- "Coming through!"
— Sledge
Seamus "Sledge" Cowden is an Attacking Operator featured in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. He is one of the 21 operators available from the start of the game.
Biography
Born in the far north of Scotland, Cowden's military father and nurse mother moved to Inverness with him and his three siblings when he was five. His athleticism elevated him to the position of Captain of the 1998 Scotland National under-20 Rugby Union Team. Following a long family tradition of military service, Cowden joined the 3rd UK Mechanised Division of the British Army at age 18. His drive and physique suit the divisions's historical nickname of "Iron Sides." Cowden's first assignment was in the Armoured Division where he studied engineering and specialized in upgrading the infantry combat vehicles. From there, he developed various breaching tactics. After five years of active duty, he was recruited into the SAS, where he holds multiple records in speed and strength. An expert in mechanical, ballistic, explosive and thermal breaching strategies, Cowden is the operator to choose for quick and relatively silent destruction.[2]
Psychological Profile
It's part of my job to understand where the country shapes the person and Specialist Seamus "Sledge" Cowden seems indelibly shaped by the rugged terrain where he was born. It isn't just his imposing presence and athleticism. I can't help but feel that his personality evokes the wilderness as well. He's stoic and proud, though he admits that he can be hot-headed at times. Field reports describe his courage, leadership, and extensive operational experience as much as they mention his unpredictability. He's much more than a "gentle giant as some suggest. […]
Cowden is something of a raconteur, and for much of our discussion, he told me one rowdy tale after another. When he was twelve he cobbled a hang glider together out of boat sails and launched himself off his house. He broke both ankles. During military training, he accidently collapsed his entire sleeping barrack while testing a new breaching technique, and another time he sank a captain's motorcycle by riding it off the pier because he wanted to see how far it would travel on the surface - not far, I gather. His stories aren't just to entertain. They help to establish a comfortable connection. It's such a casual, offhand leadership style. […]
Cowden views his fellow operators as family, Specialist Mike "Thatcher" Baker in particular, who he credits for convincing him to switch to the Caber. Numerous Rainbow operators refer to Sledge as one of the easiest operators to work with. […]
Overall, Cowden is easy-going and unpretentious, though he get ruffled at the mention of politics. A self-proclaimed news junkie, he doesn't shy away from debates. In fact, it's the reason he joined the military, and why one of his brother is currently an elected MP. Cowden understands that while on assignment Rainbow operators don't voice their political opinions and so far there hasn't been any issues. We should trust that he can control his hot-headedness. At least before he's down at the pub.
-- Dr. Harishva "Harry" Pandey, Director of Rainbow[3]
Gameplay Description
A Medium Armored Operator, Sledge wields a specialized Tactical Breaching Hammer, known as "The Caber", which can breach through almost all non-reinforced surfaces and barricades with relative silence. Because of this, Sledge is able to bust through walls, floors, and barricades with a silent yet aggressive pace.
- The Breaching Hammer allows Sledge to break breachable surfaces with a single swing, capable opening holes large enough to shoot through.
- The Hammer can destroy many gadgets with a single blow, some of which are normally invincible or require a few melee hits. This includes Barbed Wire, Deployable Shields, Castle's Armor Panels and Maestro's Evil Eyes.
- The Hammer can't break through non-destructible surfaces or a Reinforced Wall - attempting to do so will only consume durability.
- The Hammer has limited durability, with twenty-five "charges" shown above the hammer's icon (ingame). Breaching a wall consumes two charges while breaching a barricade and hitting anything else (including flooring) takes one.
- Though impractical, Sledge's breaching hammer is capable of killing enemies in one hit, which counts as 2 charges.
- Like other gadgets in the game, Sledge takes a moment to unequip his hammer after using it. This brief delay will leave him vulnerable.
- The Breaching Hammer needs to be fairly close to a wall in order to destroy both sides of the wall. If not, the Hammer will only break the external surface, leaving the internal one intact. This necessitates a second swing, delaying breach and wasting the Breaching Hammer's durability. Roughly within a 1-2 meter distance.
Synergies
- Sledge works well with Operators that also specialize in breaching. In Sledge's case, he is the quietest of such Operators.
- Ash and Buck allow for breaching from a much safer distance than Sledge's Breaching Hammer, but are much louder than his Breaches as well.
- Thermite and Hibana are capable of breaching through Reinforced Walls and Hatches. In Hibana's case, she can do it from a distance and at multiple places. Maverick, while he's also capable of making such an opening, is better off making lines of sight through those walls to cover Sledge if he's breaching from a different angle.
- Thatcher can destroy devices with his EMP grenades, allowing Sledge to focus on breaching the objective.
- Sledge works well with mid to long-range Operators, so Operators such as Glaz can aid him from afar.
- IQ can detect electronic objects, guiding Sledge on which gadgets to destroy if he breaches a wall.
Counter
- Pulse can detect Sledge through his Cardiac Sensor like everyone else, giving his position away for other Defenders to take advantage of.
Loadout
| Loadout | |
|---|---|
| Primary | |
| Secondary |
|
| Gadget |
|
 |
Tactical Breaching Hammer |
- "Uses a Breaching Hammer to breach through destructible surfaces."
— Tactical Breaching Hammer "The Caber" Description
While breaching hammers are nothing new to CTU or law enforcement operations, “The Caber” is unique due to its exceptional size and weight. Such dimensions would be impractical in the hands of most agents but Sledge’s exceptional physical prowess make it a formidable presence on the battlefield, allowing for quick and effective breaches.
Sledge’s breaching hammer was directly inspired by CTU battering rams. There are four kinds of breaching tools: mechanical, ballistic, explosive and thermal. Using sledgehammers or other blunt objects to breach is known as mechanical breaching, and often serves as a relatively quiet supplement compared to the other, more attention-grabbing methods. Mechanical breaching was used during the Iranian Embassy Siege to gain access to rooms and is still used in modern-day conflicts in tight urban zones where ballistic or explosive breaching methods carry more risk.
Device Evaluation
Device: Tactical Breaching Hammer "The Caber"
Operator: Specialist Seamus "Sledge" Cowden
Evaluation Lead: Specialist Seamus "Sledge" Cowden
I'm told you wanted to have a looksee at my Brucie. Why? No offense, Mira, but I don't need someone mucking about with my Caber, trying to make it look sexier. When Mike's uncle built it for me (sorry... Specialist bloody Mike "Thatcher" bloody Baker), he damn well made me forge the thing over and over again until we got it right. It's a solid piece, no forge weld to introduce weak points. It's made with a differential heat treatment to better transmit the shock of blows along the core and the shaft is covered in fiberglass molded to my handspan for better grip. It's a solid 4140 steal, built for shock and stress, balanced to prevent it from being too top heavy. I don't need laser sights put on the damn thing, and I can promise you that if any of your techies come near Brucie, as the saying goes, "it will kill."
- - Specialist Seamus "Bloody Sledge" Cowden
Quotes
| Sledge's Quotes |
|---|
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Trivia
- His Training Includes:
- British Army: 1st (UK) Armoured Division
- HND in Automotive Engineering
- 22nd Engineer Regiment RE[4]
- His Relevant Experience Includes:
- British Army: 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division
- Operation Telic
- Operation Herrick[5]
- The in-game bio of Seamus Cowden can be seen for a quick moment in 1:15 of the White Masks Reveal trailer at E3 2015.
- On Sledge's character model, there is a tartan on the right of his lower leg. The same tartan pattern can be seen wrapped on The Caber. Both either resemble or actually is the tartan of Clan Stewart.
- The Breaching Hammer's name, "The Caber", refers to a type of roughly trimmed tree trunk used in the Scottish Highland sport of "tossing the caber", which involves holding the tree trunk upright, running forward and then tossing it so that it lands on the opposite end.
- The alternate used when Sledge is equipped with his L Detachment Uniform is a traditional Scottish hammer used in the Scottish hammer throw competition of the Highland games.
- He is an expert in mechanical, ballistic, explosive and thermal breaching strategies.
- Sledge is wearing a dual-filter gas mask but has no filter. In reality, this would cause him to suffocate.
- His birthdate is a reference to the Falklands War, which began on the same day.
- Sledge's face is revealed in the Tournament of Champions as they were interviewed by Harry.
Gallery
Concept Art
Models
.png "Sledge - M590A1 (Velvet Shell).png (482 KB)")
.png "Sledge - L85A2 (Velvet Shell).png (498 KB)")
.png "Sledge - M590A1 (Blood Orchid).png (513 KB)")
.png "Sledge - L85A2 (Blood Orchid).png (506 KB)")
.png "Sledge - M590A1 (White Noise).png (1.86 MB)")
.png "Sledge - L85A2 (White Noise).png (1.87 MB)")
The Elite
Stills
Video
Patch Changes
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References
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