Thegn of Siar Fordell
Background
Ser John Marshall is the first and current Thegn of Siar Fordell. He was born in December 1982 in Northwest Florida, and is the fifth in a line of men in his family to bear the name John.
Ser John graduated public high school in 2001 and has spent nearly his entire adult life as a soldier. He attended two of the most prestigious military colleges in the country, the Marion Military Institute and the United States Military Academy, where he studied International Relations and Systems Engineering.
Ser John holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) concentrating in Finance. He is married to Jaime, the Lady of Siar Fordell, and is a veteran of two recognised campaigns in Iraq, as well as service in Central and South America.
Military Service
Ser John joined the US Army at the age of 17, serving in a reserve status until accepted into the officer's training program at the Marion Military Institute and from there attended West Point.
He completed Infantry School and Airborne School at Ft. Benning Georgia, and graduated from the Chilean Army's Mountain Warfare School in Portillo, Chile. He is also designated as a Military Emergency Management Specialist, is Combat Lifesaver qualified, and is a certified instructor in small arms.
On Active Duty, Ser John served with the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, and deployed to Iraq during the surge with the 10th Mountain Division, where his battalion was decorated with the Valorous Unit Award.
Currently the Thegn serves on reserve status in Southern California where he commands a composite detachment oriented as a Company strength Security Forces unit.
Micronationalism
Being the second born son, the Thegn had always expected to make a name for himself on his own. After completing his time on Active duty and entering into a reserve status with the military, he founded the Thegn-hold of Siar Fordell in April 2015. Ser John feels that his reserve military service is a fulfillment of his feudal obligations to the greater realm.
In his interactions with other micronations, the Thegn has made no issue describing his disdain for communism - or, rather, the practical implementation of communist and socialist practices, and this has caused friction among the more socialist oriented leaders within the community. Ser John does, however, honor the right of others to have differing opinions, and makes it a point not to push his views on anyone else.
Ser John has used his background with the US Military to offer advice and developed training plans and schedules for multiple other Micronations looking to expand and develop their own militiaries. His emphasis on the silliness of Micronational war, but also on alternative and effective uses of a Micronational Military - IE disaster response, engineering projects, leadership development, etc. is an aspect of his micronational influence that he is most proud of.
The Thegn has managed Siar Fordell not as an isolationist micronation, but still as being very selective of who it allies and associates with. Despite offers and invitations, Siar Fordell, under the Thegn's leadership, has not joined any micronational organizations, and has no plans to in the future.
In August 2015 Ser John was created a Knight of the Order of the Rose by Emperor Thomas I of Zenrax.
In November 2016 Ser John was created a Knight of the Order of Von Steuben by Lady Protector Audrey of Pavia for military services.
In April, 2017 Ser John was created a Knight of the Order of Peace by Sultan Bilal of Shorewell, and in May he was created a Duke of Shorewell.