“ It's better to shoot someone innocent than to let someone guilty get away. And it's better to shoot first than to risk getting shot, even if you're not 100% sure. That's how we will win this war. That's how we will save this city. Collateral damage is to be expected. - Charles Bliss”
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss is the CEO and commander of the Last Man Battalion. After he and his men were left stranded in Manhattan's quarantine zone during the outbreak of Green Poison, Bliss broke ties with the Joint Task Force and his clients on Wall Street, resolving to take back control of the city using his own brand of martial law.
He is an antagonist in Tom Clancy's The Division during the Mission General Assembly.
Biography[]
Bliss served in U.S. Army's 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment, better known as "Delta Force", where he fought in conflicts such as the Gulf War. Following his retirement, he transitioned to the private security sector and formed the Last Man Battalion, a private military company comprised almost entirely of highly-trained military and special forces veterans.
As the Green Poison epidemic swept through New York City, Bliss was hired by several Wall Street financial firms to guard their server farms and high-value assets in Lower Manhattan. The LMB initially coordinated with the JTF and Strategic Homeland Division to maintain civil order, but as the Financial District descended into anarchy, Bliss began to detest the local authorities as pathetically weak and indecisive, working under restrictions that had no place in what was swiftly becoming a war zone.
When the JTF established a quarantine and pulled back to their main base in Midtown, the LMB found themselves abandoned in what had now been declared the "Dark Zone". Following a heated disagreement, Bliss executed his JTF liaison and declared his intention to take the city back from "degenerates, liars, and thieves," using the same tactics the LMB had employed in Western Asia and North Africa--even if it meant defying his own country.
Soon afterwards, Bliss was contacted by Aaron Keener, a first-wave Division agent who had also become dissatisfied with JTF leadership and gone rogue with several of his cohorts. The two men found they shared a similarly grim outlook for a Darwinian post-pandemic world fit only for the strong, and agreed to a provisionary alliance: Bliss provided Keener's rogues a base of operations and the LMB's manpower in exchange for their services, field intel, and access to SHD Tech. Several rogues, such as Scarecrow, were appointed captains within the LMB command.
Bliss also attempted to broker peace with the Rikers and Cleaners, with limited success.
Tom Clancy's The Division[]
On January 6th, Bliss ordered a surface-to-air missile strike that downed an Osprey carrying Louis Chang, the northeast section Division commander. Command of The Division's second wave fell to Faye Lau, who sustained injuries in the attack that disqualified her for field duty.
Despite sustaining key losses, The Division's Second Wave distinguished themselves in retaking Manhattan, fighting block-by-block and pushing the LMB out of key strategic locations. Bliss was eventually cornered in the LMB's last foothold in Manhattan-the United Nations General Assembly. A frontal assault by the JTF allowed Division agents to infiltrate the headquarters and disable the LMB's automated defenses.
During the fighting, Keener chose to abandon the LMB, taking along captured Russian immunologist Vitaly Tchernenko and ordering his lieutenants to engage The Division. Furious at the betrayal, Bliss ordered his troops to stop Keener as Division agents and JTF wiped out his remaining command staff. The LMB leader managed to board a helicopter, but rather than flee, he opted to use the gunship's weapons to make a last stand alongside his soldiers. He was ultimately killed when the helicopter was shot down and crashed into a nearby building. An LMB squad later recovered his sidearm holster from the wreckage, seeking to commemorate their fallen leader.
Tom Clancy's The Division 2[]
Prior to the outbreak, Bliss was scheduled to speak at a seminar titled "Shaping the Future of Warfare: How Private Sector Business Leads to Greater Outcomes" in Washington, D.C.. The event was partly sponsored by the LMB, and would have been attended by then-Speaker of the House Andrew Ellis and Charles Douglas, the co-founder of Douglas & Harding. Six months later, flyers advertising the seminar could still be found throughout the D.C. area.
Personality[]
Psychologically, Charles Bliss had an uncompromising sense of duty, honor, and loyalty. Bliss held a deep love for his troops, both in the military and the LMB, which earned their unwavering respect and devotion in turn. Despite having the chance to flee New York or pursue revenge against Keener, Bliss instead chose to stay and help his men defend their territory. However, he had no such qualms about oppressing civilians or enforcing martial law, believing in achieving "peace through strength" and creating a new world where only the strongest would survive.
Although Bliss was a man of his word and did not break oaths lightly, he chose to dump his Wall Street clients when it became apparent they were motivated purely by greed and self-interest. He was also quick to anger when others did not repay his trust in kind, particularly when Aaron Keener abandoned the LMB in its darkest hour.
Other Media[]
Tom Clancy's Elite Squad[]
- Charles Bliss was featured in Tom Clancy's Elite Squad as part of the Last Man Battalion faction. He is a Villain character with the abilities Air Support and Over Protective, and Squad Perks Hunger For Power and Enduring.