| « | Listen, dickhead, shut your fuckin' mouth before I fucking cut you up, huh? This fucking guy right here is a fucking war hero, by the way. Give him some fucking respect before I fucking kick your fucking head in, do you understand? And I don't know what the fuck you're laughing at, little guy. Come on, man: I'LL FUCKING STAB YOU! Frank 'Tanny' Radcliffe
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Frank "Tanny" Radcliffe was a supporting character in ArmA 2's Operation Crimson Lance and Operation Black Gauntlet campaigns.
Background[]
| « | What? A personality disorder, me? No fucking way. I've just got character. Tanny's self-description
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Born and raised in Falkirk, Frank - better known by his nickname of "Tanny", is Brian Frost's closest friend, having served alongside each other in the British Army for years.
They were a part of the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), and were eventually deployed to the wartorn Green Sea region nation of Takistan in July 2012.
Following a series of arguments with his superior officers over the quality of equipment supplied to his men, Tanny was discharged from military service in September 2012.
Almost immediately after his departure, Tanny signed up for a position with ION Services, Inc., an American private military company. He was given the assignment as a "Low-Profile Agile Security Contractor".
Tanny initially went by the radio callsign of Typhoon Blue during his tenure with the British Army. Following his discharge and recruitment by ION Inc., he simply went by his nickname for his callsign instead.
Operation Crimson Lance (2012)[]
Tanny was dispatched as part of a two-man sniper team. Together, they carried out numerous reconnaissance missions throughout the country over the course of two days. They supported the NATO troop surge as part of Operation Crimson Lance.
On July 20th, Tanny's team were sent ahead to reconnoitre a suspected Takistani Army remnant base located deep within Central Takistan.
They helped clear a landing zone in preparation for the arrival of Frost's Lancer Red squad (though he had not known it yet at the time). His sniper team eliminated the nearby insurgents, unpacked supply caches and placed IR strobes to mark the LZ.
| « | Frost: Hey, Tanny, mate, what are you doing up here? Tanny: Preparing a landing fer your sorry arses... and some usquebaugh fer good measure. Ach no, it's great tae see yeh, bud. Tanny and Frost
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Hearing Frost chime in over the radio, Tanny warmly greeted his old friend and promised to get drinks after the mission's completion. His team subsequently boarded the helicopter and returned to FOB Arizona, leaving the rest of the mission in Frost's hands.
Post-Operation Crimson Lance[]
Despite the overall "success" of Operation Crimson Lance, the security situation in Takistan gradually began to break down over the course of two more months. Concerned with the quality of his team's equipment, Tanny had a series of angry (albeit private) disputes with his senior officers.
Dissatisfied with the unchanged situation of his team, Tanny voluntarily applied for discharge from the British Army sometime in September 2012. He immediately applied for a position with the ION Services PMC, and was hired as a "Low-Profile Agile Security Contractor".
Six months later, Tanny convinced his old friend to join him as a contractor as well. In April 2013, they were eventually assigned to the same security detail, callsign Team Sword, under the command of Mark E. Reynolds.
Operation Black Gauntlet (2013)[]
Team Sword were detailed with a contract to guard a United Nations weapons inspection team led by Dr. Ivan Ruce. Team Sword were to protect the inspectors while they continued their investigation into a nuclear weapons programme carried out by the former Takistani regime.
It was at this point that Tanny encountered Patrick "Dickie" Dixon, the latter also assigned to Team Sword. Relations between them immediately soured from the start, with both continuously bickering and insulting the other over their differences (specifically Tanny's thick Scottish accent). They begrudgingly worked together only due to Reynolds' insistence.
On June 29th, the inspectors finally arrived and were protected by Tanny's team after the airfield came under attack from insurgents. The inspectors were not quite ready to commence their search yet however. While they waited, Team Sword were sent to protect an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the regional capital. Protestors had gathered around the compound throwing rocks while berating the PMCs.
| « | Dixon: These people don't understand anything except actions: crack out few shots over their heads; they'll soon scatter. Tanny: For fuck's sake, Frosty - that's fucking terrible. There's got to be a better way, Frosty, mate. Tanny dissuades Frost from resorting to reckless methods
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Though the situation grew extremely tense, Tanny and the team dispersed the crowd non-lethally by tossing smoke grenades to scare them away.
The next day, Team Sword was called upon to return to their main contract. The inspectors had gathered information on Abdul Mussawir Ghafurzai, a former advisor to the regime for its nuclear weapons programme who was now hiding somewhere in Zargabad. Tanny's team were to once again provide escort as they carefully fought their way into the wartorn regional capital.
They found Abdul after searching through the ruins and reported back their find to Reynolds, who quickly dispatched an extraction for Tanny and the others.
Death[]
| « | This is a disaster, mate. BOYS, KEEP YER HEADS DOWN! Frosty! FROSTY, MATE! Grab the contact! GRAB ABDUL! Tanny's last words
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Suddenly however, artillery from Takistani government forces began bombarding the entire city. With their position bracketed in, Reynolds ordered Team Sword to regroup and to take cover immediately. Tanny quickly retrieved the UN investigators and brought them to the team's SUV.
He and Dixon provided covering fire while they boarded and sped away. They then attempted to head back into the building for both Abdul and Frost but before he could do so, a mortar shell landed directly on his position. Tanny was instantly killed by the ensuing blast, his mutilated corpse flung into the nearby ruins and buried by the rubble.
| « | Poet - uh, Brian - I.. uh. Look, I'm sorry, mate.. We were caught in a blast - a shell - the building.. it collapsed.. Hey man, I'm sorry.. there was nothing I.. nothing could be done... Dixon informs Frost of Tanny's passing
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Dixon relayed the bad news of Tanny's death to Frost shortly after he regained consciousness. Saddened by grief over the loss of his friend, Frost angrily demanded to know why Dixon didn't save him.
Personality and Appearance[]
Tanny was a white Scottish male in his mid thirties with a short, black head of hair. During his service with the British Army as a sniper, Tanny wore a full ghillie suit over his Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP)-camouflaged fatigues on field operations.
After his discharge and recruitment as a private contractor, Tanny grew a medium beard and donned more casual clothing instead. He opted to wear a pale blue flannel shirt with a worn-out pair of jeans and khaki shemagh. For personal protection, he wore a black body armour vest with extra pouches attached, though he avoided helmets in favour of a simple tan baseball cap and ComTac headset for hearing protection.
| « | Only problem brewing is between Tanny and Dickie. I honestly don't know if its a mutual disdain for each other, or just what Tanny calls 'craic and bantar'. Aye, I've seen where Tanny's 'good craic' gets him on a Friday night in Glasgow city centre - and it's not too pretty. I should keep an eye on the old bastard, but I know he can look after himself. Christ knows, he's got me out the shit enough times before.. Brian Frost remarks on Tanny's personality
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A heavy drinker, uncouth and easily provoked (to put it lightly), Tanny nonetheless acted as a reliable mentor figure to those around him. He taught valuable skills learnt during his tenure in the British Army to his younger cohorts like Henry Asano.
He also played a pivotal role as a pillar to the state of mind of his colleagues; his close friend being a prime example. Following his death, Frost's mental health was greatly affected and though the latter had not realised (or rather, refused to admit it), Tanny was all that kept his post-traumatic stress disorder in check.
Trivia[]
- Tanny makes a cameo in the playable Merlin showcase as part of a sniper team that has to be picked up by the player.
Gallery[]
