Cerberus Squad

For alternate versions of Cerberus Squad, see Cerberus Squad's Organization Hub

"You got any idea what they call teams like ours? They call us the American Taliban. Because we go in, the middle of the night, people disappear."

―Frank Castle to William Rawlins^[src]

Cerberus Squad, nicknamed by enemies as the American Taliban, was a former covert special operations task force, formed by William Rawlins and Ray Schoonover, as part of the Operation Cerberus and a heroin smuggling scheme.

History[]

Operation Cerberus[]

"This is Operation Cerberus, and you are my dogs of war. The enemy operates without regard to honor or rules. So neither will we. Our mission is simple. We capture, interrogate and execute high-value targets."

―Ray Schoonover to the Cerberus Squad^[src]

Upon starting an illegal CIA operation in Afghanistan, William Rawlins and Major Ray Schoonover founded a task force of elite soldiers from various subdivisions of the United States Armed Forces. The newly formed Cerberus Squad was stationed in Kandahar and their mission was to capture, interrogate, and eliminate high-value targets. The Cerberus Squad also included Morty Bennett and Carson Wolf who supervised the operations alongside Rawlins.^[2]

WRawlinsTorturingAZubair — Ahmad Zubair is tortured and later executed

To both finance and profit from Cerberus Squad's operations, Rawlins used to smuggle Afghan heroin into the United States in the bodies of American soldiers. Cerberus Squad captured Ahmad Zubair who investigated illegal activities within Afghan National Police in Kandahar. Zubair was labeled as a terrorist by Rawlins who tortured him in order to find out who else knew about the operation. When Zubair did not reveal his confidant, he was executed by Frank Castle and buried outside of Kandahar.

The Punisher Marine Days — Frank Castle charges into enemy territory

Afghan insurgent groups caught on to Cerberus Squad's existence and tactics, so they leaked information that a high-ranking insurgent leader was in Kandahar in an isolated compound. Rawlins ordered Cerberus Squad to attack the compound, despite the risk of ambush and a terrain unsuited for helicopter evacuation. The battle proved to be a disaster, with Schoonover losing an arm and most of the squad dead or injured.

The remaining squad members were saved due to Castle's actions, single-handedly fighting his way into the compound and killing the insurgents inside. When returning to base, Rawlins callously and repeatedly asked the surviving squad members if they eliminated their target, unconcerned with the heavy casualties taken. Angry, Castle punched Rawlins in the side of the head hard enough to puncture the orbital socket and blind him in the left eye. With the loss of confidence in Rawlins' leadership and Cerberus Squad's heavy losses, Operation Cerberus was soon shut down and Cerberus Squad was demobilized.^[1]

Members[]

Name	Position	Status
William Rawlins	Founder Tactical Leader	Deceased
Ray Schoonover	Founder Commander	Deceased
Morty Bennett	Supervisor	Deceased
Carson Wolf	Supervisor	Deceased
Frank Castle	Unit Leader	Alive
Billy Russo	Unit Leader	Deceased
Gunner Henderson		Deceased