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Mike Baker grew up in Bideford, Devon. His parents worked on the docs and the family was rather poor. Baker has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister. While his sister was the nesting creature, he and his brother got into a lot of trouble when they were bored.
Baker was not a good student, he never liked school. His parents weren’t well educated either and encouraged their kids to leave school early to go to work and support the family. His parents taught him early that he has to work hard for what he wants and that working was more important than graduating from school.
He has learned to work hard without complaining and that being hardworking would pay off in the end.
He loves his mother dearly. She worked very hard so that her children could have a better life but every now and then she had to send her kids to bed hungry.
Growing up he knew that his future career chances were limited. He didn’t want to end up on the docks as well. At that time he heard that the military was rather easy to join. The military offered a comparatively generous salary and 2 meals per day. They made war sound like a glorious adventure. He learned soon enough that it was anything but.
Baker couldn’t join the military at first. He was too malnourished to pass selection and had to apply again after his physical condition had improved.
He became part of the British army parachute regiment but was soon noticed by his platoon leader. He was suggested to try the selection to join the Special Air Service. He had the right mindset for the SAS because he had to fight his entire life, was diligent and frugal. He didn’t pass selection on the first try but took his chance the second time and earned the desired beret.
He made it into the SAS rather quickly at the age of 19, only one year after joining the military. In 1980 Thatcher had the chance to take part in his first armed conflict, the Iranian embassy siege. He was still only 19 years old at that time but played an important role in the hostage rescue mission.
Two years later, at the age of 21 the second parachuting regiment was deployed to the Falkland war. Baker faced his first combat in a war zone. The battle of Goose Green was fierce and resulted in fatalities on both sides. He saw the atrocities of war where at the same time he experienced comraderie and humanity. He witnessed that a friend of his had to had his leg amputated with a swiss army knife by a field medic while still being under fire. The unflagging determination and hard work of the medics impressed him. He harbors great respect for all medical personal in the army since then and is at good terms with Doc.
He has been injured multiple times in his career. He’s had a brush with death more than once, but considers an open compound fracture on his left femur to be the most painful injury he has sustained in active duty. The scars on his body still tell the stories of successful missions, of bravery, endurance and of humility and defeat.
In 1991 Baker was part of an eight man SAS patrol in the first Golf war. At the age of 30 he was part of the famous Bravo Two Zero unit. Their mission was to destroy scud missiles behind Iraqi lines but the mission was compromised and of the eight man only one managed to escape. Three were killed in action, Thatcher and three other SAS members were captured, interrogated and tortured.
Captivity and torment seemed to last forever, but he didn’t reveal his regiment, nor the mission. To this day, he still considers his survival as one of his greatest achievements.
He was tortured to an inch of his life and lost his sense of smell due to a blow to the head.
Despite the horrors he has seen, the decisions he had to take and the comrades he has lost, his will to serve his country is as strong as ever. He is not a violent person but chooses a rational approach to de-escalate a situation over brute force. Baker is highly observant and calculating, a trait that secured his survival more than once.
Baker likes to be in control and take his own decisions. He is a serious person, rather composed, highly reliable and loyal.
His demeanor seems gruff at first, he curses a lot and is a strict mentor.
While he can be impatient and cynical, he also harbors a great sense of ethical responsibility. He is proficient and likes to rely on tried and true gadgets rather than fancy new equipment. As long as it stills works it’s perfectly fine to use. He likes to pass his knowledge and experience on to new recruits.
He takes training the recruits very seriously. He feels responsible for them. He is a very strict teacher and doesn’t pass out compliments easily but he recognized good work. He is also very generous. He is usually the first one to buy a round of drinks for his fellow team mates on a night out.
He cares a lot about his team mates and sees them as his family. He doesn’t have children on his own but he feels strongly connected to Mute, Smoke, Sledge and Lesion. He is a father figure for them. During a mission in Russia he held an injured Mute the whole night until medical help arrived and watched over him at his hospital bed.
He is friends with Tachanka, Montagne and Thermite. Baker is Ela’s mentor. Even though they didn’t get along well in the beginning they have learned to appreciate each other and buried the hatchet.
Baker spends his holidays in the Isle of Man. It was the only holiday abroad that his parents could afford when he was a kid and he still likes the place very much.
He is secretly married to a woman he hasn’t seen in over 20 years. He told nobody about it. He also has never told anybody where his callsign came from.
The person that influenced him the most was his mother. He loves her dearly and is impressed how she managed to bring her children up under difficult conditions, working hard to make ends meet and still be a content about her life.
Baker respects women and thinks of them as very strong and capable. He appreciates women in the military and in the special forces.
His life in the military may not always have been what he imagined it to be like when he joined at the age of 18, but it left him with unique experiences. He has taken part in conflicts that changed history. He has solved conflicts that the public didn’t even learn about. He has saved lives and took them, travelled the world, risked his life, has been to his own execution and sacrificed his personal life to serve his country. His actions were never made public. He never received the credit he deserves.