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« Hearts and minds, Sergeant. Hearts and minds...
Thomas Adams
»


Thomas Adams was a supporting and playable character in ArmA 3.

Background[]

Adams was a squad leader from the U.S. Army. He was a member of the NATO peacekeeping contingent, Task Force Aegis, that was stationed on the island nation of the Republic of Altis and Stratis.

Fifteen years prior to the events of The East Wind, Adams served as the allied coalition force's liaison to the IDAP Non-Government Organisation that was operating in Takistan.

During this time, he worked closely with Nathan MacDade, and the two would also eventually meet again on Altis as the latter was sent to provide help in the mountain village of Oreokastro.

Prologue (2034)[]

As the months passed following a shift in the operation's deployment, Adams' mission was changed to assisting in providing counterinsurgency and tactical training for newly recruited troopers from the Altis Armed Forces. He also helped to coordinate their movements in the field.

During one of those training sessions on May 10th, 2034, Adams was experimenting with the Army's latest VR Training simulator alongside Conway while waiting for a new batch of recruits to arrive. Once they arrived, Adams shut down the system and had Conway demonstrate basic fire drills and tactical manoeuvres.

« It's always something with these people...
Adams
»

They are soon interrupted by an urgent call from an AAF squad on the outskirts of Syrta, who were requesting for the squad leader's assistance. Adams ordered them to identify their location, but the troopers did not have a GPS and forgot to bring a map with them.

Frustrated by their absolute incompetence, he impatiently told them to provide descriptions of any landmarks in their surrounding area to better help triangulate their position. After narrowing down where they could possibly be located, Adams quickly boarded one of the parked MRAPs and directed Conway to drive there.

« Adams: What the hell happened here!?
AAF Squad Leader: We were on patrol. We were attacked.
Adams: And these people? They attacked you?
AAF Squad Leader: Yes. Was I unclear?
Conway: You ever heard of excessive force?
Adams: Cool it, Sergeant.
Conway: Staff Sergeant, they're just civilians!
Adams interrogates the squad leader at the scene
»

Upon arrival, Adams is less than pleased to see what looked like several deceased civilians lying around a small house. When questioned by Adams (and an outraged Conway), the AAF squad leader replied bluntly and appeared to be quite confused by Adams' dismay; not appearing to understand the questionable ethics of his squad's actions.

Adams ordered Conway to search the home for signs of any guerilla activity. Upon scrounging into one of the smaller huts, Conway reports back that a small cache of weapons were indeed stashed away.

« I let Broadway know what's going on. We've been ordered back to base. I've told these idiots to clean up the mess. They'll handle the weapons.
Adams
»

Disgusted with the AAF squad leader's reaction but nonetheless resigned to their utter lack of ethics, Adams reported back the findings to Colonel Andrew MacKinnon, the commanding NATO officer of TF Aegis, and simply left the scene to head back to the training camp.

A few days later on the 17th, Adams was brought back to the regional capital of Kavala to help oversee a meeting between anti-government guerillas and the AAF. The meeting was to be held at the former capital's Ministry of Defense, with NATO forces (including Adams) stationed on watch to prevent any hostilities from breaking out.

« Adams: Christ, did they put enough stairs in this thing?
MacKinnon: Having trouble there, Staff Sergeant?
Adams: No, sir!
MacKinnon pokes fun at Adams' struggle with the stairs at the MoD
»

Hours before the meeting was to commence however, MacKinnon dispatched Adams on a potential search-and-rescue mission on the outskirts of the city. An AAF convoy had failed to report in at one of the checkpoints and could not be contacted via radio. Adams' squad was to investigate and report back as soon as possible. Boarding a helicopter, Adams brought along Conway and two other subordinates to the convoy's last known position.

Overhead, they quickly spotted what appeared to be the convoy's trucks, though there was no movement and several of the vehicles were wrecked. He ordered the pilot to land in the nearby grove and had the other two take up a position on overwatch while Conway covered his back moving straight into the trees.

« Adams: Woah! Dead ahead, Sergeant. HOLD FIRE! WE'RE FRIENDLIES! Please tell me you two have this.
Martinez: Copy. We're on them.
The tense standoff against the FIA guerillas
»

Barely seconds after attempting to doing so, a group of guerillas emerge from the treeline with their weapons raised. Prevented from engaging prematurely due to NATO's strict ROE, Adams motions to do the same but does not open fire. He shouts back at the guerillas and attempts to get them to stand down. The guerillas simply respond with a hail of gunfire in his direction, forcing him to return fire and in the process, killing the attackers.

Adams soon arrives at the convoy but finds only one heavily wounded AAF trooper lying against one of the trucks. Adams orders Conway to stabilise the man while he reported back to MacKinnon. Support was on the way, but it would take some time to relay a message to the AAF commander.

Hours later, medevac finally arrives but it's already too late - the trooper bled out from his injuries and passed away. Just then, a CSAT helicopter arrives onto the scene and begins offloading soldiers nearby. The reinforcing NATO squad leader moves off to "deal" with CSAT, while Adams is recalled back to Kavala by MacKinnon after reports begin to come in of a supposed uprising in the city.

Adams sees nothing but death and destruction throughout the entire city. Security checkpoints were ablaze, and corpses of FIA guerillas and innocent civilians littered the streets. Adams boarded another MRAP and ordered the driver to ferry both him and Conway to the MoD. Upon arrival, another unwholesome scene presented itself to the duo; the AAF commander readying a firing squad to execute a band of captured guerillas while CSAT advisers stood nearby.

Adams attempts to restrain Conway, but the latter quickly picks a fight with the commander. Almost immediately, they are ordered to stand down by MacKinnon over the radio.

« Conway: What the fuck was that?
Adams: Just the Chain of Command at its finest.
Conway: Who was that asshole?
Adams: Callsign 'Phalanx'. Colonel Akhanteros. You just bashed horns with the AAF's top brass.
Adams reveals the identity of the AAF commander to Conway
»

Unable to countermand the AAF commander's decision, Adams can only walk away with his back turned and an appalled Conway in tow.

Remnants of War (2034)[]

Following the May 17th massacre, TF Aegis redirected its efforts elsewhere in order to assist the AAF in quelling the growing unrest spreading all across the island. As part of this new "offensive", Adams would be reassigned to the mountain village of Oreokastro in the far north-west of the mainland.

He would serve as head of Camp Daybreak, a joint NATO-AAF outpost established in the heart of the village. It was here where he would meet again with his old friend Nathan MacDade - their first reunion in almost fourteen years. However, the two friends didn't have time to mingle; MacDade was preoccupied with his duties as an aid worker, while Adams was responsible for maintaining their precarious supply situation and overseeing the local AAF garrison's training.

« MacDade: Y'know, Adams - he had a couple guys on his team. One was a real comedian. Private Nelson. You probably heard about that, um, 'episode'... with the goat?
Katherine: Who didn't?
MacDade: Y'know, after NATO lost its mandate? The guys used to joke that, um, he was the one responsible for it. I mean, it was the final straw, right? And goats are sacred animals here. Just don't quote me on that!
Nathan MacDade commenting on Adams' deployment to AAN journalist Katherine Bishop
»

By the 28th, the camp was critically low on medicine and food, and required an urgent resupply. With the roads being far too dangerous for trucks to traverse, Adams ordered a supply drop via VTOL instead. Adams helped mark the drop zones and thanks to his diligence, all of the supplies managed to arrive intact.

During the retrieval, several bandits attempted to intercept the drop but were quickly fought off by Adams and a team of AAF troopers accompanying him.

The East Wind (2035)[]

Almost a year following the events of the Prologue, Adams (alongside the rest of TF Aegis) are forced to remain on the smaller island of Stratis. By this point, Adams' primary mission had changed yet again to coordinating NATO's efforts in decommissioning their remaining facilities on the island.

With their mandate heavily restricted and due to expire within a matter of days, the majority of the task force's combat units were already withdrawn. Adams and what was left of TF Aegis - logistical units and non-combat support troops - were to continue scrapping equipment which couldn't be shipped out of the country for cost reasons.

« Adams: I see LZ Baldy's packed up.
Lacey: Nice. At this rate, we might even get out of here in, oh, 20 years...
Adams: Greenbacks wouldn't take a stand for that, Lacey. They've had a stick up their ass about Baldy for weeks now.
Adams and Lacey comment on the AAF's recent protests against the task force's actions
»

Adams, alongside another of his subordinates Sergeant Lacey, boarded a helicopter and picked up Corporal Ben Kerry at LZ Connor. Once the latter joined them, they were flown directly to Camp Rogain where they were to meet with the officer in charge for their day's tasking. The officer, Lieutenant Edwards, told them that COL MacKinnon had already left the camp, and had urgently requested for Adams to head for the Kamino Firing Range for unclear reasons.

Boarding one of the trucks, Adams ordered Kerry to drive him straight to Kamino while having Lacey divert to Air Station Mike-26. Along the way, Adams noticed that the AAF troopers guarding the checkpoints were unusually tense. Nonetheless, he disregarded their reactions as being nothing too unusual. After all, this was on par for the AAF.

While en-route to Kamino, Adams suddenly notices an overturned MRAP with a body lying next to it. He soon realised it was none other than MacKinnon himself. Adams immediately ordered Kerry to stop the truck and attempted to resuscitate the latter...but to no avail. Just then, explosions ring in the distance and smoke plumes can be seen rising from Kamino. Jets fly overhead while panicked radio chatter erupts from NATO units from all over the island.

Adams is urgently ordered by LT Edwards to return to the camp, and has Kerry regroup behind him as they move through the forest on foot. An AAF patrol - the same ones he had passed by earlier, open fire without hesitation on Adams and Kerry. The duo are forced to return fire on the troopers and manage to eliminate them.

« Kerry: What the literal fuck - are you kidding me!?
Adams: I don't know what the hell's going on right now! Just stay alert. Get set for contact!
Adams and Kerry's reactions to the "ambush"
»

Worse yet, upon cresting the hill they see Rogain itself in flames. But suddenly, a NATO helicopter flies past them and its pilot broadcasts an emergency call for evac to any surviving units in the area. Adams hails the pilot and attempts to get him to land nearby. With Kerry in tow, the duo fought their way past more hostile troopers but were again too late. An AAF jet struck the helicopter with a direct hit from a laser-guided bomb.

Death[]

« We're alive but, Jesus, for how long?!
Adams
»

Out of options, Adams decides that their sole course of action would be to take cover in the forests and try to link up with other (if any) survivors. One such group, led by SGT Lacey, manages to contact Adams briefly. He relays his position to the Staff Sergeant, giving Adams a slight glimmer of hope that just perhaps, they might make it out of this alive.

Unfortunately, an unsuspecting Adams had not realised that he had just walked straight into an unmarked civil war-era minefield. He stepped onto and triggered one of the anti-personnel mines and was instantly killed in the ensuing blast.

Post-The East Wind[]

Adams would be fondly remembered in passing by MacDade, who sadly reflected on the loss of his old friend to AAN journalist Katherine Bishop.

« Looking back though, I don't remember seeing much in the way of warning signs. Adams, he'd still be alive today if the government had done more. I mean, we could just as easily have been civilians, you know?
Kerry recalls the cause of Adams' demise for the IDAP's Survivor Stories
»

Freshly-promoted Sergeant Ben Kerry, would also recall the tale of Adams' final moments in the lead up to his death as part of an interview for the IDAP's Survivors' Stories.

Personality and Appearance[]

Adams appears as a middle-aged Caucasian male with short, dark brown hair, and also sports a lightly shaved moustache. His standard attire comprises of MTP-camouflaged fatigues, a ranger green-coloured heavy plate carrier, and a customised Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH). He is also usually seen wearing a set of tactical glasses.

« This guy was your typical army lifer. Cynical. Sarcastic. Big heart. Pissed off with everyone, everything - all the time. But he always seemed to know where to find a beer - and was always willing to share it.
MacDade's description of Adams
»

An outspoken detractor of Akhanteros' regime, Adams is highly dismissive of both the AAF and the country itself, constantly criticising their command structure, corruption, and overall tactics. Unlike Conway however, Adams doesn't voice his opinions out loud and tends to keep to himself, only expressing his feelings on the matter in front of his fellow squad members.

He is also shown to be quite sceptical of NATO command. While he carries out his duties without openly complaining, he still shows disdain for them and generally finds most of his missions to be wasted effort - sentiments which would ironically be vindicated following the AAF attack.

« Did you catch that one, Kerry? It's 'all clear?'. Oh, Sure, ok! I mean, Christ, give me a break. What a complete waste of time these people are...
Adams
»

Adams bears a good friendship with Conway who serves as his subordinate, with the latter often serving as the Staff Sergeant's unwilling "volunteer" for his training demonstrations. Despite the gap between their ranks and authority however, the two act more along the lines of equals rather than as leader and subordinate.

Trivia[]

  • He is the only NATO character that appears in three of the main campaigns in ArmA 3, with Adams being controllable in one of those appearances (a flashback memory for Remnants of War).
  • Adams' voice actor (Marc Cram) also voices other characters in ArmA 3 such as for an AAN Reporter in the intro for Survive.
  • Memorial props dedicated to fallen U.S. soldiers, added with the Art of War DLC, finally revealed both his birth date and that his first name is "Thomas".
  • Despite being an NCO, some characters like Kerry will erroneously address Adams as "sir" rather than simply "Sergeant" on occasion (albeit not consistently).
  • Adams and (formerly Corporal) Howard Drake from ArmA 2 are unique for being the only two American characters who were explicitly born in the same year (1988).

Gallery[]

See also[]

Characters of ArmA 3
NATO TF Aegis Andrew MacKinnon† • Ben KerryConway† • Lacey† • Martinez† • Mitchell† • Thomas Adams
7th MBCT, 111th ID David Armstrong
21st BCT, 111th ID Adam GrantCarl OwenJared SpenderJeremy CollinsJohn SturrockLouis BarklemStephen KulanskyTerry Simpson
Pacific Vince Broadale
CTRG A.J. DuttonDonald SnoweGrimmHardy† • JamesMcKayNorthgateO'ConnorRadcliffe† • RikerRoberts† • Robinson† • SalvoScott Miller* • Smith† • Truck
Exercise Electron Aiden RudwellDon Homewood† • Jack StypeJed DillonJohn KingslyKurt Spender† • Max BakerRichard LaneRichter
CSAT Abdul-Wahhab FahimVahid NamdarXu Haifeng
Russian Spetsnaz Boris KrupinIvan Severov
Loyalists Hektor Anastas* • Kael Mavros* • Loukas Thanos* • Rouvin Carras*
FIA Alexis Kouris† • Kostas Stavrou† • Nikos PanagopoulosOrestes
AAF Georgious AkhanterosKostas DimitriouKyros Kalogeros* • Thanos Gavras
LDF Aleksy NowakZbigniew Stolarski
Syndikat Solomon Maru
L'Ensemble Oringo MadakiSamjo

IDAP

Andy PatersonNathan MacDade

Civilians

Arthur* • Benjamin HopeDrábek* • Howard* • Ian KessonJohn* • Katherine BishopLucas* • Mark ColeMarkos Kouris† • Renly* • "Santiago"Šimon Čapek
indicates deceased characters | * indicates character status is unknown
DLCs that the character was first introduced in:
Marksmen DLC | Apex DLC | Laws of War DLC | Tac-Ops DLC | Tanks DLC | Contact DLC
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