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Howard was a minor character in ArmA 3's Old Man mini-campaign.

Background[]

An archaeologist, Howard specialised in researching the history of the indigenous populace of the Horizon Islands.

At the height of the super-strain malaria outbreak, Howard lived and worked near the village of Luganville, Tanoa Province.

Old Man (2038)[]

He and his team had discovered an inscription written in a proto-austronesian language at the temple ruins on Tanoa. Since he was one of the few in the world who could read the ancient language, he documented his findings as best as he could on paper.

Unfortunately for Howard, the malaria outbreak would eventually hit Luganville and within hours of the first infection, all of its residents came down with the illness. Howard was no exception and was afflicted by the disease during the night.

Prior to that, he stashed his research papers in a rusted plane wreck north of Vagalala. It used to serve as a weapons stash for the former Syndikat and was boobytrapped, which guaranteed that it would be safe from looters. He then returned to Luganville before the worst of its effects paralysed him.

Luckily, a local bacteriologist by the name of Drábek had arrived in time to help stave off the worst of the disease. The doctor provided Howard and the other villagers with anti-malarial drugs, before he carted them off to a burnt home in the nearby jungle.

Howard wasn't quite sure as to why they were being relocated, but it became apparent over time as CSAT drones kept flying overhead - seemingly in search of him and the other residents. Fearing for his patients, Dr. Drábek decided to evacuate the camp and loaded everyone onto a van. They were driven to another improvised camp hidden deep within the central jungles. The accommodations were less than ideal but at least they had a roof above their heads this time.

All the while, Howard noticed that an old man kept coming and going from the camp, bringing large amounts of anti-malarial drugs each time. On one occasion, Howard signalled for the man to approach his bed.

« Please. Retrieve my notes. They are hidden in an old plane wreck. I can mark it on a map... Sell them through the black market. And keep the money. It's enough for me to know that eventually, they'll reach a translator. Just, be careful...
Howard's request
»

He told the old man, who turned out to be "Santiago" from Ouméré (a former French Foreign Legionnaire), where he had stashed the papers. Knowing full well that his mortality chances were high, Howard pleaded for the retired soldier to retrieve his papers and sell them on the black market. If he couldn't finish his work, then at least someone else could one day and translate the inscriptions.

Fate[]

Entrusting Santiago with his will, Howard stayed behind at the camp, remaining under the intensive care of Dr. Drábek. But with no cure or vaccine in sight, Howard's chances of survival were grim.

Sometime later, L'Ensemble's thugs raided the camp, seized all of their medication, and took everyone in the camp hostage. Dr. Drábek pleaded to the fighters and stated that they had nothing of value to take but the thugs refused to listen. Howard and the others were corralled into one of the huts and were held at gunpoint. Fortunately, they did not confiscate Dr. Drábek's phone, and he managed to get a message through to request for Santiago's help.

The former legionnaire subsequently stormed the camp and killed all of the insurgents. The doctor then took Howard and the others to a safer location.

Santiago never returned to the camp. The insurgents, seemingly in retribution for Santiago's defiance, executed everyone at the camp; the doctor and Howard included.

Personality and Appearance[]

A Tanoan male, Howard wore a burgundy-coloured poloshirt with short sleeves, blue/white-checkered shorts and a strawed hat.

Trivia[]

  • As with other patients at Drábek's camp, attempting to "heal" Howard with a First Aid Kit will trigger a small bit of additional dialogue where he thanks Santiago but maintains that they need proper medication.

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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