Victor Hoffman

Colonel Victor Hoffman ES SM was a Gear officer and the Chief of Defense Staff of the Coalition of Ordered Governments during the Locust War and former director of special forces, answering only to Chairman Richard Prescott. Hoffman hated being promoted so high, preferring to remain a frontline Gear. He is a battlefield commander, and has fought alongside his fellow Gears in the Pendulum Wars, the Locust War, and the Lambent Invasion. A military man to the core, Hoffman demands discipline and sacrifice from those under his command. Hoffman's strict adherence to these ideals has caused him to cross swords with Marcus Fenix. He made his reputation with the Siege of Anvil Gate, and later further increased it with the Battle of Aspho Fields. During the Locust War, Hoffman became the Chief of Defense Staff by being the only high ranking office to remain alive, and led the COG army for most of the Locust War. He planned the Lightmass Offensive and Operation: Hollow Storm, and did his best to hold the COG together with Prescott after moving to the island of Vectes after the sinking of Jacinto. There he resumed a relationship with Bernadette Mataki, and led the COG army against the Stranded Insurgency and Lambent Pandemic. When Prescott abandoned the COG, Hoffman briefly led the government with Cpt.Quentin Michaelson and Commander Miran Trescu. However, they could not hold the COG together against the Lambent and it fell apart, with several groups scattering across the planet. Hoffman led a group consisting of Bernie, several dozen Gears, and several thousand civilians to the isolated Anvil Gate to try and survive.