David Armstrong

A young private in the U.S. Army. At the beginning of the story, Armstrong, along with his friends Fowley, Kozlowski, and Bormioli, are in training on Malden, under Sgt. Berghoff's command. Armstrong takes part in the initial invasion of Everon and is soon promoted to Corporal. Armstrong was among the many soldiers stranded on Everon after the evacuation, and was captured and briefly detained by the renegade Soviet forces before being rescued by a group of resistance fighters lead by Commander Slava. Armstrong befriends Slava and assists the guerillas in their fight against the occupying Soviets in return for their assistance in contacting NATO command.

Back on Malden, Armstrong soon finds himself in the middle of the Soviet invasion of that island. Having distinguished himself in combat during the operations on Malden, Armstrong is promoted to Lieutenant by Colonel Blake, is given command of his own unit, and is introduced to Major James Gastovski. Together, Armstrong and Gastovski return to Everon seeking the resistance's help in defeating General Guba's forces on Everon. The guerillas are reluctant to trust the Americans, angry at having been abandoned to fight off the Soviets alone before, but they eventually agree to provide useful intelligence.

Triva

 * Armstrong plays key roles in the subsequent invasions of Everon and, later, Kolgujev, successfully leading the initial infantry assaults in both of those operations.