Toshio "Animal" Nakamura.

Toshio "Animal" Nakamura

Would be played in real life by 

"Garrett Wang"(Star Trek: Voyager)

Toshio "Animal" Nakamura started out as a "Marty Stu" back in Grade 10 high-school almost 28 years ago after seeing Top Gun for the first time back in 1986.  (Author's Note: Yes, I wanted to fly F-14s (never happened) but now I'm happy as a land-lubbing wildlife photographer who is happily married with kids to a loving wife who has grown away from the TV show JAG that brought us together and is now happily watching Supernatural, Outlander, and Criminal Minds.  For me, TV began with Airwolf and ended with JAG, both Bellisario shows.) 

He gradually grew as a character with more realistic foibles and weaknesses as my ability to write better characters grew.  He also ended up becoming a regular character in my JAG fanfiction.  This character description gives a better idea of Animal as a character in the fanfics. 

Character Description: 

His demeanor is generally irritable, sarcastic, doesn't let Harmon Rabb Jr. get away with much because he figures that Harm's going to crash his aircraft.  He doesn't like "Sarah"; Harm's biplane though Harm has offered him many times to take him up mainly because he feels that the only thing holding him in the airplane and keeping him from making a high-impact collision with the ground is a cheap harness made by the lowest bidder.  He does suffer from a fear of heights, though while strapped to the F-14 securely makes him feel safe.  He also is quick to judge, even though more times than not, he is usually right.  However when he does make mistakes, it's hard for him to apologize (his pride doesn't allow him to bend very far).  Animal, like Harm, has a strict moral code that he adheres to.  He is also devoted to his parents and especially to his late grandfather, a veteran who served with the 442/100 RCT overseas in Italy.  Animal is 3/4s Japanese-American.  His grandfather married a Caucasian woman (who was interned in Tule Lake during WWII because she married a Japanese-American and remained there while her husband was off fighting in Italy) and his half-Japanese father married a Japanese-American woman.  Animal's grandmother was faithful to his grandfather and Animal keeps their memory alive by remembering them every year at Arlington Cemetery.  

Character Biography (so far): 

Animal/Meg Timeline: 

Animal was born in 1958 making him five years older than Harm.  Graduating high-school in 1976, he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy in 1980 after completing his degree in Military Science at the University of Rochester through the NROTC program there.  

Animal is considered a MiG Killer after downing 2 MiG 29s over Iraq (fictional as in real life F-14s were shut out of the fixed wing kill ring.  The only kill was a Mi-8 and that wasn't a kill by the VF-41. It was shot down by the VF-1 Wolfpack).  He will later add to that total over the skies of Kosovo by shooting down a third MiG 29 and a Sukhoi Su-27.  He does not achieve ace. But the four shoot-downs earn him a second and third award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

However in 1995, his squadron, the VF-41 Black Aces, are transferred to the Pacific Fleet and the events that make him a recipient of the Medal of Honor happen.  That incident involved the rescue of a downed naval flight officer in North Korea where the then LCDR Nakamura was wounded in the arm twice while finagling his way into a rescue mission.  During the ensuing investigation (conducted by a LT Harmon Rabb Jr. and LT jg Meg Austin) CDR "Rabbit" Campbell lays charges of disobeying a direct order and insubordinate behavior towards a superior officer charges in a blatant attempt to scuttle the nomination of the MOH.  He is battlefield promoted by the battlegroup commander to O-5, and 2 years later is awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart in a ceremony in Washington DC at the White House.

Normally MOH recipients are taken off active duty, but Animal manages to finagle his way into two more deployments including the one over Kosovo where he engages both a MiG 29 and a Su-27 in the same sortie.  After a CAG tour as an O-6 he is deep-selected RDML then frocked to RADM to take charge of the Naval Strike Air Warfare Center Command in Fallon NV taking over from the commander who moved the operation there.  With his frocking to RADM, it's clear that Animal is on the fast-track to higher rank.

Animal/Other Timelines:

(Still in progress)

The Character Ribbon Rack:

Like Harm's rack, Animal's ribbon-rack is substantial in size.

Topped by the Medal of Honor, by the time Animal is promoted to full-admiral, he has a substantially sizable rack. Each of those awards has a back-story and will be told as the fics go along.