Posted in Wednesday Warriors

Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer

Sent into the fictional South American country Val Verde, Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team of crack mercenaries hunt and kill guerilla forces responsible for the kidnapping of presidential cabinet members of Guatemala. But once they discover there’s more to the mission, another enemy surfaces in the jungle, and one by one they die a horrible death—everyone except Dutch.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch

Today, Wednesday Warriors salutes Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, the man who single-handedly defeats the ultimate fighter in a place that for lack of a better term some may call hell.

Having served in Vietnam during the Battle of Huế with former teammate Agent George Dillon (Carl Weathers), Dutch’s only concern when receiving a mission, is to get in and out in one piece, taking his team along with him. Confidence is high, his team also fought in Afghanistan and survived. Who would suspect they couldn’t pull though for this mission? After all, everyone of the old crew shows up for the party:

Jorge “Poncho” Ramirez (Richard Chaves) is the Spanish translator whose ever-present sarcastic wit graces the team.

Billy Sole (Sonny Landham) is the one who senses something amiss when he feels the presence of another entity hunting them. Little does he know how right he is.

Blain Cooper (Jesse Ventura) is the tobacco-chewing cowboy whose weapon of choice is a modified M134 Minigun. He calls it “Ol’ Painless” but in reality, within seconds it can punch a hole in a huge swath of jungle forest.

Sergeant “Mac” Eliot (Bill Duke) is Blain’s best friend, and the man who eventually administers the first wound to the unknown creature. Who are we kiddin’? He’s the guy who takes the first shot and wounds the predator.

Major Alan "Dutch" SchaeferWith his whole team by his side, Dutch doesn’t suspect what lies before him in the jungle to be a threat. Yet, once his team slowly breathes its last, and Dutch has no one but himself to rely on, he takes matters in his own hands. A trained soldier, a survivalist, a gambler, he seizes the opportunity in the environment around him to blend in, vanish, disappear. Little does he know the predator hunting him also has an advantage, and that is to find its prey using its own skill sets at its disposal.

Warrior against warrior, the battle lines are set and the cat and mouse game is on.

Dutch’s keen sense of anticipating his enemy’s next move is what keeps him alive time and time again. Nowhere does it say he should play fair. And to that end, he takes advantage of everything he comes across, rigging it to meet his needs. Dutch will not go down without a fight.

Dutch’s resilience is what makes his character unique. As a formidable opponent—even if the creature he battles is more cunning and better equipped than he is—Dutch will do anything to survive. No matter what the obstacle, no matter what the situation, he will win. It’s within his nature to conquer. He will not go without taking anything and everything with him.

Predator‘s Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer—Wednesday Warriors’ ultimate survivalist.

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What did you think of Predator and the subsequent movies?