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1987 Outback: Survivalist
Outback went on to play a major role in a story arc that stretched across issues #61 to #67, in which a team consisting of Outback, Snow Job, Stalker, and Quick Kick infiltrate the Soviet republic of Borovia on a rescue mission. The four were discharged from the service and their personal records were erased during the mission, giving the Pentagon complete deniability in the event of capture. The team headed to Borovia disguised as various representatives for a handful of nations, with Outback posing as the emissary of an Arab oil Sheik. However, the mission goes very badly, and everyone but Outback is captured and sent to a gulag, while Outback flees the nation of Borovia under Stalker's orders, as Stalker wanted someone to get out with the real story of what happened to the mission. this led to the first direct crossover between Special Missions and the main series, in which Outback's escape is chronicled. When international news breaks of the capture of three mysterious men captured on Borovia on a rescue mission, the Joes recognize their teammates, and realize that Outback had escaped. This leads some of the team, Leatherneck in particular, to assume that Outback abandoned the others to save himself. After his return, he is debriefed by the government and returns to the PIT in Utah, but his homecoming is very tense, as many Joe's are unhappy to see him, given their assumptions of what happened and the fact that no one on the team knows for sure what really occurred. Things are further complicated by Outback being under orders from the Pentagon not to discuss the details with anyone who does not have a 'need to know'. The practical result of this is Outback feigning ignorance of the entire affair in Borovia when the other Joe's question him on the matter. Leatherneck presses the matter, insulting Outback and threatening him, prompting Outback to pull a survival knife of Leatherneck, leading to a momentary standoff. (This is arguably the most tense moment of internal friction found in the original RAH stories.) Once Stalker and co. are rescued by Storm Shadow and his team, they return and Stalkers tells Outback that the knowledge of his escape kept them going, as Stalker was confident that he was able to get the truth out regarding what happened.