Unidentified ION Marksman

The Unidentified ION marksman is a minor character in ArmA II: Private Military Company. He is a private military contractor in the service of ION, Incorporated.

Notably, he is the only dedicated defensive marksman in the game not to be identified by name.

Background
Very little is known about the Unidentified Marksman's background. Apparently, he has had combat experience in the British Military, where he specialized as a designated marksman. After leaving the service behind, he applied to work for ION, Incorporated, who appointed him as a 'Dedicated Defensive Marksman'.

Sent to work across a range of hostile theaters and retained because of his unique marksmanship skills, he was part of a security contingent dispatched by ION to defend the UN investigations team in Takistan looking into the abandoned Takastani nuclear program.

Transportation
The Unidentified ION Marksman first appeared in the mission 'Transportation', which saw him as part of an ION convoy escorting the UN weapons investigators to the Proving Grounds, a former nuclear test site. The contractor and his colleagues, driving unarmored SUVs, were forced to lag behind the lead vehicle for protection, which was armored and had a minigun bolted on top of it for quick retaliation or drive-by shootings. Despite attacks and ambushes by the corrupt New Takastani Army and various insurgent factions, the convoy made it safely to the Proving Grounds.

Elimination
When the ION vehicles found their way through the Proving Grounds blocked by NTA tanks and APCs, two of the contractors, Brian Frost and Henry Asano, were dispatched with an anti-material rifle to secure the route. The ION marksman remained with the convoy. During his mission to clear the route, Frost observed a mysterious bunker near the remains of a nuclear testing site.

The UN team, interested in the bunker's contents, ordered the ION personnel to take them there so they could safely examine it.

Malfunction
During the night, a UAV attack occurred on five of the ION contractors guarding the bunker site. Oddly enough, the Unidentified Marksman did not take part in the defense of the outside perimeter. Possibly he was inside the bunker with the UN team as they searched it until morning.

Retaliation
In the early morning, another attack, this one mounted by Takastani guerillas, struck the bunker site. Again, the Unidentified Marksman did not participate in this firefight.

Preparation/Aviation
The UN team soon revealed to ION project coordinator Mark Reynolds that they had discovered unstable nuclear fission materials inside the bunker they had searched and needed to take these back with them for closer inspection. ION agreed to provide security for them across central Takistan to the city of Zargabad, where the materials could be stored safely.

The Unidentified ION marksman was designated to the SUV with the UN team inside; Mark Reynolds took charge of a second SUV with the nuclear materials, while the other contractors provided air cover from a company helicopter.

Escalation
Shortly after the ION convoy made it to the safety of Zargabad, Mark Reynolds went rogue and made off with the nuclear-grade materials. ION terminated the contract to protect the UN team, realizing that the materials were of Chinese origin and if they were discovered by the international community, it would cause a diplomatic crisis between China and NATO, doubtlessly causing a crash in the Chinese-dependent market as well.

The Unidentified ION Marksman's fate is decided by the player's course of action, which lies with Brian Frost. If Frost tries to take down Reynolds, this results in one outcome (Termination) and if he sides with Reynolds to murder the UN investigators and silence them permanently, this results in another possible outcome (Deception).

Termination
In the 'Termination' mission, approximately half of ION's personnel maintain loyalty to the UN and try to resist Reynolds, with disastrous results. Brian Frost and Henry Asano are tasked with tracking down Reynolds, who is at the ION company compound in Takistan, while another contractor, Patrick Dixon, mobilizes a team of other PMC's, including the Unidentified ION Marksman, to strike at those loyal to Mark.

Dixon's reckless attack, however, was no match for a well-planned ambush staged by those loyal to Reynolds. In the resulting gunfight, however, the marksman was shot dead. His body can be discovered later, lying near the side of the road at the site of the skirmish which left Patrick Dixon and all of his men dead, but only two of the attackers alive.

Deception
If Brian Frost chooses to side with Reynolds, he will have to disguise himself as a guerilla and, together with Henry Asano, murder the UN investigations team. An ambush is staged on the ION convoy, which comprises of the first SUV containing the UN investigators, and the second SUV containing their ION guards (including the Unidentified ION Marksman).

The first SUV will need to be disabled by an IED. If the Unidentified Marksman or any of his fellow contractors spot Frost, the mission will be failed, so the player must snipe them from a distance and destroy their vehicle, killing them.

Notes/Trivia

 * The Unidentified ION Marksman is considered to be a canonically deceased character. No matter which mission the player chooses in the end, he is killed either by Brian Frost or indirectly by others.
 * His character model is nearly identical to that of Tanny Radcliffe.
 * He appears briefly in the launch trailer for ArmA II: PMC, lying dead outside the burning SUVs upon completion of the 'Deception' Mission.