Joel Barrett

Raised in a strongly Catholic middle class family in Atlanta, Georgia, Joel is of mixed caucasian and cherokee ancestry. His father was a military veteran but Joel's main love was for animals and his fondest goal was to be a veterinarian, and his younger brother ended up following the family legacy into the US army. Joel graduated from the University of Georgia's veterinary school and worked as a veterinarian in north Louisiana for three years before the war broke out. In a surge of patriotism, in 1984 Joel volunteered for service with the US army and was assigned to be a dog handler in the Netherlands, arriving just in time for the Soviet attack on West Germany.

Surviving the advance through East Germany, Joel was assigned to escort a US army chaplain whose job it was make contact with a group of Catholic anti-communist activists. At first the mission was a success, but when The Flock appeared on the scene in early 1986, they quickly absorbed the more fanatically religious members of the group and killed the rest. Joel and his commanding officer were ordered to stay in place and gather information. Both of them ended up converting to The Flock's ideology, but the chaplain became involved in an intercinine dispute about theology that resulted in Adelbert judging him a heretic. Joel was required to kill his friend, something he happily did. Ever since then he has been one of Adelbert's most devout followers, although he often mourns the lack of zeal among the Flock's members and has sometimes taken it upon himself to argue with those he sees as less devout.

Joel is of medium height and slightly stocky build with swarthy skin and dark red hair. His face is quite ugly, scarred by childhood acne and worn down by the various atrocities he has seen and taken part in. He doesn't wear an army uniform, instead preferring a civilian shirt and cargo pants, although he still wears his US army issue flak jacket and helmet. He carries an assault rifle and a bowie knife.