Shane Schofield is a Marine Officer.
This highly decorated 32-year old, holding the rank of Lieutenant when the series starts but moving to Captain later, was at one point the leader of a special Recon Unit, one of the youngest to ever have such a position, before being transferred to go on special assignments.
Schofield stands 5'10", is thin but sinewy, and has a demeanor that makes him seem far larger than he is. He wears a pair of dark, wrap-around reflective sunglasses to obscure bad scarring around his eyes, a remnant of a mission in Serbia during the Bosnia problem and a session being captured and tortured when the aircraft he was in was shot down. He should have lost his eyesight due to the damage the interrogations did but doctors were able to save his vision, leaving him with horrible scarring and memories. The scars are likely the source for his nickname, also used as his codename, Scarecrow.
Being a member of the Marine Special Forces, Schofield is at the top of his game, commanding respect from his seniors and those who serve under him. Taciturn by nature, the fact that his expressions are hidden behind the shades makes him even harder to read and more intimidating.
The settings for his adventures are quite varied but agree in their remoteness and their exotic imagery. Schofield is an expert with virtually every gun ever created, including the Armalite MH-12 Maghook, a fictitious weapon created for the series which has a grappling hook and a powerful magnet along with incredibly strong filament capable of holding more than a man's weight.
The fourth book is the series is really just a novella, initially released free in Australia as a government initiative to promote reading.