State Military characters of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga

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In the fictional country of Amestris, the Führer (the governing leader with the official title of President) has command of both the country and the military. Since Edward Elric is a member of the Amestris Military, the army and its personnel play a very pivotal role in Hiromu Arakawa's anime and manga series Fullmetal Alchemist. The various members of the State Military provide the lens through which the story and plot are advanced, and also provide insight to both the Ishval War and the Lior War. The Ishbal War, in particular, serves as a defining moment for many of the State Military characters, as most of the members that have since been introduced were involved heavily in the conflict.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Military Ranks 2.1 Commissioned Officers 2.2 Enlisted Soldiers 3 Roy Mustang 4 Maes Hughes 5 Riza Hawkeye 6 Jean Havoc 7 Heymans Breda 8 Alex Louis Armstrong 9 Vato Falman 10 Kain Fuery 11 King Bradley 12 Hakuro 13 Basque Grand 14 Yoki 15 Maria Ross 16 Denny Brosh 17 Sheska 18 Zolf J. Kimblee 19 Grumman 20 Loa 21 Joliot Comanche 22 Storch 23 Fessler 24 Raven 25 Olivia Milla Armstrong 26 Buccaneer 27 Miles 28 Henschel 29 Smith 30 Henry Douglas 31 Bermouth 32 Focker 33 Yakovlev 34 Rebecca Catalina 35 Darius 36 Zanpano 37 Jerun 38 Heinckel 39 Black Hayate 40 Notes 41 External links

[edit] Overview

Amestris's military is very large, and is split into several military units; these include mechanized forces, infantry, mechanized infantry, armored units, special forces units, intelligence detachments, judicial branches, research organizations, military police and so forth. All alchemists who work for the military are referred to as "State Alchemists", less commonly translated as "National Alchemists" (国家錬金術師, kokka renkinjutsushi^?), and obtain titles based on their alchemic talents and abilities. All State Alchemists in Amestris are admitted into the military with the rank of Major and can be promoted from there. All members of the State Military can be placed into one of these categories, and each character's background and role in the army helps to advance the story by providing insight and expertise to the Elric brothers as they search for the Philosopher's Stone.

Doctor Tim Marcoh, Jack Crowley, Lincor, Cravis Fagott and Shou Tucker are all considered former State Alchemists. Additionally, several of the chimeras that were held in the 5th Laboratory before it was stormed and secured were members of Amestris’ State Military or of the Military's Special Forces before becoming chimeras. Also, while Führer King Bradley is a member of the State Military, he's more than what he appears. Lastly, although Edward Elric is a ranking member of the State Military, he is also the series’ main character. All of these characters are not described in this section. It is also notable that Mustang and his subordinates are named after World War II era fighter planes. Due to irregularities in translations some names may have multiple spellings.

[edit] Military Ranks

Military ranks in Amestris, from highest to lowest. The commissioned officer rank structure is nearly identical to that of the United States Army. These ranks are what the characters have for the majority of the manga.

[edit] Commissioned Officers

Rank	Known Characters
Commander-in-Chief (Führer) (大総統 - daisōtō)	King Bradley
General (大将 - taishō)
Lieutenant General (中将 - chūsō)	Grumman, Raven
Major General (少将 - shōshō)	Hakuro, Olivia Milla Armstrong
Brigadier General (准将 - junshō)	Basque Grand, Fessler
Colonel (大佐 - taisa)	Roy Mustang, Henry Douglas
Lieutenant Colonel (中佐 - chūsa)	Mäes Hughes[1]
Major (少佐 - shōsa)	Alex Louis Armstrong, Edward Elric, Tim Marcoh,[2] Zolf J. Kimblee,[3] Joliot Comanche, Miles, Darius, Heinckel [4]
Captain (大尉 - taii)	Buccaneer, Focker
First Lieutenant (中尉 - chūi)	Riza Hawkeye, Yoki,[5] Jerun,[6] Rebecca Catalina
Second Lieutenant (少尉 - shōi)	Heymans Breda, Jean Havoc, Maria Ross, Bermouth, Henschel

[edit] Enlisted Soldiers

Rank	Known Characters
Warrant Officer (准尉 - jun'i)	Vato Falman[7], Smith[8]
Master Sergeant (曹長 - sōchō)	Kain Fuery
Sergeant (軍曹 - gunsō)	Denny Brosh
Corporal (兵長 - heichō)	Loa [9]
Private (一等兵 - ittōhei)	Sheska
Military Police (憲兵 - kenpei)

[edit] Roy Mustang

Main article: Roy Mustang

Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, is the man who first recognized the Elric brothers' talent and recruits Edward Elric to become a State Alchemist. He first appears in Chapter 4: Battle on the Train. The anime followed much of Roy's role in the manga during the early storyline. However, as the anime diverges from the original story, Roy's role and much of his background also differed.

[edit] Maes Hughes

Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes was a member of the Investigations Division^[10] and was good friends with Colonel Mustang. He is a devoted family man who constantly brags about his wife Gracia and is absolutely besotted with his little daughter Elysia. He comically shoved pictures of Elysia into other people's faces to their annoyance - but it was clear that his goofy behavior was usually a cover for the serious and depressing nature of his work. Another common gag involved Hughes calling Mustang to either gloat about his daughter or advise Roy to get a wife, promptly causing Roy to slam the phone down in anger,^[11] or threatening him to fry him through the phone line using alchemy. Another, less used gag, is that when he wants to take someone, he just drags him/ her regardless of his/ her own will, practically "kidnapping" him/ her. It was shown when he wants to invite Winry to his daughter birthday, and when he recruits Sheska based to Elrics' verbal recommendations.

In the original manga, Hughes fought in the Ishval war — not as an alchemist, but as a soldier. While not an alchemist, Hughes was an expert in knife combat (specializing in knife throwing) and carried two or four small push knives in both or either of his sleeves or in the back of his belt, which he used as protection in battle.

He had known Mustang since their days at the military academy, when they had both been idealistic as to what the future would hold. Their values changed with the war and they became critical of where the future of their country was heading toward. During this time, he introduced Mustang to a nameless sniper who had been protecting their people. She turned out to be a young Riza Hawkeye, whom Mustang recalled as the daughter of his alchemy teacher.

Years later, he married Gracia (whom he had known before the war began) and supported of Mustang's plan to become Führer, doing whatever he could by "working below him and help push him to the top." After the incident in the military's 5th Laboratory, Edward Elric shows Hughes some drawings of what he saw in there. Upon further research, Hughes realizes that the military is making a huge transmutation circle around the country. He is confronted by Lust, but manages to escape with only a flesh wound by throwing a knife into Lust's forehead. Hughes tries to phone Mustang with the crucial information, but is killed by Envy before he could talk to Mustang. Hughes was 29-30 years old when he died (he is the same age as Mustang).

He is promoted to Brigadier General posthumously and buried with full honours for dying in the line of duty. His death came as a shock to his friends and family, especially Sheska and Mustang.

He may be named for Hughes Aircraft, an American company founded by billionaire Howard Hughes

[edit] Riza Hawkeye

First appearing in Chapter 4: Battle on the Train of Vol. 1, Riza Hawkeye is introduced as a First Lieutenant of the Eastern Headquarters, before being hand-picked by Mustang to join him at Central. She is the most trusted in Mustang's circle of friends and his right-hand woman. Hawkeye serves as Mustang's voice of reason, remaining cool and collected in sticky situations, constantly looking out for Mustang's well being, but also occasionally scolding him for his good-natured posturing and arrogance. Like her namesake, she is a crack shot with a sniper's aim,^[12] and usually carries three pistols (a Browning Hi-Power, an FN Model 1911, and a Webley Revolver) with her at all times. Although her dog training method is an example of her no-nonsense ways, Riza's softer and compassionate side is shown through her care for her dog, Black Hayate, as well as through her devotion to, and possible love for, Roy Mustang. She also appears to have a soft spot for the Elric Brothers.

Her minor role has become more prominent as the story develops, as she works alongside Mustang in capturing Barry the Chopper and the Homunculus Gluttony. There have also been more scenarios in which we are able to see her emotional side. In particular, when Lust tells her that Mustang is dead, Riza becomes visibly upset and empties three handgun magazines (about 20 rounds) into the Homunculus before breaking down in tears.^[13] From this we can deduce that Mustang is at very least her sole reason for living, most likely due to him being the only significant person in her life [since both of her parents are deceased, she estranged from all relatives, and she is not particularly social].

After Roy tried to unsuccessfully turn the military's top brass against King Bradley, she was reassigned to Central Headquarters as the Führer's personal assistant. It is very likely that she was given this assignment as a hostage to keep Mustang in line.

In Chapter 57 (Scars of Ishbal), Riza was revealed to have a strange marking on her back after taking a shower, similar to the transmutation circle on Mustang's gloves, which is partially distorted by a large burn. Upon enlarging the image, the latin 'Libera me' and 'Domine' (meaning 'free me' and 'master' or 'lord' respectively) can be seen in the top row. These are the beginning words of the last part of a standard structure requiem, thus putting forward the theory that the words inscribed is in fact the standard lyrics of a Requiem.^[14]

In the flashback in Chapter 58: Padding Footsteps of Destruction, Riza is revealed to be the daughter of Roy's alchemy teacher. It is stated that her father has passed on to her the secrets of his most powerful alchemy. As such (revealed in chapter 60), this is what is on Riza's back: a marking encoded in a way that can't be understood by ordinary alchemists. It has been recorded on Riza's back to escape anyone who may take away her father's research after his death. Since Hawkeye asked Mustang if she could "trust her back" to him, it is implied that permission was given to Roy to decode her father's alchemy secrets.

Chapter 59 depicts Riza in the Ishbal War, and her reintroduction to Roy as a military member. As a sniper, she saved Roy Mustang and Maes Hughes from an ambush by an Ishabalan. It has also been recently revealed that the disfiguring burn on her back was given to her, at her own request, by Roy Mustang, in order to destroy her father's very dangerous research. Though Roy became extremely concerned and he told her he couldn't, she begged for him to continue so that the research would not give birth to a new Flame Alchemist. Hawkeye also told the colonel that it was so she could become Riza Hawkeye as an individual.

Chapter 70 shows her visiting the Führer's home to deliver a message. Mrs. Bradley accepts the message, and the Führer's son Selim surprises Hawkeye from behind, giving her a strange feeling about the boy. As she leaves the home Salem surprises her once again, this time revealing himself to be something far worse than Hawkeye could have imagined and in chapter 71 attempts to take her life after she refused to join his side. However, she saves herself by stating "killing me doesn't benefit you at all, does it?", most likely referring to her being used as a hostage against Mustang. Salem backs down but threatens the safety of her comrades (including Mustang) should she reveal the truth. This encounter leaves her in a terrified state, a stark contrast to her normally calm and controlled demeanor.

In chapter 72, Riza is introduced on the first page with the line of narration "Hawkeye, who has been exposed to fear. Humans who know of the darkness will fear the darkness." She is shown walking, then running home to her apartment at the sight of a shadow she sees down an alleyway. After letting herself in, she collapses in a doorway and says to herself "It's okay. It's okay", several times and jumps, first at the sight of her own dog in the darkness and then again when Mustang calls her, calling himself her "favourite florist" and thanking her for her "continued support", a fairly obvious code. Riza is too flustered to realize that it is just Mustang trying to talk to her in secret and she immediately replies that she doesn't have a favorite florist, which seems to annoy Roy, who goes on to say that he got drunk and bought too many flowers to keep himself. Although Riza tries to keep sounding as normal as possible, Mustang can that sense something is wrong with her, (showing how well he knows her) but she denies it. When she hangs up, she seems relieved that he called, and asks her dog how he has such good timing (showing that he can calm her easily.) In Chapter 74 she meets with Mustang while having lunch in the military cafeteria. While talking to him she says names to him in a particular order which Mustang later figures out when you put the first letter of the names together spells out "Selim Bradley is Homunculus".

In chapter 79, she is shown talking to the Führer, and it is revealed that the Führer knows that she knows the true nature of both himself and his son, Selim, and asks her how she, an ordinary human, feels about all of this. Hawkeye expresses sadness that the family ruling the country is "just a huge lie", and asks if it is amusing for the homunculi to "play house". The Führer then states that although he and Selim are homunculi, his wife is human he chose her himself. Hawkeye looks surprised at this, most likely making a mental note that this could be the Führer's weakness.

In chapter 83, Riza receives a message from Grumman through Rebecca. She passes it on to Havoc in a box of cigarettes.

It is possible that her surname comes from the E-2 Hawkeye, an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane. Although the aircraft did not play a role in the World War, it was manufactured by the Grumman Corporation. Her name can also be a reference to her sharpshooting skill, and being covered by her is repeatedly referred to with the code "We have a hawk's eye on us.".

Throughout the series, Hawkeye is shown using various weapons. Her favored handguns are the Browning Hi-Power, the FN Model 1910, and the Webley Revolver MkVI. She switches back and forth between them often, and has used both the Browning Hi-Power and the FN Model 1910 simultaneously on one occasion. Interestingly, the Browning model, although introduced in the early 20th century, is considered such a good gun that it is still in production today. Hawkeye has been seen using two rifles so far. First is a Karabiner 98k with a high-power scope in Ishbal, at the counter attack in Central against the Homunculi (Chapter 37: The Sinner's Body), and at the practice range, lending to the idea that this is her rifle of choice. Secondly, Hawkeye has used what appears to be a Winchester Rifle, but only on rare occasions. When Barry the Chopper tried to ambush Hawkeye she pulled a Snubnosed revolver from her shopping bag to defend herself, and in the battle against Envy she used a pump-action shotgun. Both of these are of unknown make.

Although she admits she is estranged from both her mother and father's side, it is revealed in a Fanbook that she is the granddaughter of General Grumman. Grumman is also shown in the early chapters jokingly trying to convince Roy to marry his granddaughter when he becomes Führer, it likely that he was referring to Hawkeye.

[edit] Jean Havoc

Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc likes to smoke, and is almost always pictured with a cigarette in his mouth. He is a fair shot with a gun, and one of Roy Mustang's loyal followers; he gives Edward Elric a stern talking-to when Ed bad-mouths Mustang for only caring about promotions. Havoc is a strict man of duty, a very by-the-book soldier, even if he doesn't always agree with the orders.

A running joke in the manga is that he has terrible luck with women; he usually ends up getting dumped because he is forced to do important things at work. The one time he manages to find a girlfriend, Mustang orders him to dump her because he expects Havoc to transfer with him to Central. As a result, Major Armstrong tries to pair him up with his younger sister, Catherine; Havoc initially attempts to refuse Armstrong's offer when the Major describes his sister as "very like him" but is unable to since Mustang (who wants to exploit his relationship with the Armstrong family) orders him to go out with her. Luckily for Havoc, Catherine shares only her brother's hair colour, eyelashes, and freakish strength; unfortunately, she rejects him outright because she says she only likes "strong men like my brother". He had a fondness for women with a big bust, once stated by Roy Mustang when they confronted Lust, also when Breda gave him dumbbell as a farewell gift, he protested, asking him to give him "books with many busty women" instead.

Havoc finally gets a girlfriend in Central: a busty woman called Solaris, who is actually Lust trying to get information about Mustang. But fortunately, Havoc didn't speak much about it, as he claims that he "knows how to separate work and private life". Eventually Mustang and Havoc are confronted by Lust in the basement of a hospital, and in the ensuing fight Havoc is impaled by Lust and paralyzed from waist down.^[15] From then on, Havoc dedicates himself to physical therapy, determined to rejoin his comrades someday.

Havoc finally gets his chance to make himself useful when he passes Grumman's message on to Mustang from his hospital bed.

Havok uses a what appears to be Winchester Model 1887 lever-action shotgun in the fight with Lust.

He may be named for the American World War II-era fighter plane A-20 Havoc.

[edit] Heymans Breda

Second Lieutenant Heymans Breda is one of Mustang's subordinates. He's an intellectual, number one graduated from military academy, despite his face and postures (who suggest him as rather brutish man) and has talents for strategy games, including chess, go, and shogi. He suffers from cynophobia, the extreme fear of dogs, so much so that he refers to a puppy like Black Hayate as a 'beast'.

In the manga, Mustang sends Breda to help smuggle Maria Ross to Xing. However, Breda is also to confirm if Ross is truly responsible for the death of Maes Hughes and to execute her if she was, though in the end she is allowed to go into hiding because she is not. When the subject of Hughes' murder is brought up, Breda is annoyed to hear that Ed spoke to Gracia Hughes about it. Though he punches Ed - who he deems 'an arrogant brat' - out of frustration, Breda does concede that he can't fault the teenager's resolve.

When he finds out that Havoc is paralyzed, Breda proposes to Mustang that they should seek out Tim Marcoh (The ex-Crystal Alchemist) to help heal Havoc. But by the time he gets to Marcoh's home it's too late; Envy, who had taken the form of Breda, had kidnapped Marcoh a day before the real Breda had arrived. In the wake of King Bradley's realization of Roy's insight into his true nature, Breda is transferred to Western Headquarters as a means of breaking up Mustang's group. In his most recent appearance, Breda is seen communicating with Falman on the phone relating recent events themselves, Fuery, and Mustang.

Breda is notable for being the only introduced member of the military to leave his officer's coat completely unbuttoned. It is believed that he does not like to button his coat due to his belly size.

Breda is named after Breda Meccanica Bresciana (often known simply as Breda), an Italian small arms company that produced weapons for Italian military during both World Wars.

[edit] Alex Louis Armstrong

Major Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist, was born into an elite family of alchemists and has mastered his family's techniques. Members of his family have, in the past, filled the highest military and political positions in the state. He acquired his alchemy title for his skill of using arm strength in his alchemy. A very intimidating man at first sight, Armstrong is actually a sensitive man who frequently weeps, and his sentimentalism prevents him from being promoted.

He makes his first appearance when he and Maes Hughes are sent from Central to investigate former State Alchemist Shou Tucker. Following Tucker's death, Scar targets the Elric brothers and Armstrong demonstrates his skill as an alchemist to defend them. Subsequently, he volunteers (after being moved to tears by the tragic story of their attempt to resurrect their mother) to act as a bodyguard for Edward and Alphonse when they must return to Resembool to repair Edward's automail arm. Armstrong ends up recognizing Dr. Tim Marcoh at a train station and he and the Elric brothers choose to find Marcoh instead of returning to Resembool immediately.

After tracking down Marcoh and having him reveal the location of his research on how to create a Philosopher's Stone, Armstrong stays with the Elrics when they return Resembool and arrive in Central City, where Marcoh's notes are located. The major leaves Edward and Alphonse under the direct supervision of subordinates 2nd Lieutenant Maria Ross and Sergeant Denny Brosh, but continues to watch over them as the Elrics attempt to find and decode Marcoh's notes.

Armstrong is filled with rage after Maria Ross's supposed death, but a tip from Mustang told him where to find her. He then deliberately damaged Ed's automail as an excuse to take him home for repairs, where they then saw Ross as she left with Fu for Xing.

A young state alchemist at the time of the Ishval Rebellion, Armstrong's personality was never fit for such battlefields as Ishval. In a recent chapter of the manga, he is shown making a wall with his alchemy, then breaking down when he hears Ishvalan women and children being killed on the other side. Later, while walking through the carnage, he finds an old man and a child who had survived. He quickly punches a hole into the wall he made and lets them escape, telling them to alert the other Ishvalans to flee the extermination. Unfortunately, as the two survivors start to walk forward, they are blown away by Kimblee right in front of Armstrong's eyes. As Armstrong falls to his knees, Kimblee scolds him somewhat sarcastically for not seeing the Ishvalans, not realizing Armstrong had let them escape, or at least pretending that he hadn't. Holding a dead Ishvalan child, Armstrong had had enough and disobeyed a direct order by his superior; consequently he was relieved of duty and sent back to Central as a means of punishment.

When Mustang privately reveals to Hawkeye and Armstrong that the Fuher is a homunculus, Mustang offers Armstrong a chance to leave the military to avoid combat, knowing that Armstrong had already shown reluctance in battle during the Ishval campaign. In response, Armstrong replies that he will not allow himself to be removed from this battle because he believes in the military, and states that he will stay the course and see this battle through to compensate for his short comings during the Ishval War.

The other members in Armstrong's family include his father, mother, and four sisters. The major's younger sister is a shy, piano-lifting girl named Catherine Elle, who rejected an unlucky Jean Havoc's proposal to be her boyfriend, saying that she preferred "men like my brother". The major's oldest sister is Major General Olivia Milla Armstrong, who is stationed up north near the Drachma border. Like the major, has a commanding presence both on and off the battlefield, although his sister's "commanding presence" is more psychological than physical and his commanding presence is physical more than psychological. She apparently does not think highly of her brother, becoming angry when he addresses her as his sister instead of by her rank and still considers him a coward for his actions in Ishval. The major's two remaining older sisters have only appeared in omake sketches.

He may be named for the British aircraft company Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft.

[edit] Vato Falman

Warrant Officer Vato Falman is one of Roy Mustang's subordinates at Eastern Headquarters. He is known for his good memory and precision with information, but has relatively little field experience. This is mentioned in chapter 37, when Jean Havoc comes to aid Falman and Barry from the "other" Barry wearing a balaclava to hide his identity, but Falman recognizes the smell of cigarettes on him and says "Lieutenant Havoc?" Havoc proceeds to rip Falman about revealing his identity when he took "great care" to hide it, saying that "this is why I hate working with people with little field experience", drawing a hasty apology from Falman.

When Riza Hawkeye comes across Barry the Chopper in Central, Mustang has Falman interrogate Barry to confirm that he is actually who he is, despite reports that Barry is dead. When the fact is confirmed, Mustang tells Falman the latter need not get involved with whatever the former is getting into. Falman expresses his loyalty to Mustang, that in spite of the dangers of working for Mustang, he fully intends to support him anyways. A reluctant Falman ends up babysitting Barry and keep him away from public view under Mustang's orders.

In the wake of King Bradley realizing that Roy knows about his true nature, Falman is transferred to Northern Headquarters as a means of breaking up Mustang's group. In chapter 65, it is revealed that shortly after his transfer to Northern Headquarters, Falman was promoted to Second Lieutenant and was transferred again to Brigg's Fortress (though is disappointingly assigned to menial task, like icicle removal), where he is reunited with Edward and Alphonse.

When Brigg's Cliff comes under attack by Sloth, Falman and the Elric brothers help defend the fortress by forcing Sloth outside, where a combination of fuel oil for Major General Armstrong's tanks and the freezing cold temperatures common to the northern region paralyze Sloth. Since Major General Armstrong sensed the Elrics were hiding something from her, she ordered her men to arrest Ed and Al for their own protection, and ordered Falman arrested since he knew the Elric Brothers. Later, while out of earshot of the men a Brigg's Cliff, Falman helps the Elric Brothers determine the origin of the tunnel Sloth dug by providing Ed with a map of Amestris, a compass, and information on the major battles the country had been involved in since its creation. With the data Falman supplies, Ed draws a transmutation circle around Amestris, which surprises Falman. When Major General Armstrong considers her next move, Falman suggests that she ask Mustang for help; however, Armstrong declines to do so. In a more recent appearance, Falman is seen on the phone talking to Breda regarding the recent events on the northern and western frontiers, Fuery on the frontlines in the south, and how Mustang must be holding up in Central.

As the names of all military personnel in Fullmetal Alchemist are army and aviation-derived (the P-51 Mustang, Howard Hughes, and Breda Meccanica Bresciana, for instance), it is possible that "Falman" is a mistransliteration of "Farman". Unlike his anime counterpart, Falman has apparently never been a subordinate of Maes Hughes. In addition, he did not have to beg to be transferred to Central with Mustang, and was chosen instinctively like the other four and had become one of Mustang's group soon after the Ishvalan War.

[edit] Kain Fuery

Master Sergeant Kain Fuery is a kind young man who cares for animals and everyone else. He was the one who brought Black Hayate into the Eastern Headquarters, though he freaked out about Riza's methods of training. He is part of Roy Mustang's group and is the lowest-ranked member. Fuery is extremely talented with radio signals. He has been shown to use a FN model 1910 against Gluttony as he threw a Webley revolver to Hawkeye. Both guns most likely belonged to her. More recently, he was shown on the front lines of battle with a rifle of unknown make.

Fuery and Black Hayate save Riza when she is ambushed by Gluttony at the top of a tower where she was using a sniper rifle to protect Havoc, Falman, and Barry the Chopper, who were fighting below. In the wake of King Bradley realizing that Roy knows about his true nature, Fuery is transferred to Southern Headquarters as a means of breaking up Mustang's team. Most recently, he has been seen fighting on the frontlines in a battle in the south.

Fuery may be a mispronunciation. It is believed his name was to be Huey, like the army helicopter. There is no "hu" sound in Japanese; the "letter" that "hu" would be theoretically is "fu". Since there is no confirmed English spelling of his name, his first name has been written as both Cain and Kain, and his last name as Fuery, Fury, Feury, and Huey.

[edit] King Bradley

Main article: King Bradley

[edit] Hakuro

Major General Hakuro is one of the top-ranking officers in the military. Near the beginning of the series, he is held hostage on a train by Bald while he is returning home from his vacation, Bald and Mustang make a deal to swap Hakuro for an agent of Bald's gang. Hakuro has his left ear shot in half by Bald for criticizing his plan, but is saved by Ed and Al.

General Grumman later mentions that Hakuro will be the one replacing Mustang after the colonel is transferred to Central from East Headquarters.

It is possible his name was intended to be "Halcrow," and thus he may be named for Halcrow Group Limited, a British company specializing in maritime projects.

[edit] Basque Grand

Brigadier General Basque Grand is the Iron Blood Alchemist, and was one of several State Alchemists who participated in the Ishval Extermination Campaign. His role in the manga is more of an enigma, as he was supposedly killed by Scar beforehand and thus not actually seen in person, although numerous characters discuss and talk about him now that he is gone.

He was heavily involved as an overseer in the 5th Laboratory during the military's experiments to create Philosopher's Stones, an investigation the Homunculi were directly involved in as well, leading to some speculation as to whether Grand and the Homunculi are somehow linked. In chapter 52, the meeting between the generals they talk about Grand "even if only by name he was the one responsible for the 5th Laboratory", and "in the case traces of human experiments are found we can make him responsible for all of it", putting the blame solely on Grand. In the end of chapter 58 he made a small cameo during the flashback, he had a few scars on his face (across his nose and chin) and carried a Kar98-type rifle.

In chapter 60, Grand has made what could be considered his first significant appearance, as the chapter continues into a flashback of the Isbalan extermination campaign. Apparently, he was called into a mission after Armstrong refused to follow a higher officer's (Brigadier General Fessler) order to kill off Ishvalans in an unclaimed district. It was in this chapter that Grand revealed his alchemic abilities. He wears a set of gloves (presumably iron, like his name may imply) that have Latin words scrawled onto them and uses punches or forceful hand movements to perform alchemy, like Armstrong. Since there is no circle shown on his gloves, he brings his knuckles together beforehand to form a ring, similar to Armstrong hitting his fists together and Ed clapping his hands to transmute. In a scene where he uses his ability to assault an enemy district, he punches a stone wall to create dozens of cannons and chains with blade tips. Due to this, it is questionable whether he received his name based on his alchemy or on some personality or character trait (though the weapons he creates did seem to have a metal sheen to them, implying he may have somehow transmuted the stone into iron).

Despite being a power-hungry character in the anime, Grand does not seem to show it yet in the manga, and even does something to make him likeable in chapter 60. After the important religious figure, Roug Roa, requests to see King Bradley in order to stop the killing, Brigadier General Fessler refuses and tells the soldiers to continue the extermination campaign. As he screams the order at them, Grand calmly comes up to him and point-blank range shoots him in the heart with his rifle, all the while telling Fessler that about twenty percent of the officers have met their death in the war not from the Ishvalans but from subordinates of the Amestris army. As Fessler bled to death on the floor of the command post the soldiers that witnessed the shooting (including Maes Hughes) stood by and agreed that it was just a stray bullet from battle. After Fessler's death, Grand assumed command of the soldiers in Ishval and agreed to take Roug Roa to see Bradely. Drawing from these actions, it could be said that Grand is a man who does not mind death in the midst of battle, but does not revel in it so much that he will ignore quick or peaceful resolutions. Also, judging by an earlier statement he made in chapter 60, he does have pride in being a soldier ("I'm the Iron Blood Alchemist! Iron and Blood! Might and Manpower! If I don't lead the attack, who will?!!").

In an Omake, it was stated that he was killed by Scar when walking back home completely drunk. However, as this is an omake it may have been a joke.

A common unofficial translation has his family name as Gran but official materials have consistently written his name as Grand with the ending French silent "d."

[edit] Yoki

First Lieutenant Yoki was in charge of the mines in Youswell and was a very corrupt yet cowardly man who depended on henchmen to do his dirty work. He rose to his position through massive bribes. His influence on the people of Youswell was profoundly negative: not only did he levy heavy taxes on the people, he also lowered their wages, virtually bankrupting the city residents.

In chapter 3, Yoki met Edward Elric and wanted to bribe him in order to have connections with the people in Central and rise ranks even further. With the intent of leaving such a poor town, Yoki sold the deed of the town to Edward in return for gold. Since gold transmutation was illegal he agreed to give the deed as if it were free and made a memorandum. Edward then turned all the gold back to stone and told central of Yoki's incompetence, making Yoki lose all of his power, money, and influence.

After losing everything, Yoki aligns himself with a band of Ishvalans until he could get his revenge on Edward Elric and the military members who discharged him for the Youswell incident. However, in chapter 26, he would eventually betray them in order to claim the bounty placed on Scar's head. Later in chapter 33, it shows that Scar has taken Yoki to live with him as his servant and heads towards Central since they both couldn't stay with the Isbalian band due to his betrayal. In chapter 43, Yoki finds Mei Chan passed out in the street. He then proceeds to try and take any valuables on her, however Xiao-Mei fended him off. Yoki then saved Mei Chan hoping it would stop Xiao-Mei's hostilities. It seems that he enjoys telling Mei that he is Scar's master, when in fact it is the other way around.

Recent chapters show Scar and Yoki travelling north directly from Central in order to the military's divert attention from Dr. Marcoh and Mei, who are travelling up north from the east to recover Scar's older brother's research. In chapter 71, when Ed's party and Mei Chan's party met again by chance, he got mad at Elrics brother since they didn't recognize him. In chapter 73, he used knowledge learned from when he owned Youswell to help Marcoh, Mei and the others escape through the mines (much to his joy and pride of being "useful").

In chapter 80, he mocked the now insect-like Envy, who quickly launched out at Yoki. Envy threatened to kill him, but since no one seemed to care if Yoki would die he let go of him.

[edit] Maria Ross

Second Lieutenant Maria Ross is put in charge of taking care of the Elric brothers during their stay in Central. She is a subordinate of Major Alex Louis Armstrong and the partner of Sergeant Denny Brosh. She's a serious person when needed to be, sensible, but overall a kind woman.

She and her partner were assigned the task of guarding the Elrics in Central due to Scar's previous attempt on Ed and Al's lives. While they appreciate the concern, Ed and Al view Ross and Brosh more as annoying "chaperones" than actual bodyguards. Ross and Brosh help the Elrics find Dr. Marcoh's notes on how to create a Philosopher's Stone and later rescue them after the brothers are badly hurt at the military's 5th Laboratory. Thanks to Ross, they are brought to a clinic run by a friend of hers rather than a military hospital to ensure what Elrics were researching prior to their investigation of the 5th Laboratory is not uncovered their military superiors. Ross and Brosh literally knock some sense into Edward while reprimanding him for disobeying Major Armstrong's orders not to investigate the lab and putting himself and Alphonse in such danger. Ross tells Edward that while he is capable of taking care of himself, he is still a child and should know that he can trust adults like herself and Brosh.

In the manga, she is accused of murdering Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. With the help of Mustang and his gang she fakes her death in Central and flees to the country of Xing to the East. Before departing she meets Edward and asks him to not tell anybody about her escape including her family and Sergeant Brosh, in order to protect them. Grateful for Mustang's help she asks that Armstrong and Breda convey to Mustang that she would risk her own life and return if he should ever need any help from her.^[16]

As many of the military personnel in Fullmetal Alchemist are army/aviation-derived, it is possible that she is named after the Canadian Sir Charles Ross of the Ross Rifle.

[edit] Denny Brosh

Sergeant Denny Brosh, almost always seen with Lieutenant Ross, is rather nosy and lazy yet good natured and amusing when he wants to be. He has a resemblance to Edward. Like Ross, he also works under Major Alex Louis Armstrong. He loves to tease Ed about Winry, until one point when Ed becomes very annoyed, he accused him as "lovey-dovey sergeant", causing him to fall in despair (humorously). It is hinted that he had some feelings toward Maria Ross.

In Central, he and Ross are assigned as bodyguards for the Elric brothers and attempt to help them find Dr. Marcoh's notes. They later rescue Edward and Alphonse after the two brothers are badly hurt from their investigation of the 5th Laboratory. Brosh and Ross literally knock some sense into Edward at the hospital where they have taken the brothers while reprimanding him for undertaking something so dangerous after Major Armstrong forbade them. After Edward informs them they need not be so polite towards him despite his higher military rank,^[17] Brosh treats Edward in a more casual manner. They do the same "treatment" with Al before do it with Ed, which injures Brosh's hand (since he used it to smack Al, whose body is an armor).

In the manga, after Armstrong goes on "vacation" (in reality, he sneaked off with Edward to find the supposedly dead Maria Ross) in the east, Brosh (who had become very depressed with the loss of Ross) greets him and asks the Major about his vacation. Recalling that Ross had warned him that Brosh was incapable of keeping a secret and could not lie to save anyone's life, Armstrong avoids telling Brosh the truth concerning Ross, but does slip Brosh the same hint Mustang gave him to tell him Ross was in the east.^[18]

[edit] Sheska

Private Sheska was a librarian who was responsible for organizing and keeping records of all of the books in the First Branch of the Central City library.^[19] She is known for her tendency toward hysterical panic as a coping mechanism, as well as a fanatical love of books. By the time the Elric brothers had arrived back in Central, she has been fired from the library for "lackluster performance" (meaning she would always be reading books when she was supposed to be working). Sheska has a photographic memory when it comes to books, and her ability to recite them verbatim enabled the Elric Brothers to obtain Tim Marcoh's notes, which were destroyed in a fire created by Lust and Gluttony.

She is recruited (or rather, "kidnapped") by Hughes to help him work at military tribunal of East Area, whose records (which Sheska had also read and remembered) had also been destroyed during fire on 1st Branch of the Central City Library. After Hughes' death, she has been seen giving Mustang access to military records he needs in order to research the circumstances behind Hughes' death.

Sony's Aniplex anime DVDs and website spell her name as Sheska, although FUNimation's anime DVDs and television closed captioning spell her name as Scieszka (similar to Polish term Sciezka standing for "path" or "trail", specifically one well-traveled).

[edit] Zolf J. Kimblee

Major Zolf J. Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist, is an ex-war criminal and a veteran of the Ishval War. His alchemy title refers to his use of sulfur in the human body to create explosive fluids, turning people into living bombs.

With a far more subtle, polite approach to evil than his Anime counterpart, the Manga's Kimblee spearheaded the Ishvalan Extermination Campaign, and was one of the few, if not the only, State Alchemists to utilized the full power of the Philosopher's Stones fabricated at Lab 5. His personality seems almost split in two; at times he can be polite, if curt, straightforward, rational, and "civilized." He even seemed to have a certain respect for Winry's parents because of their devotion to their duty. However, in battle he displays an uncanny and foreboding demeanor in favor of destruction and damnation (he once reprimand Riza and others for being "ununderstandable", for not accepting their role as murderers, as soldiers, despite many humans they killed), using one of his own subordinates to demonstrate his destructive powers. Kimblee's powers appear to be much the same as those in the Anime, except that he can transmute and detonate from a distance as well, using the ground as a connecting force, causing huge explosions (though probably it is because his force is imbued with Philosopher's Stone).

In chapter 71, it is stated that he merely sided with the Homunculi because of the power he enjoyed, and that he also loved to see fighting and struggling between beliefs, lives and ideas.

During the story, it is revealed he has an almost-fully photographic memory, showed by his memories of Scar's elder brother's wound, also when he speaks with Miles, who in task of stalling him on Briggs, he almost made him snap by trying to retell every murder he committed in Ishval.

Armed with the Philosopher's Stone, Kimblee was assigned to take out a sector of Ishval that proved highly volatile, which also conveniently housed the Rockbells, whom the Government wanted dispatched in the "crossfire". It was during this time that he encountered Scar and his elder brother. The mad alchemist, however, did not reach the Rockbells before Scar did, and found them already disposed of. Soon after the campaign, Kimblee's superior officers requested the stone be returned, but Kimblee, hoping to secure the stone for himself, ate the stone and killed all the officers therein (except for one who was apparently Envy in disguise). For this affront he was incarcerated for war crimes in the prison near Lab 5, where he has remained until recently.

Since then, Kimblee has been mentioned but ultimately rejected as a potential human sacrifice for the Homunculi's needs. The officials come to the conclusion that they could never force him to try to bring someone else back to life, because he is "a coward" and therefore useless as a sacrifice. As he was rotting in jail, Scar's mind no doubt lingers on the man who destroyed his life and Ishval.

Kimblee is released from his imprisonment, almost immediately after the flashback is over (chapter 63) and is lead outside by a guard that doesn't agree with upper ranked men of the State releasing a man like Kimblee. As Kimblee turns to shake his hand he transmutes the guard's watch into a time bomb. The guard panics frantically, but it turns out only to be a toy bomb. Kimblee is picked up by Envy (once again impersonating a military officer) and is offered a job to recapture Dr. Marcoh who is on the run with Scar. Envy also tells Kimblee to kill Scar as well if Kimblee comes across him and that letting Scar live would hurt Kimblee's pride, gained from his fearsome reputation in the Ishvalan War. Kimblee takes the job, but remarks that the Homunculi must have other reasons for arranging his release from prison. To answer him, Envy tells Kimblee that if Marcoh should run away again from him, Kimblee should erase whatever city/town Marcoh is hiding in from the map altogether.

Kimblee is given a new Philosophers Stone from Envy after regurgitating the one he ate during the Ishvalan massacre, and is told that this new stone was actually created from the lives of people who had worked for Marcoh. Judging from the difference in size and shape, the stone that Envy gave Kimblee is likely more powerful than the one he had previously.

In chapter 64, Kimblee catches up to Scar and Yoki, who he thought was Dr. Marcoh. Kimblee and Scar engage in combat on a train, when they passed by an outside light, both of their identities were revealed to each other by their distinguishing characteristics (Scar's scar, and Kimblee's transmutation circles). Kimblee, having been just released from prison, is physically weakened from his years of inactivity and at a grave disadvantage to Scar, who's been combat-hardened and learned to use alchemy. This disadvantage being too much to overcome, Kimblee is critically wounded when Scar impales him with a pipe. When Scar moves in for the kill, Kimblee escapes by blowing up the coupling connecting their train cars, allowing his end of the train to escape while causing Scar's end of the train to lose momentum and ultimately derail.

Kimblee ends up in the hospital in Brigg's Fortress due to injuries suffered at the hands of Scar. He is approached by Major Miles, who reveals his Ishvalan heritage, to whom Kimblee insists on doing his job regardless. Miles threatens that they will not let a notorious mass murderer simply roam free in the Briggs Fortress and that Briggs is a place where only the strongest can survive. Miles continues by telling Kimblee that he should remain silent and recover because if he gets complacent he will pull out his lifeline if he even thinks of walking out. Kimblee retorts and smiles as he leaves the room that "Ishvalans crack me up!" and is later seen being escorted from the room by General Raven, who winds up being secretly interrogated by Major General Armstrong.

After he is fully healed, he is escorted around Briggs by Miles, who is shocked to discover that Kimblee is completely healed, and meets with the Elrics, making the common mistake of believing that Alphonse is the Fullmetal Alchemist instead of Edward. He subsequently escorts Winry Rockbell to the unsuspecting Elric Brothers, establishing the Führer's implicit threat of using her as a hostage against them.

In chapter 70, he reveals the Führer's orders to Edward Elric: To track down Scar and Marcoh (who was assumed to be with Scar), and "to carve a bloody crest upon Briggs", literally to incite bloodbath on Briggs. He even promises one of the Philosopher Stone to Edward, while stating that as a State Alchemist, he should be prepared to kill, to which Edward replies that he had resolved NOT to kill. Edward accepts the assignment, at first, to hunt down Scar, but later escaped together with Alphonse and Winry, much to Kimbley's dismay. However, in chapter 72, he managed to find them, only to have Scar already make Winry a hostage. Despite that, in chapter 73, he attempted to attack Scar using his alchemy (though Winry is on stage, stopping Ed), getting irritated because he's "looked down on" by Scar.

In chapter 76, Edward knocks one of Kimblee's Philosopher's Stones out of reach and then slices one of Kimblee's transmutation circles open. Kimblee responds to this by asking Edward if he thinks he has won, then reveals the second Philosopher's Stone (the one given to him by Envy) and blows up the building they had been fighting in. Following this explosion, (in chapter 77), Kimblee is searching for Scar again and comes across a large door with an "X" painted across it. He entered the tunnel the door had been sealing off and encountered Pride, who told him to stop searching for Scar and carve a bloody seal on Briggs. Gone missing after an explosion in the abandoned mining town, he was later seen assisting a Drachman artillery unit to storm the Brigg's fortress. This unit was quickly defeated, with Kimblee informing the officer in charge that he did not care who lost as long as there was much bloodshed.

It is possible that Kimblee may have been partially inspired by Alex from A Clockwork Orange given his style of dress at one point in the manga as well as his sociopathic nature.

[edit] Grumman

Lieutenant General Grumman was the commander of the Eastern Headquarters, and Mustang's superior officer during his three year tour of duty in the Eastern Command Center. An old man with gray hair and a moustache, Grumman is a General who takes a lighthearted approach to command. Grumman is an excellent chess player who frequently played against Mustang. When Mustang received orders to transfer back to Central, Grumman gave Mustang his chessboard and pieces as a parting gift. He also extended an offer for Mustang to marry his granddaughter. Most people assume that his granddaughter is Riza Hawkeye. As a final favor to Mustang, Grumman authorized the transfer of Mustang's subordinates (Riza Hawkeye, Jean Havoc, Heymans Breda, Kain Fuery, and Vato Falman) back to Central with him.

While his role in the manga is essentially the same as his role in the anime for the majority of the series, Grumman appears to be gaining more importance in the manga, as he receives a secret request by Mustang in a recent chapter. The nature of this request is still unknown, but given that Olivia Milla Armstrong and her personnel seem to be preparing for an attack and that there has been some talk of getting aid from the east the request Grumman receives may be to aid with an uprising against the corrupted military officers in Central, or to aid with the defense of Brigg's Cliff since the facility seems to be the next target of the homunculi. Of note is Grumman's tactic of initiating romantic relations while on reconnaissance or in situations of duress to disguise his actions, a tactic he seems to have passed onto Mustang.

In chapter 62, when Roy visits "Madame Christmas", he mentions that "Elizabeth-chan has been taken by another man". While it has not been confirmed, this may be his way of referring to Hawkeye's being restationed, as her codename in chapter 37 was "Elizabeth" and she has recently been assigned to the Führer as his personal aide. This subsequently leads to a contact between Mustang and General Grumman, who had left a hidden message inside the queen piece of the chess set he gave Mustang upon the latter's transfer to Central should Mustang need his help.This also shows that both he and Mustang both have alot of Female friends

In chapter 63, Grumman meets up with Mustang disguised as an old woman. (Mustang didn't even know the "old lady" was Grumman until he looked closely at "her"). During this meeting, Grumman tells Roy about General Raven, who wanted to create an immortal army. It is implied that because of his opposition to Raven's plan, Grumman was demoted, as he has been stuck in Eastern Headquarters ever since.

Grumman is named after the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, which made fighter planes during World War II. It is interesting to note that Northrop Grumman is the manufacturer of the E-2 Hawkeye, the likely namesake for Riza Hawkeye.

[edit] Loa

See also: Minor characters of Fullmetal Alchemist

Corporal Loa served in the Ishval war, possibly under Major Armstrong. A large, mostly silent man, Loa is shown to be impressed at the skills of the State Alchemists. He was used by the Amestrian government in an experiment, during which he was turned into a Chimera. He later fell in with the criminal underworld.

[edit] Joliot Comanche

Major Joliot Comanche or Giolio Comanchi in the VIZ translation is the Silver Alchemist and is exclusive to the manga. Comanche fought by transmuting objects into steel weapons. He lost his left leg in the Ishval war, but has replaced it with a peg instead of automail. Despite this apparent handicap, he was apparently quite agile, even performing acrobatic spins on his peg-leg as he fought Scar. Like Kimblee, he had transmutation circles tattooed on his hands, though Comanche went a step further and had them etched all over his hands, rather than just on the centers of his palms. In issue #43 of the manga, he was assassinated by Scar. Scar killed him by snapping his leg and knocking him off a dock, dropping him into the harbor below. Deprived of raw materials to make weapons with, he was easily finished off.

In a recent chapter of the manga, he is shown with a smile on his (partially obscured) face while the State Alchemist prepared for his deployment in Ishval. He is later shown being stretchered away with an injury to his left leg, all the while cursing the Ishabalans out loud. According to Hiromu Arakawa (from her interview in the FMA Perfect Guidebook 2), Comanche's hobby was to make all sorts of strange weapons with alchemy. Following his retirement from the military, he became a grandfather who told stories to his grandchildren, though he tended to be suspicious of them.

He is most likely named after the RAH-66 Comanche combat helicopter, suppose to be deployed in the US Army before being cancelled.

[edit] Storch

Exclusively in the Manga, Storch is Führer King Bradley's personal secretary and advisor. Beset with grim eyes and a drawn face, he can often be seen in the near background during various military events. Recently, he delivered orders to scatter Mustang's group to different points on the map. He is rarely seen.

In one occasion, Envy is shown using his form as disguise.

He is most likely named after the Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch" reconnaissance plane which was used by the Germans in World War II.

[edit] Fessler

Brigadier General Fessler was one of the overseers and tacticians of the Ishval Campaign, specifically the division under which Armstrong and Hughes were stationed. He was a rather heavy-set man who enjoyed fine cigars and personal glory. Due to his brutish and self-aggrandizing nature, Fessler spilled incalculable blood on both sides of the war with needlessly wasteful and dangerous tactics. Blind to his own inept ability, the Brigadier General was "accidentally" taken out by "a stray bullet", which happened to be shot from (then) Colonel Basque Grand's rifle at point-blank range. Hailing from his unpopular and rash nature, the death was deemed accidental friendly-fire by all present, including Hughes.

He may be named after Fieseler, a German aircraft manufacturer.

[edit] Raven

Introduced shortly after the Gluttony incident,^[20] Lieutenant General Raven is a member of the high military command, sporting a casual attitude towards his position and a personable disposition. Unfortunately, these amiable traits merely mask his ruthless intentions under the guise of the military. Interested in the notion of creating a perfect immortal army, he aligned himself, along with the military's chiefs of staff, to the roles the Homunculi provided for them. Although no specific conclusions can be drawn, it is hinted that Raven is responsible for Grumman's reassignment to the East, as well as possible other high-ranking officers who might cause trouble down the road. Mustang initially took Raven for a friend in high places, but as soon as Raven realized Mustang knew a great deal concerning the Homunculi, he betrayed his trust and led Mustang "into the lion's den."

He later reappears at Brigg's Fortress to bring a doctor capable of alchemy to treat Zolf Kimblee (the doctor being one of the men who worked on creating Wrath with father) and then conversing with Major General Armstrong, who is secretly allowing the Elrics, Falman, and her subordinates to listen in on their conversation. Attempting to trick him into revealing information about the state's plans to use Briggs to create a giant transmutation circle, Major General Armstrong finds herself in a difficult position where if she is too obedient, Briggs will become another one of Amestris' tools while retaliation will remove her from power. She allows Raven to see the tunnel the Homunculus Sloth was digging (though she reveals no details concerning what she knows about it) only for Raven to order her to place the bio-soldier (Sloth) back in the tunnel and seal it up for good.

Subsequently, he confronts Edward and Alphonse, who recall Mustang's warnings that the upper echelons of the State Military are aligned with Führer King Bradley and aware that he is a homunculus. The brothers divulge nothing and Raven returns to oversee Major General Armstrong returning Sloth to the tunnel. However, in a fit of fury afterwards, the Major General slashes Raven with her sword, sending him into the fresh cement filling the open Briggs pipeline.

Judging from his advancement toward Olivia Armstrong, and a comment from one of Mustang's "lady links", he seems to be quite lecherous, and considers himself a ladies man.

He may be named after EF-111 Raven, a military aircraft.

[edit] Olivia Milla Armstrong

Major General Olivia Milla Armstrong is an attractive (but outright fearsome) Amestris General charged with the protection of the Amestris/Drachma border,^[21] at a place known as "Brigg's Cliff". She is the older sister of Major Alex Louis Armstrong, although she bears little resemblance to the Strong Arm Alchemist. Major General Armstrong has a calm, collected demeanor, much like her mother; when combined with her strong figure and fearsome blue eyes, Olivia projects a powerful persona, earning the trust of those who serve under her at Briggs Cliff while earning Major General Armstrong the nickname "Northern Cliff of Briggs." Her right hand man is an officer named Captain Buccaneer, and, surprisingly, a soldier of Ishvalan descent named Major Miles.

Severe, straightforward, and serious, Armstrong believes firmly in putting survival above all else. Equivalent exchange means nothing to her and she will take whatever she can if it will contribute to surviving and strengthening her position at Brigg's Cliff. She has no reservations about joining her men in battle, and expects and receives prompt compliance from those who serve under her. Unlike her younger brother, Oliver Milla Armstrong is not a State Alchemist,^[22] and it does not appear that she has any State Alchemists under her command at Briggs Cliff.^[23] Despite this, she is well versed in the use of weapons such as guns and tanks, and rarely goes anywhere without her sword at her side.

When Ed and Al set out for the Northern Headquarters in pursuit of Mei Chan, Armstrong presents Ed with a letter of introduction to be given to his sister in the event that they meet (though he warns Ed it may actually be useless). He also advises Ed that his older sister could be a "very powerful helper".

In chapter 64, when the Elrics first encounter Major General Armstrong, she orders a full-body search of Ed and Al to ensure that they are not Drachma spies. When Ed gives her Armstrong's letter, Olivia simply looks at the envelope and tears it up. She states that she does not read letters of introduction and judges people with her own eyes. Her feelings towards her brother appear to be mixed; she does not even read a word of Major Armstrong's letter, yet she inquires as to how he is and only grumbles in irritation when the Elrics say that the Major is doing very well. When she inquires as to the reason for the Elric Brothers visit to her fortress Ed answers by telling her the truth about his human transmutation, and their current search for Mei Chan. Armstrong shows interest in Mei Chan's rentanjutsu techniques, which she believes can be used to strengthen her position, and decides to aid in the search for the girl. She also sensed that Ed and Al were hiding something from her, but did not press the issue at the time.

Shortly after the arrival of the Elric Brothers, Briggs Cliff comes under attack by Sloth, who breaks through the bottom of the fort and proceedes to cause chaos within the facility. With Armstrong's aid, the soldiers at Brigg's Cliff manage to suppress Sloth's rampage by forcing him outside, where a combination of the fuel oil for Armstrong's tanks and the freezing temperatures common to the northern border paralyzes Sloth. Armstrong then turns her attention to the hole that Sloth dug, sending a team into the tunnel to determine where it originates. She fully expected to find Drachma behind the attack, but after the advanced team she sent into the tunnel returns and reports that it has no immediate end she has second thoughts about the origin of the tunnel. After careful consideration she orders Ed, Al, Bucaaneer, Miles, and Vato Falman to accompany her during her own inspection of the tunnel.

After leading the party into the tunnel and out of earshot of the other soldiers at Brigg's she learns from Ed that King Bradley is a homunculus and that the higher up military officials have been collaborating with him into creating a perfect immortal army. With the aid of then Second Lieutenant Vato Falman, who provides Edward with a map of Amestris and information on the major battles Amestris has been involved in since its creation, Edward outlines a transmutation circle across the country that suggests that Briggs Cliff or the area surrounding it will be the next target of the homunculi. This enrages Armstrong, and she demands to know "what they in Central plan to do with my castle!" When Falman suggests asking Mustang for help Armstrong appears to give the idea some consideration, before deciding against it, saying that she'll have one rival less to compete for power with if Mustang falls from power (though later, she does indirectly contact Mustang through a florist and runs into him when she is forced to return to Central, much to her displeasure). She is also familiar with some of Mustang's subordinates, since her men have had joint training with the soldiers of the Eastern Command.

Shortly after this revelation, Lieutenant General Raven arrives at Brigg's Cliff unannounced. Seizing this opportunity to learn more about the extent of the corruption in Central, Ed asks Armstrong to bait General Raven in hopes that he might provide insight into the overall plan and the role Briggs Cliff will play in it, and Armstrong readily agrees to help; however, nothing has yet come of her "alignment" with those in Central. After divulging all the information she needed, and confirming the Elric Brother's deductions and suspicions, she kills Raven in a fit of rage, (for endangering her lower ranks and for his rather shameless advancement toward her) and had his body buried in the concrete made for the hole Sloth created. She informs Henschel, one of her subordinates who had been especially concerned about the survey team, that before the General arrived, Edward Elric had already made another backdoor for them into the tunnel. The Major General sends a rescue team led by Buccaneer to find the missing survey team (or their remains) with one condition: to recover the team in 24 hours, or else the tunnel will be sealed for good.

In chapter 73, despite the condition, she gives the officer watching the tunnel entrance a dud watch, so even if the 24 hours time limit has passed, the rescue team will be able to return. Shortly Buccaneer leaves the tunnel, the Major General is summoned to Central. Realizing that she would not be able to lie to the Führer regarding Raven's death, she reveals what Raven had told her concerning the Führer and Amestris, she was responsible for killing Raven, and willingly takes his seat within the Führer's inner circle. She agrees to leave Briggs in the hands of another general, though her followers show little concern when this occurs; they are aware that only those who have been stationed at Briggs under the Major General are aware of its inner workings and the familiar enough with the harsh environment of the north to survive and believe that men sent from Central will not last long.

In Chapter 80 it is revealed that she is ashamed of her brother for running away from the battlefield at Ishval, considering him a coward and a shame to their family. In the same chapter one officer shows her the supposedly "immortal armies", while explaining about doctrines that binds the State Alchemist from doing anything that could weaken the Amestris.

In chapter 83, her strength is shown briefly as she persuaded her father, mother and her little sister to leave on a vacation in which her mother persuades the family to go to Xing for their spicy food, and to name her heir of the family, to which her father responded that she will have to duel her brother to be the head of the family as he originally wanted her brother to be the head. It's then shown in the next six panels that she defeated her brother with her sword with such ferocity she nearly killed Alex, earning her the rights to the house. Alex figures out that she sent her family away so they could not be used as hostages by the Führer; Olivia affirms this with a smile before "casually" throwing Alex out of the house.

Due to the extreme cold at the Drachma border, Olivia Milla Armstrong and her men appear in heavy coats with shoulder pads to denote their respective ranks, and spend a considerable amount of time indoors. Armstrong's men have done extensive research into designing new equipment that will work in the subzero temperatures, while simultaneously updating older equipment to withstand the freezing conditions of Brigg's Cliff, and for increase firepower compare to the other armies making them the most powerful army in the entire nation.

Although no specific mention has been made as to the amount of time Major General Armstrong has been stationed at Brigg's cliff, she does remember an incident which occurred twenty years ago (before she was stationed at Briggs) in which an unknown person or persons (in reality, Izumi Curtis) were assaulting soldiers on patrol and stealing their supplies. She was also unaware of the corruption of the higher ranking Generals in Central, suggesting that she may have been stationed at Brigg's Cliff for quite some time, but when she arrived to central with first hand account of the other generals and with information from Edward she immediately sees it.

[edit] Buccaneer

Captain Buccaneer was stationed in the north with a detachment of Amestrisian soldiers protecting the Amestrisian-Drachman border with Major General Armstrong. A large, heavyset man with a thin mustache and an oriental looking face, Buccaneer is an officer who takes his military service seriously. He is armed with an M1913 Automail, known as the Crocodile for its resemblance to a crocodile's mouth and its powerful ability to crush a person's limbs, whether natural or artificial, after winding it up. His automail appears to be based from a chainsaw. He also has a net gun, holstered on his left leg, that he uses to capture enemies alive, and is armed with a Mauser C96 pistol. In chapter 70, he is shown with another automail, M1910R "Mad Bear", outfitted with diamond claw, perfect for close-quarter combat.

He initially accosted the Elric brothers from the Amestrisian side of the Amestris-Drachma border, accusing them of being Drachman army infiltrators. Later on, he realized that they came from Central City. During Major General Armstrong's conversation with Lieutenant General Raven, Buccaneer was one of the few people allowed to listen to the coversation.

He dislikes Edward Elric for several reasons, though mostly for having a higher rank than him, though he is younger, smaller, and more reckless, and for having a cute girl as a mechanic, whereas he got stuck with an old man for his mechanic.

Like most FMA characters named after military weapons and such, he was most likely named after the Buccaneer aircraft formerly used by Britain and the United States.

[edit] Miles

Stationed up north at Brigg's Fortress, Major Miles serves as Major General Armstrong's assistant, a job that he has performed since enlisting in the military. Miles is somewhat unusual given his heritage - while members of his family, including his grandmother, father, and, incidentally, his wife, are of all different races, he has inherited his Ishvalan grandfather's dark skin and distinct red eyes. Miles hides his eyes behind a dark pair of glasses to keep his lineage a secret from prying eyes, although he has been known to show them to the people he works with at Brigg's Cliff. He happens to be a kind person, especially when Edwards scoffs at his heritage when he complains that he had some trouble with Ishvalans when he reacted with a calm face. He also explains that because of his Ishvalan heritage, many people cannot simply talk easily on same level with him, and tends to see him with pity, which is why he always wears his glasses. He is happy that Ed actually had some nerve to talk back at him, to counter his insult aimed toward Ed as Amestrian.

Miles enlisted in the army before the campaign to annihilate the Ishvalans, but did not meet the requirements to be exterminated along with his Ishvalan relatives and was spared. While he despised the military for its actions, Miles held doubts as to why the Major General continued to use him as her assistant. She reveals she believes discrimination of any kind on battlefield would result in more deaths within the army and in a place like Brigg's, nothing is more important than survival. For a person like herself, who is an Amestrisian by birth, upbringing, and blood, she needs a person with a diverse background like Miles in order to stay at the top and maintain a sturdy but flexible army.

Not surprisingly, he despises Zolf J. Kimblee and found the task of stalling him while the Major General dealt with General Raven to be an unpleasant task. Miles later leads Briggs' search time together with Kimbley to hunt down Scar (while secretly also searching for Xingese alchemist Mei Chan). Subsequently, he finally apprehends Scar, who has already been defeated by Elrics in addition to two human-chimera State Military officers from Central, who were incapacitated by Scar. Miles introduces himself to Scar as his "red eyed brother" and explains that he was in the military to change the country's perception for Ishval and the people from inside, even though is not an easy job. He also explain that Major General was the one who encouraged him to do so.

He is possibly named after the Miles Aircraft company that used to make biplanes during World War II or the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (or MILES for short) used by various armies in combat training.

[edit] Henschel

Second Lieutenant Henschel is another one of Major General Armstrong's assistants aside from Major Miles. When Lt. General Raven orders the sealing of Sloth's tunnel, Henschel protested against the Major General's actions, believing that lost members of the survey team sent into the tunnel earlier could still be alive and need rescuing. Though the protest appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, the Major General later reveals (after Raven's death) that she had the Elrics create a backdoor to the tunnel.

Henschel is one of the members of the search-and-rescue team sent to find the lost scouting party; after finding only two traumatized survivors of incident, Henschel and his team leave the tunnel.

He is possibly named after Henschel & Son, a German company producing tanks and military aircraft.

[edit] Smith

Warrant Officer Smith is another officer stationed at Fort Briggs in the north. He is seen as a member of the recon squad sent to investigate the tunnel under the fort. When the search failed to turn up anything interesting, Smith was sent back by his Lieutenant to report to the General. The squad was then attacked by Pride, who slew all of the squad but Smith. Smith nearly made it to the exit on his horse, but Pride caught up to him and amputated his arm. Smith was never seen again, but his now-insane horse escaped, with Smith's lost arm tied to it. Seeing this grisly sight, General Raven ordered the tunnel closed.

He may be named after gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson.

[edit] Henry Douglas

Colonel Henry Douglas first appeared in Chapter 34 of the manga. A stern man with an even sterner personality, Colonel Douglas is very by the book and no nonsense leader. Detailed with the military police command, he was responsible for detaining Maria Ross as a prime suspect in the death of Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. He gave the order to active military police officers to hunt down and apprehend or kill Maria Ross if she chooses to resist arrest.

Later on, he lectured Roy Mustang for going "too far" when he "killed" Maria Ross after Barry set her free during a siege in a State Military prison.

He appears to be named after the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had made planes such as the Douglas DC-3 aircraft formerly used in military service.

Interestingly, he shares the same last name as Juliet Douglas, the Führer's personal secretary in the anime.

[edit] Bermouth

Mentioned in Chapter 60, Second Lieutenant Bermouth served in the Ishval Civil War alongside Lt. Colonel Hughes and other State Military personnel. He had witnessed the "accidental death" of Brigadier General Fessler, who was shot by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Basque Grand.

[edit] Focker

Not much information is available on Captain Focker, except that he is stationed in Central at the Amestrisian Army's main headquarters and apparently worked under Maes Hughes. He appears to know Sheska on a given name basis and appears to be her immediate superior in the military given that he warns her not to open the storage archives for unauthorized personnel after she does so for Mustang. In truth, the one who gives Sheska the warning is actually Envy in the guise of Focker.

He appears to be named after Fokker, an aircraft manufacturing company infamous for producing fighter aircraft for the Germans in World War I, notably the Red Baron's.

[edit] Yakovlev

Yakovlev works under the Personnel Affairs Department in the State Military. He, alongside Storch, is responsible for handing out the orders to reassign most of Roy Mustang's subordinates to various commands so as to prevent him from telling them the real truth about their leader. Interestingly enough in a later episode of the FMA anime a character strongly resembling Yakovlev appears ordering another soldier to smash open a hollow statue containing Alphonse Elric.

He is named after the Yakovlev Design Bureau in Russia, known for creating the line of Yak biplanes and fighter planes, the former famous in World War II when they engaged German forces in combat.

[edit] Rebecca Catalina

First Lieutenant Rebecca Catalina is introduced in chapter 83, though her first appearance is in Simple People, the gaiden chapter which appears in Book In Figure: Red, and she also appears in a photograph alongside Riza Hawkeye on the chapter 53 cover page. She is stationed at Eastern Headquarters, where she apparently is frequently harassed by Lieutenant General Grumman; while practicing on the firing range, Grumman gets her attention by slapping her on the "bottoms". She is a good friend of Riza Hawkeye and visits her in Central for "a little vacation time", where she complains about harassment from Grumman and jealously remarks upon Hawkeye's unusually quick rise in the military from working for the Colonel to becoming the Fuhrer's personal aide.

Rebecca reveals that the Northern Army has postponed its usual joint winter training session with the Eastern Army and other non-essential activities because of skirmishes with Drachma and the Northern Army has opted instead to participate in a training session with the Eastern Army in the east. She also passes on Grumman's message of "the promised day" on to Hawkeye by slipping a piece of paper into Black Hayate's collar when she "hugs" Hayate after she demanding that Hawkeye to hook him up with a "male" and tells her to say hello to Jean Havoc for her; Hawkeye takes the suggestion to conceal the message as a cigarette in order for Havoc to deliver the message to Colonel Mustang.

She may be named for the PBY Catalina, a flying boat used in World War II by the Americans.

[edit] Darius

Major Darius was one of Kimbley's henchmen sent along Miles to locate Scar in the abandoned mining town of Baschool. When he suggested Winry to stay back at headquarters, Winry respond with cries, makes him uneasy and try to not focused to Winry, when actually it was a ruse that enable Winry to enter Alphonse without getting noticed. Like Kimbley, he was confused too when he found out that the Elric brothers and Winry had escaped from their sight.

He's revealed to be a chimera in Kimbley's service, with a gorilla-like appearance. Edward is severely wounded when Kimbley destroyed the building, with no regard of Edward, Darius and Heinckel. Despite losing blood profusely, Edward used alchemy to free Darius from the debris before passing out. Heartened by this and upset at Kimbley's betrayal, the two former henchmen decide to help Edward up and follow Scar and the others.

[edit] Zanpano

Zanpano is one of Kimbley's bodyguards from Central with typical Caucasian looks including blonde hair and wears glasses. He happens to be a human-chimera hybrid who was suppose to target Scar before defecting to Edward and the others after Alphonse persuaded them not to give up hope of being able to live normal lives when Major Miles and a platoon of Brigg's Cliff soldiers captured them. He later joined up with Dr. Marcoh in escaping Baschool, and they laid low in an Isbalan refuge camp for a while. In chapter 78, it seemed like he was betraying the group when he told the homoculi their position, but it turned out it was a trap to take down Envy. After a difficult fight, his assistance helped Dr. Marcoh to capturing Envy.

His rank is unknown. Zanpano's chimera form appears to be based on a Wild boar.

[edit] Jerun

Another bodyguard of Kimbley from Central with black hair and skin, First Lieutenant Jerun is also a human-chimera hybrid like his partner Zanpano. He defected to Edward's party with Zanpano after they Alphonse persuaded him not to give up. Like Zanparo, he was apprehended before joining up with Dr. Marcoh and the others who escaped from Baschool before he joined with Zanpano and Dr. Marcoh to kill Envy.

His Chimera form appears to be based on a poison dart frog.

[edit] Heinckel

Major Heinckel is the fourth of Kimblee's bodyguards. A tall, mustachioed man, Heinckel remains mostly silent while in his superior's presence. When in chimera form, however, he is a brutal fighter and very talkative, in stark contrast to his demure human form. When he, like the others, is left to die by Kimblee, he helps Ed by removing an iron beam that had impaled him. He and Darius then take Ed to a doctor. When the group meets up with Greeling, Ed swears to be his servant to win him to the side of good; this leads to Heinckel and Darius beating him up.

His chimera form is a lion, which he takes great pride in.

He may be named for Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, a German company that produced bombers for the Luftwaffe.

[edit] Black Hayate

A true dog of the military, Black Hayate was a little puppy that Kain Fuery picked up on a rainy street one day out of pity. Since he couldn’t keep the dog himself (he lived in a dormitory that did not allow pets), the puppy was eventually adopted by Riza Hawkeye (who named the puppy herself).

Unfortunately, Riza is a rather stern owner, as revealed in a manga omake. She proceeded to scare the puppy (and all of Mustang's staff) by shooting an outline of bullets around him (while not injuring the dog, proving her marksman ability) when he urinated on the office wall. Many readers fail to note that this was most likely intended as a joke regarding her stern personality, and not how she actually trains the dog. Despite Riza's harsh methods of discipline, Hayate is a way for her to show her more compassionate side, as opposed to the cool, stone-faced officer that she usually is.

Later, Fuery and Black Hayate saved Hawkeye from being eaten by Gluttony in chapter #38. They manage to hold the Homunculus off long enough until Roy Mustang saves them all from being eaten. Hayate is very energetic and friendly, as seen in chapter 58, when he playfully tackles Edward when he walks through Hawkeye's door.

The convention of naming Mustang's staff after famous aircraft extends to Black Hayate, whose namesake is the Nakajima Ki-84 Hayate, a World War II-era Japanese fighter plane.

As for Hayate's breed, it is officially unknown, but judging by his size, markings, and apparent intelligence (he understands when Hawkeye tells him to 'stay with the Sergeant', indicating that he knows both the meanings of "Stay" and "Sergeant") it is likely that he is at least partially Shiba Inu of the black variety.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• The official website of Fullmetal Alchemist
• Fullmetal Alchemist character bios

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