Justin Redding

Captain Justin Forest Redding (Navy ID No. JU-24-28), callsign “Red Wind,” is a main protagonist in the Foxtrot: Foxes in Arms series. Justin is an animatronic red fox who currently serves as a fighter pilot with the United States Navy. Coming off as generally friendly yet impulsive at times, Justin has close ties with Swefred Hayden, Arthur, and Sewell Snow and, as the oldest of the group, holds them all under protective watch.

Physical Description
Justin is an animatronic fox standing about an inch over 6 feet in height, the main characters’ tallest. His fur is primarily orangish-red, with some white fur on his front torso and his tail’s tip. Justin also has black fur on his ears, forearms, hands, calves, and feet. Justin's skin on his muzzle is tan, while his neck is metallic silver. Justin's eyes are a bright yellow; some describe his eyes as a "golden yellow."

Compared to the arctic foxes, especially Arthur, Justin still has an overall slim build, but it is evident that he's a (tiny) bit more buff than the others.

Justin has three fur tufts on the side of his head, and his hair is arranged in three mid-sized bangs, and later depictions will show him sporting a small ponytail. For attire, Justin commonly wears either a green or blue "Naval Aviation" t-shirt. When on active duty, he'll still have either of those t-shirts, but he'll also wear a green flight suit with his individual patches. And in the cockpit, Justin uses all equipment necessary for a fighter pilot: including an anti-G's garment, flight harness, life preserver, oxygen mask, helmet, etc.

Early Life
Justin was born on June 11, 1978, in Washington DC, the United States of America’s capital city. Even though he was a robotic animal, individuals like him stood out for being able to grow and develop like an organic being. Justin came from a relatively well community and, while privileged, he never thought of himself as being above anyone else, though that attitude would change given time.

During his childhood, Justin would form a close relationship with a Texan animatronic swift fox by the name of Swefred Hayden while also getting acquainted with a Canadian-American animatronic grey fox named Arian Torres. Swefred was as bright and open as Justin was, but Arian was quieter, but he'd still hang with them whenever they went out and did things. Later on, Justin would make friends with a pair of arctic foxes named Arthur and Sewell Snow. And upon getting to know each other, the five would become a close-knit group of friends, even if Arian and even Arthur were a lot more reserved in that way.

As time when on, their more happy lives began to take an unexpected turn. Both Arian and Arthur changed. Due to his more scrawny appearance and socially awkward demeanor, Arthur started becoming a target for teasing (that was just an explanation for why it started, but they really didn't know why it started). All the teasing deeply hurt Arthur, and Justin hated to see that. After witnessing a couple of animatronics teasing Arthur himself and comforting his already hurt feelings, Justin decided enough was enough. He took matters into his own hands and came to Arthur's aid, directly telling the other animatronics to stop messing with the arctic fox, calling them bullies in the process. Needless to say, they got the message and left Arthur alone after that. Arthur couldn't thank Justin enough for what he did, and since then, Justin has become a role model of sorts for the young arctic fox.

In regards to Arian, his overall personality changed for the worse. Even he'd picked up on teasing Arthur for a time and slowly began pulling away from Justin and the others. Eventually, Arian left, and they wouldn't see him as a friend ever again. Arian's departure was a surprise to Justin and the others, and while part of them did end up missing his company, they'd move on from his disappearance.

When they'd come of age, the boys saw their chance for adventure. Since an earlier experience where he got a chance to fly, Justin couldn't get his head out of the clouds and had a desire to touch the sky. And thanks to his father's status as a former naval aviator himself, Justin saw the perfect opportunity to earn his wings in the U.S. Navy. Swefred also expressed interest in the Navy, and the two would even talk to the Snow brothers to join up too. Both Arthur and Sewell were initially hesitant, but they'd come around, mainly because of their lineage and history surrounding the military. Though everyone would take differing paths within the service.

Flight Training
Upon passing his training and inauguration, Justin's journey to becoming a naval aviator began. Beforehand, he'd get accepted into an advanced training program so he could become a commissioned officer. And while Justin would become a naval aviator, Swefred became a Navy medic, and Arthur would command a battleship.

Soon enough, he received that title and was one step closer to achieving his dream. About two years of both primary and advanced flight training would effectively follow Justin's commissioning. During this time, he'd undergo centrifuge training to see if he could withstand high g-forces and get his chance to fly many training aircraft, some including the Beechcraft T-34 Mentor and Douglas TA-4 Skyhawk trainer aircraft.

During his training, Justin learned as much as he could about flight basics, formation flying, instrument navigation, numerous combat tactics, and most of all, carrier operations. Justin would go on to admit that he was incredibly nervous about landing on a moving ship in the middle of the ocean, but that wouldn't get in the way of him wanting to fly in the Navy. His first landing on a ship was aboard the carrier USS John F. Kennedy, and most of his carrier training would come from landing on and taking off from this ship.

A Naval Aviator
After a long period of learning the basics to being qualified for carrier operations, Justin had graduated at the top of his flight school class and finally made one of his childhood dreams become a reality. By the time he was a Lieutenant, he had become qualified to fly the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18, at that time, was still a relatively new aircraft in the Navy's arsenal of aircraft, and to think Justin was one of the first animatronics to fly this newer aircraft.

Justin would then be assigned to a fighter squadron designated Strike Fighter Squadron 242, or VFA-242. This squadron was also relatively new as it was only established several years prior, and it would quickly gain the nickname "Flying Foxes" due to the pilots within the squadron being made up of foxes. This squad would be attached to Carrier Air Wing 3 (CVW-3).

Middle Eastern Deployments
Justin would see some combat sorties occur in the Mediterranean Sea, with the first being launched from the John F. Kennedy supporting Operation Desert Shield and the following Operation Desert Storm. He flew his aircraft in assistance with bombing raids on enemy positions such as bunkers, command and control centers, and radar stations. And while enemy aircraft did pose a threat to Justin and his squadron, they never directly engaged enemy air forces over hostile territory. Though Justin did come into trouble a few times when it came to being targeted by surface-to-air (SAM) sights. Nonetheless, he practically went through the entire conflict unscathed.

Following Operation Desert Storm, Justin would continue to fly in the Middle East skies within later conflicts. He'd fly off the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower’s deck and the USS Theodore Roosevelt during their respective deployments. Operation Desert Fox saw Justin and his squadmates sortie from the carrier USS Enterprise on a four-day bombing campaign against enemy targets in the same countries he'd been to before. Justin ended up becoming pretty effective with his flying skills and his precision in putting munitions on ground targets that he earned the nickname "Red Wind" by enemy pilots and ground forces alike.

By the time of Operation Desert Fox, Justin had managed to climb the ranks and get the title of Lieutenant Commander. And for Desert Fox, Justin acted for the first time as a flight leader as the allied aircraft flew into and out of enemy airspace. Upon the Enterprise's return to Norfolk, Virginia, Justin would reconnect with Arthur. The latter explains that he's left the Navy sooner than expected and an incident that happened to Sewell some years ago. Justin, feeling utmost sympathy for the two younger arctic foxes, decided to put his friends before his career and cut it short so he could spend more time with them.

Life After Resigning
Even after he'd given up his position, Justin still maintained some kind of connection with the Navy and aviation. At first, Justin began to live a more simple life in the port city of Norfolk, Virginia, where Arthur was born decades ago. He chose to live in Norfolk because it was not just Enterprise’s home port but was still one of the Navy’s biggest bases. He could yet be connected with the Navy and the ships that would leave and enter the port.

But all too soon, he decided to move out of Norfolk so he'd be a lot closer to where his friends lived, and at one point, becoming roommates with them. Soon enough, Swefred reconnected with them, and, as Justin would've put it, "it was just like old times." However, this would come to an end after some years as something would change everything.

Like many of the others, Justin would end up returning to active service with the United States Navy to deal with this new foe.

Personality
Justin is generally described as a friendly and charismatic fox. He acted as a role model for Arthur in their early lives and even acted as a secondary father figure toward him in some cases. When Justin first became a fighter pilot, he became pretty cocky and impulsive, but as time went on, those traits would decrease, albeit he’s still quite cocky in some aspects. Justin is also optimistic, very opinionated, quite cunning, wise-cracking, good-hearted, and selfless. Most of his cockiness and optimism could come from the fact that he’s never been in actual danger while in combat. He’s been chiefly on bombing runs and has never come into contact with an enemy jet in a one-on-one dogfight.

While Justin can act impulsive and cocky, he does show love and loyalty to those he cares deeply for. Justin is very fond of those he's close to; he loves hanging out with them whenever he gets the opportunity, and when it comes to meeting new people, he does try and make as good of an impression as possible. And there is one thing to note about the relationship Justin has with Arthur. Even after Justin stood up for Arthur back in their youth, he'll still have tendencies to poke fun at him from time to time. It's not mean-spirited and mostly just innocent fun. However, Arthur always finds it annoying, especially since Justin occasionally says Arthur's a bit too sensitive to specific topics.

Despite any flaws he may have, Justin is a great guy and does whatever he can to make it so others can feel that sense of joy as well. Even if Justin goes on about himself or his squad's reputation, those who know him understand that underneath any cockiness, there's a kind-hearted and good-natured soul who's willing to do what he can for the greater good.

Abilities
Justin has exceptional flying skills. He was noted as one of the best F/A-18 pilots in the Navy, some pointed out as the best in the country. He's been so good that he's even brought in to train newer generations of fighter pilots.

Apart from his piloting skills, Justin also has quite a bit of physical endurance. Already stronger than the average human male, Justin has a lot of stamina which helps him with said endurance in many different tasks. On top of that, Justin is already a pretty strong individual, though he usually doesn't try to use his strength in a fight. Though he will use it if he has to.

Friends and Allies
Swefred Hayden the Swift Fox, Arthur & Sewell Snow the Arctic Foxes

Members of the fighter squadron VFA-242 Red Foxes


 * Felix
 * Shirley
 * Autumn
 * Ash
 * Scout †

Crew members of numerous carriers and other pilots

Enemies
Arian M. "Arthree" Torres

Honors and Awards

 * Naval Aviator Insignia
 * Defense Distinguished Service Medal
 * Navy Distinguished Service Medal
 * Bronze Star
 * Defense Meritorious Service Medal
 * Meritorious Service Medal
 * Air Medal
 * Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
 * Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
 * Navy Expeditionary Medal
 * National Defense Service Medal
 * Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
 * Armed Forces Service Medal
 * Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
 * Navy & Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon

Trivia
While Justin is a skilled fighter pilot, he’s never actually come face to face with an enemy fighter in a one-on-one aerial dogfight.

Some aspects of Justin’s personality are somewhat based on that of Nick Wilde from Disney’s Zootopia.

Justin is the tallest of the main protagonists; this can be linked to the real-world fox species. The red fox is the largest member of the "true foxes" species, and having Justin as the tallest and slightly larger build plays as a reference to this.

On a realistic note, Justin is one of the only animatronics that has the closest match to their realistic base-animal.

Aside from being based on Nick Wilde, Justin can be described as a "Maverick," which may be a reference to the main character in 1986's Top Gun, then LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

Justin, along with Swefred, are the only animatronics not to have nicknames based on their ID numbers.