Ace


 * This page is for the heroic pilot Ace. For his evil Shattered Glass counterpart, see Ace (SG).

"When the enemy is in my sights, he can't run or hide. I'll get him, and clip his wings for good. You can bet on it."

ACE would rather fly than do anything else. During high school he worked after school and weekends to pay for flying lessons. He spent one year flying pipelines in Alaska and two years stunt flying for movies. He enlisted USAF at age 22. Duty most previous to G.I. Joe assignment: senior instructor USAF Fighter Weapons Squadron "The Aggressors" (pilot combat training school). Qualified Expert: F-5E, F-15, F-16, XP-14/F. Ace has one major character flaw: cutthroat poker. A predilection for gambling would ordinarily disqualify an applicant for the G.I. Joe team, but in Armbruster's case you can hardly call it gambling. He NEVER LOSES. That's why they call him Ace!

Canonical/Pre-MUX/Theme History:
As a high school student in Providence, Rhode Island, Ace worked after school and on weekends to pay for flying lessons. He became an excellent pilot and had various jobs, including stunt flying for movies. At age 22, Ace joined the Air Force. During his time in the Air Force, Ace became the senior instructor for the USAF Fighter Weapons Squadron known as "The Aggressors" just before his assignment to the G.I. Joe team. Ace is a qualified expert pilot of various fighter jets: F-5E, F-15, F-16, XP-14/F, X-16. Besides the obvious aviation reference, another reason for Ace's nickname is that he is a great poker player who never loses.

Ace joined the Joes in 1983 and flew many missions for the team in both his XP-14F Skystriker and in the team's C-130 Hercules transport plane. On a mission to test out new system upgrades for the Skystriker with Lady Jaye as co-pilot, Ace encountered the Cobra pilot Wild Weasel in his Rattler with the Baroness as co-pilot. The two pilots fought to a stalemate, ending the dogfight when their weapons were spent. Ace was the leader of the fighter squadron that destroyed a Cobra underwater bunker that was killing marine life in the Gulf of Mexico. Cobra expected the Joes to blow up the bunker, which aggravated a faultline and caused the creation of Cobra Island. The Joes then attempted to push Cobra off of the newly-formed island before Cobra could claim it as a free territory. A tidal wave triggered by the destruction of the bunker caused the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Flagg's deck to tilt 30 degrees. Ace risked his life by attempting to take off from the carrier and nearly failed. He gave the Joes the air cover they needed to win the battle, but Cobra gained the status of a sovereign state, forcing the Joes to retreat.

Later, Ace flew a recon mission over Cobra Island with Ripcord as co-pilot. Ripcord unexpectedly ejected from their Skystriker and parachuted onto the island to search for his girlfriend, Candy, who had been kidnapped by the Dreadnok known as Buzzer. After Ripcord was rescued, Ace and Lady Jaye flew the Joes' C-130 to the island to transport two Devilfish fast attack boats used in a mission to rescue Snake-Eyes, who had recently landed on the island. The C-130 then brought a wounded Ripcord to McGuire Air Force Base near G.I. Joe headquarters. When the Joe team invaded the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield, Ace flew one of the two C-130s that transported the Joes and their vehicles to the town.

While he and Slip-Stream fought a Cobra Night Raven piloted by a Strato-Viper, Ace was shot down but he ejected and survived to be rescued by a G.I. Joe Tomahawk helicopter. Ace returned to stunt flying when he, Slip-Stream and Maverick participated in an Airshow at Orange County Airport in New York State. Later, Ace flew a C-130 to Cobra Island during the Cobra Civil War in which the Joes participated on the side of Serpentor. Just after the invasion, Ace and co-pilot Lift-Ticket along with several other G.I. Joe pilots flew a diversionary mission to allow the Stealth Fighter to fly a recon mission over Cobra Island. Ace was part of the crew of the space shuttle Defiant on an observation mission. Payload ended the mission and entered Earth's atmosphere, attacking a group of Python Conquest jets attacking the U.S.S. Flagg.

Ace's Skystriker sustained heavy damage during a night recon mission in Benzheen in the aftermath of the Battle of Benzheen. He and his co-pilot Dogfight barely survived a crash-landing on the deck of the U.S.S. Flagg in the Gulf of Benzheen. Later, Ace and Wild Bill flew the Joes Duke, Lady Jaye, Roadblock and Snake-Eyes in a C-130 to Cobra Island for a spy mission. One of Ace's final missions before the Joe team was disbanded was to fly General Joseph "G.I. Joe" Colton from McGuire A.F.B. to Washington, DC in the Ghoststriker X-16 for a Top Secret meeting with high-ranking army officials.

MUX History:
Ace was reinstated to the team when it was reformed in 1997, and placed in command of the Joes' Air Assests. Ace commands G.I. Joe's Air Force support personnel on a day-to-day basis.

In 2007, Ace participated in recon over Brazil during the Luminous incident.

In 2008, Ace was involved in bringing troops down to Colombia for missions against the Cobra's base there, and personally involved himself with intelligence gathering on the ground.

In 2009, Ace was involved in an ill-fated attempt to gather information on the Woomera Test Facility in Australia.

In 2010, Ace was one of the first Joes to encounter a denizen from the Shattered Glass universe.

OOC Notes
As the highest ranking Air Force officer routinely at the Pit, Ace has become the de facto air forces commanding officer.

2007

 * February 19 - Brazil Flyover
 * February 26 - "Intel Analysis complete" - Ace reports on intelligence gathered during his Brazil Flyover


 * March 05 - Nighthawk Drops In

2008

 * October 15 - Colombia Insertion
 * November 24 - Ace Attempts a Rescue

2009

 * March 17 - Ace and Mara Attempt a Break-In


 * June 12 - Ace and Mara Break-In Attempt II
 * June 15 - Ace recovers from his thrashing at the hands of the Baroness

2010

 * February 10 - "Meeting Ebony" - The first Shattered Glass denizen ventures through the portal and encounters a group of Joes and Cobras.

2012

 * July 2 - "Duke recovered" - Ace reports on on Duke's rescue from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Players
Ace is often temped by BZero, but he is available for application.

Preferred Vehicles

 * 1983 - 1991 - X14-F Skystriker
 * 1992 - 1993 - G.I. Joe Battle Copter
 * 1993 - 1996 - Ghoststriker X-16
 * 1997 - Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (co-pilot with General Hawk)
 * 1998 - 2003 - Conquest X-30
 * 2004 - 2009 - Tigerhawk and Thunderwing Jet
 * 2010 - Air Assault Glider
 * 2011 - 2024 - XP-21F Sky Striker