Frank Mason served as the United States Secretary of Defense under President David Bowers during the Information Warfare Attacks and the events of the East Asian Crisis in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.
Biography[]
2007: Cyber Attacks/East Asian Crisis[]
In response to North Korea and China's blockade of Japan, Defense Secretary Mason sent the USS Clarence E. Walsh to the Yellow Sea to reaffirm the U.S. commitments to Japan. He had hoped that the Walsh, dubbed the world's "foremost electronic warfare platform", would intimidate America's opponents into submission. After both Japan and the Eastern United States fell victim to an information warfare attack that resulted in nationwide blackouts, Defense Secretary Mason began suspecting the North Koreans of having perpetrated the attack. After the 'Walsh was sunk by a North Korean "Super Silkworm" anti-ship missile, Mason tried to push Bowers to declare war immediately, before Third Echelon Director of Operations Irving Lambert clarified the nature of the ongoing conspiracy behind the attacks.
After North Korea invaded South Korea, Defense Secretary Mason quickly rushed to the country's defense, albeit against overwhelming odds. He went so far to suggest that the only way to stop the North Korean army (NKA) was by nuclear means, an option that was not exercised by the President. Mason permitted the use of an EA-6B Prowler to intercept the intelligence Splinter Cell agent Sam Fisher had gathered on the information warfare attack that led to the sinking of the Walsh, which was later shot down by North Korean AA units and subsequently destroyed in a bombing run initiated by Fisher. Mason was later shocked to learn of Displace International's involvement in the crisis, having had numerous contracts with its CEO, Douglas Shetland. When he learned Admiral Toshiro Otomo, the head of the I-SDF, was also a conspirator alongside Shetland, he insisted on military action to stop Otomo. The situation was quietly diffused when Fisher disabled the I-SDF's offensive capabilities and subsequently captured Otomo, ensuring a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Personality[]
Defense Secretary Frank Mason was one of the primary mediators of the crisis in East Asia, where China and North Korea had begun to antagonize Japan in response to their creation of the Information Self-Defense Force (I-SDF). Defense Secretary Mason uses a very hardline approach when dealing with problems. While he encouraged the President to send out troops (and, at one point, to use nuclear devices to stop the Korean conflict), Colonel Lambert managed to talk Mason down, preventing a terrible crisis. Near the end of the crisis, Mason agrees with Lambert to take out Shetland (whose company, Displace International, had contracts with the U.S. government), and capture Admiral Otomo.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Frank Mason was known for his aggressive stance towards terrorist attacks, so much to the point where he would call for war before he had the full story of the situation before him.
- The mission briefings misspell Mason's last name as "Masson".