beer buddy, he was there to make sure the Joe team did it's job and did it well. To that end, he provided exactly what the team needed, a well-placed kick in the rear end an an imminently qualified Top Shirt.

Throughout his years on the Joe team, he led many missions abroad and racked up a very impressive success rate. But that all changed when he led an advance team into Benzheen where COBRA had taken up residence. His team was overcome and quickly captured and a minor miscommunication turned into tragedy when several members of his squad were brutally executed by a SAW Viper. Duke, Falcon, and Cross Country worked through the pain and made it out alive, but from that point on, Duke seemed to be a changed man.

He continued to lead by example and lead well, and on the surface, there appeared to be few issues with his mind or body. Internally, though, he remained extremely conflicted and uneasy.

This came to a head even more during a major battle with COBRA when the Joe team was thought disbanded back in the late 90's. One of the Joe team's most impactful team mates, Lady Jaye was killed by an errant missile fired from Destro's wrist launcher. Her death impacted the entire team significantly, Flint especially...however, Duke took it almost as hard. Jaye had always been a spark in the headquarters, and had seemed so full of life. Duke had written off many a fallen comrade over the years, but something about this one just seemed...deeper.

His internal strife slowly started the creep out, and once the Joe team got reinstated, he seemed to become more and more irritable. There was a mission to COBRA Island which saw Flint rejoin the team temporarilly, then get seriously injured when he was shot in the back by The Baroness. A botched operation in Scotland (as seen in Power Struggle) where they left an imprisoned comrade trapped in COBRA's Terror Drome affected him deeply as well, and he suddenly became very anti-government. His close friendship with Flint began to splinter as Flint lay in a hospital bed, unwilling to let his body heal itself. When Flint disappared suddenly and no one seemed to care, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Duke became insubordinate, at one point even striking an upper level government agent. Hawk could see him starting to become unhinged, but wanted to stay by his side and help him. But soon enough Hawk would not be there to help...when the Pentagon got hit, and Hawk was seriously injured, Duke made a judgement call. He launched an attack on Mercer and Destro, unaware that Mercer was secretly working against COBRA. Many deaths followed (including the supposed death of Mercer, though that was later proved false) and it was the end of Duke's military career. General Flagg made a quick decision and booted Duke from the team, promising a Court Martial. Shortly after the introductory trial phase, Duke and Falcon were ambushed in a seedy part of Arlington, VA, and Duke was shot to death in an alley.

Supposedly.

Behind the scenes, Hawk had contacted Duke from his hospital bed...he knew that in his heart, Duke was a good man, who was only on the wrong path. Overly beurocratic US Government officials cramped his style and drove him crazy, and Hawk thought an operation without them involved might work better for everyone. Duke listened to what he had to say and upon reflection, decided that this might be a good step for him. He agreed to leave his life behind, and he "died" in that alley, then moved on to the Renegades where he could still provide a service to the Anti-Terrorist community.