When 12 Inch GI Joe Returned: 1996: Australian ODF

Actually, it was probably 1994 when a 12 inch Duke, marketed as the original GI Joe came out, but it wasn't until 1996 when Hasbro went back to the historical 12 inch figures. The first wave included four figures - Australian ODF, British SAS, US Army Infantry, and US Airborne Ranger HALO Parachutist. 

I didn't start collecting these until 1997 when I was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The first one I found was the D-Day Salute special, but we'll get to that later. The cool thing is, I later met and befriended the artist who did many of the artwork on the five panel boxes.

Here is the the Australian Operational Detachment Force (ODF).