Gareth Red is an agent with the CSO.
That sort of private, kind of governmental organization, led by a man known as Mr. E., is described by him as, "I was recently approached by a contingent of representatives from each branch of the United States Armed Forces to discuss the possibility of leading a project they're calling CSO, or 'Civilian Special Operations'." The idea was to put together a team of civilian experts "who possess the knowledge and training to accompany select members of special force units to accomplish missions that are considered taboo by the U.S. government". Further, "these missions are not expected to be militaristic in nature, which is specifically why it was decided men and women from the civilian sector should make up the majority of its membership".
My calling him an agent is also a bit misleading. I put that way even though Red does not work specifically for anyone on a steady basis. He is definitely closely tied to the CSO but by and large he goes his own way. And that way always heads into trouble. He does not go looking for it but he definitely does not hide.
We first meet Red when he is more commonly called 'Reggie'. That nickname dates from his time in the Army Special Forces with a specialty as a sniper. In the military, it was common to stencil on dufflebags and foot lockers and print on name tags and above breast pockets the soldier's last name and first initial. "Red, G." was easily translated into Reggie and as nicknames go it was inoculous enough to be unoffensive so he kept it. In the adventures that we have of him, we will see 'Reggie' used primarily with Red coming in a distant second; Gareth was rare.
Red is described as being a large well-conditioned man with a "characteristic huge grin". He is in his "mid-forties by the looks of it, but he hadn't lost an ounce of his Army-days physique. Chiseled jawline, hardened brow, and the ability to smile with his mouth, yet keep his eyes cold and calculating."
There are numerous adventures in which Red takes a part as support for , former park ranger turned agent with the CSO, or Civilian Special Operations. Of that organization we are told the idea was to put together a team of civilian experts "who possess the knowledge and training to accompany select members of special force units to accomplish missions that are considered taboo by the U.S. government". Further, "these missions are not expected to be militaristic in nature, which is specifically why it was decided men and women from the civilian sector should make up the majority of its membership".