Christopher Mitchell

=== ”Early Life and Career” ===

Christopher Mitchell was born in Lithgow, Australia on June 6th of 2342, the son of two uneducated farmers. From a young age, Chris showed an interest in aviation, learning to fly his parents crop duster at the age of 12 and taking on recreational flying at the age of 15. At the age of 16, Chris began the application process to Starfleet Academy, earning his acceptance a year later in 2359. It was during his Familiarization Course during June of 2359 that Chris found his new calling- Marine Aviation. It appealed to him simply due to the dual glory of being both a Marine and an aviator.

In 2363, Chris was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Starfleet Marine Corps and was then dispatched to complete the STRIKE pipeline for the Valkyrie Class Strike Fighter at Tereshkova Aerospace Station, Luna. Following completion of training, now First  Lieutenant Mitchell reported to his first assignment as a Fighter Pilot aboard the USS George Washington as a member of VFMA-12 ‘DRAGOONS’. During his two year deployment, Mitchell saw several combat engagements. One notable engagement found Chris flying an alert formation near the Federation edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone when his element encountered several Cardassian transport ships under attack from hostile ships. Calling for reinforcements, Christophers initiated Electronic Countermeasures and cut all communications between the ships. The cargo ships were destroyed by the time reinforcements arrived but the element managed to inflict heavy damages upon the hostile ships, which turned out to be stolen by pirates of the Orion Syndicate. For his actions, Chris was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 2365, Christopher was promoted to the rank of Captain.

=== ”Later Career and Command” ===
In June of 2366, Chris was reassigned to the Joint Fighter Weapons School at as a student in Advanced Aerospace Tactics. Upon his graduation in December of that year, Chris reported back to the George Washington on another deployment rotation, this time to the Bajoran Wormhole as a part of Starfleet Readiness Group THREE stationed in the event of a renewed Dominion incursion. Later in the year, Christopher was assigned on a ground rotation as a Company Commander, in charge of locating and eliminating Dominion holdouts who had not heard about the end of the war. During one engagement, Christopher was stabbed in the abdomen by a Jem’Hadar dagger and nearly bled to death. At the end of this tour, Christopher was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Action Ribbon

In October of 2368, Chris was promoted to the rank of Major and assigned to the Joint Fighter Weapons School at Fleet Air Station Miramar as an Advanced Tactics Instructor, specializing in the Valkyrie Air Superiority Fighter. While here, Chris became qualified on both the Peregrine and Javelin aerospace fighter platforms. As Chris continued to demonstrate his aptitude for instruction, he was selected by the Fleet Education and Training Command to become the Aerospace Training Director of Joint Fighter Weapons School Miramar.

In January of 2377, Chris expressed his desire to one day earn a command to the Commanding Officer, Joint Fighter Weapons School Miramar and ended up standing before the Command Review Board a week later. Six months later in July, Chris was ordered to report to Starfleet Academy for Squadron Officer School and Joint Terminal Attack Controller Certification where he learned the finer points of administration and leadership as well as marking targets for Aerospace Fire Missions. Graduating in August of that year, Chris was assigned as an Aerospace Liaison Officer to the Klingon High Council where he assisted Klingon commanders in developing aerospace strategies and countermeasures against enemy aerospace assets as well as finer points of Joint Terminal Attack.

In 2378, Chris was deployed as an Air Liaison Officer  3rd Battalion/4th Marines, for his second ground rotation to the Raeyan System to assist local defence forces in halting a Chakilian invasion. a mere 6 month deployment became a two year deployment. During this time, Christopher flew space based missions and deployed with Rapid Response Teams at the company level. At the end of this tour,Christopher was meritoriously promoted to the rank of Major and awarded the Combat Action Ribbon for the third time.

In 2380, Chris was assigned as the Executive Officer and Air Targeting Officer of the USS Oakland, a Defiant Class patrol ship, assigned to patrol the interior of Federation space near Mars, a potential piracy and terrorism hotspot. Here, Chris was personally responsible for designating targets from orbit for orbital bombardment and bombing runs by nearby fighter squadrons from the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Group.

In 2383, Chris was reassigned to the USS Decatur at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, an Intrepid class as the Commanding Officer. This was Chris’ first test of full command and Chris fell into it naturally although his only gripe was the lack of fighters on board. During his tour, the Decatur served as the Battle Group Flagship to the George Washington Carrier Battle Group. At the end of this tour, Chris earned a promotion to full Colonel.

In 2387,Christopher appeared before the Carrier Command Review Board, Starfleet Command and for a records review and final decision on whether to commission and grant command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Command of the Theodore Roosevelt was later denied due to the carrier project going massively over budget. Chris was instead assigned command of the carrier USS Valhalla-A refit project, based out of Deep Space One as part of the Delta Exploration Initiative.

=== ”Fall From Grace” ===

During Carrier Qualification Trials, the Valhalla was found to have many defects due to shoddy shipbuilding that were made readily apparent, culminating in a total loss of power to primary systems and resulting in the ship having to call for tow. A subsequent check by the Starfleet Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV)found that several key systems were installed incorrectly by shipyard engineers, causing the power loss. In spite of the failure of the crew to complete CQT, a Mishap Investigations Board cleared the crew and Christopher of any wrongdoing. After a review by Starfleet Command, Christopher was free to serve again.

=== ”Task Force 38 Executive Officer”===
Late in 2387, Christopher was selected out of available Commanding Officers by the Federation Council to serve as the Task Force Executive Officer of Task Force 38. The reasoning behind this decision was due to the need for tactically experienced officers to fill key roles in addition to strong pressures by the pro-military elements of the Council to begin a system of checks and balances between the varying Marine Corps and Starfleet perspectives.

During this time, Brigadier General Mitchell personally oversaw the successful rescue of personnel from Starbase Trinity, which had come under a devastating attack by the Vaudwaur. The rescue, initially undertaken by the USS Valhalla-A, was later taken over by the USS Sawyer after the Valhalla became gravely damaged during the events of the Revolving Halo incident, which resulted in over one hundred and fifteen casualties aboard ship. Following the investigation and subsequent acquittal of the Commanding Officer of the Valhalla, Colonel Damian Highsmith, Christopher’s term as Task Force Executive Officer ended and he was subsequently was replaced by Commodore Alexander Kendrick. In addition, Christopher was reduced to the rank of Senior Colonel and reassigned as the Commander, Air Group aboard Starbase 900 where he remained until the Borg attack.