Beachhead

Beach Head (also released as Beachhead and Beach-Head) is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He serves as the G.I. Joe Team's sergeant major and debuted in 1985.

Profile
Beach Head's real name is Wayne R. Sneeden. He was born and raised in Auburn, Alabama, living in abject poverty. This led to him being bullied and tormented by his classmates and peers throughout his growing years. In hopes of becoming more than what those taunted him believed he could be, Sneeden became an overachiever and ended up the valedictorian of his high school through hard work, unwavering discipline, and his keen mind.

Seeking the next challenge, he enlisted in the US Army, where he went through Airborne and Ranger school Ft. Benning, Georgia. After he completed training there, he went on to join Central America's Covert Ops as an Observer/Advisor. After his training in Central America, he returned to Ft. Benning as a lane instructor.[1]

He was offered a spot in the G.I. Joe team as a Ranger. After he decided on the codename Beach Head, he joined eager for the challenge being a member of the most elite force in the US military would bring. Sneeden's habits include getting up hours before his teammates and going on a 10-mile run, then undergoing rigorous physical training that make the most gung-ho of his comrades weary - and all before breakfast.[1]

His unwavering patience on and off the battlefield made him a legend - as did his intolerance of anyone not willing to live up to their full potential, something he makes quite clear to anyone he feels is a slacker and not working up to their potential. The consummate professional, he is determined and ruthless when needed to get the job done. However, his contempt for protocol and the chain of command have prevented him from being promoted. As it is well known, he would do things his own way by rushing headlong into things without consulting his superiors; instead of recommending his ideas to the chain of command. Beach Head is the first off the copter laying down suppressive fire for the others and is the last back on the copter to protect the backs of his comrades.

Visually, Beach Head is almost always seen masked with a green bavaclava hood over his face. His actual face varies depending upon the figure/comic: he is seen with either blonde hair (both cut short and normal length), brownish red hair, black hair, and shaved. While most versions have him clean shaven, the only mass release 3 3/4 unmasked version of Beach Head has the character sporting a reddish fu manchu mustache.

In the UK Action Force series, Beach Head is from Auckland in New Zealand. His profile is otherwise very similar.[2

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[edit] Sunbow
Beach Head and Mainframe as seen in the G.I. Joe episode "Arise Serpentor, Arise!".Beach Head appeared in the second season of the Sunbow G.I. Joe cartoon voiced by William Callaway.[15] He served as fifth in the G.I. Joe chain of command, just ranked below Sgt. Slaughter. Beach Head was portrayed as a short-tempered soldier in contrast to his calm character from the comics; he was also shown to long for the command he felt he deserved and was very strict concerning the rules, showing intense disapproval for the relationships between Flint and Lady Jaye as well as Duke and Scarlett. This was due to the fact romance between the parties was against regulations.

In the G.I. Joe Sunbow cartoon 5-part mini series "Arise Serpentor, Arise!", Beach Head and his teammate Mainframe escaped from Cobra troops by hiding in the actual coffin of Vlad Tepes. When they later escape, Mainframe tells Beach Head he wants to talk to him about hisdeodorant, in which Beach Head replies: "But I don't wear deodorant." "That's what I want to talk to you about," Mainframe responds. Although this was a seemingly insignificant bit of comedy, it becomes a running joke of his character, and many fans have adopted this attribute to Beach Head[original research?] even though it was never mentioned as flavor text on his filecard or mentioned by writer Larry Hama, whose filecards and comic writings are considered to be canon of the G.I. Joe mythos by Hasbro Toys.[original research?]

<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">It was, however, mentioned in the G.I. Joe: Battlefiles sourcebook published by Devil's Due Publishing, where his less-than-admirable personal hygiene habits are explained as being a tactical preventative measure, since scented deodorant could literally be a dead giveaway if he were dropped into a close combat war-zone without any prior notice. Though the Battlefiles copy was not written by Larry Hama, Hasbro at the time considered the Devil's Due books the official continuation of the canonical story, cementing Beach-Head's questionable personal hygiene as a "real" part of the character.

[edit] G.I. Joe: The Movie
<p style="margin-top: 0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.5em; ">Beach Head appeared in G.I. Joe: The Movie as an instructor for the Rawhides, the probationary recruits for the G.I. Joe Team who had yet to complete their training.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height: 1em; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; ">[16]