By the mid-2020s new nation-states and factions were breaking off from the United Earth Government and aggressive activity from the Eastern Bloc Soviet Independent State was on the rise. This coupled with the rise of new and more powerful criminal and mercenary organizations around the world led Brigadier General Joseph Cole of the Southern Cross to propose the creation of an elite special missions force to combat these varied threats. Intrigued by the idea of a team of cross-disciplined military specialists, the Southern Cross created a series of new special forces squads, with membership drawn from all the different specialized branches of the ASC and assigned to different bases around the globe. These squads were dubbed MYTHIC (Multi-disciplinarY Tactical Headquarters for Intelligence gathering and Combat operations) teams, and the team assigned to Dundee Base in Australia was code-named Gryphon Squad.
- Captain (later Major) Thomas Mitchel: Recon Escort Patrol. Squad commander and weapons specialist. Also a skilled tracker and sniper.
- Lieutenant Takashi Osaka: Tactical Air Force. Team pilot and expert in all military aircraft, UEG and EBSIS, including Veritech Logan and AJACS. Also an expert in several martial arts.
- Sergeant Oswald Stavenger: Mountain Offensive Squad. Combat engineer and computer expert.
- Corporal Loren Winfield: Sea Squad. Squad medic and underwater combat expert.
- Corporal Carl Redson: Global Military Police. Intelligence and investigations expert. Also skilled in hand-to-hand combat and assassination techniques.
History
Most of Gryphon Squad's missions remain classified. It is known that they were responsible for the destruction of the Damballah crime family in Shanghalla in mid-2028. In late 2028 the squad were captured by agents of the New World Order while en route to a rendezvous for a covert mission. Most of the other special forces squads were similarly abducted, or killed by the NWO around this time. Gryphon Squad were held for several months and were scheduled to be brainwashed into becoming NWO agents when they were rescued by the 21st A.T.A.C. from an NWO vessel harbored in Montevideo. After a few months of observation the squad was cleared for duty. The remainder of their activities during World War IV are unknown.
During the Second Robotech War the squad went on several espionage and sabotage missions. Gryphon Squad was responsible for sabotaging the engines of the Robotech Masters Heavy Cruiser that had destroyed Fort Gibson, grounding the craft so it could targeted by a later military strike. As the war progressed and the chances for victory for the Southern Cross looked bleak, Gryphon Squad began planning for multiple contingencies. At least some of their plans were worked up in cooperation with members of the 21st A.T.A.C., who were making plans of their own. Corporal Redson was killed on an unspecified mission during the war.
At some point during the later stages of the war Gryphon Squad salvaged at least one nuclear warhead from the wreckage of a sunken submarine. In the final days of the war, as a Robotech Masters mothership began laying waste to Australia, Gryphon Squad recruited the 21st A.T.A.C. for a last ditch attempt to stop the alien vessel. Together the two groups snuck aboard the mothership using an alien Assault Corvette that Gryphon had captured some time earlier. Once on board the primary plan was to make their way towards the center of the ship where the nuclear warhead could be planted with a rigged detonator. The groups were discovered, however, and attempted to retreat. Lt. Osaka and Cpl. Winfield were killed early in the fighting. In the end the last two members of Gryphon were also killed, but the bomb was taken by the surviving members of the 21st. The commander of the 21st, Captain Jack Mace, and two other squad members held off the enemy long enough for the rest of the his squadron to escape, after which Captain Mace manually detonated the bomb and destroyed the enemy vessel.