Character Profiles: LTC Wesley Fassbender (Patreon)

  Lieutenant-Colonel Wesley Fassbender was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1956. He joined the Army at 18 as an Infantry soldier and was trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1974 by a cadre made up almost entirely of Vietnam War veterans. He spent six years on Active Duty and got out, including a tour in Germany which was an eye-opening experience for him.

After leaving the Active Duty Army, he decided to stay with the Reserves “just for awhile”. It turned into a career for him as he attended Utah State University and joining ROTC to become an officer. Wesley Fassbender –no relation to the famous actor Michael Fassbender and only aware of him because people ask about it—eventually got a job in Salt Lake City where he met his future wife, Sandy. 

Sandy is a member of the LDS Church (the “Mormons”) and Wesley joined the Church to marry her. Wesley was a pretty straight-laced kid growing up and not a hard partier, so giving up alcohol and coffee wasn’t a big deal for him. He did, however, keep his extensive and accidental collection of coffee mugs, now using them for hot chocolate instead. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Fassbender is a soft-spoken and gentle man who tries to do what is right but can often seem detached and unaware. He has a genuine concern for his soldiers and his primary concern is to get through their deployment with as little drama as possible.