Aaron Bolenko (D5)

Aaron 'Stinger' Bolenko is character in the Battlestar Hermes series of stories.

Early Life
Aaron is a native of Scorpia and is the only son of Alexander and Mika Bolenko. Alexander Bolenko was a forester working in the vast jungles and forests of their homeworld but he wanted better for his son and so he encouraged him to take an interest in the military. At the time the Cylons were all but a myth to the everyday citizen of the Twelve Colonies and Alexander thought that the military would be a relatively safe option. Excelling at Maths and Science while at school ensured that Aaron could achieve his goal of becoming a pilot.

Military Career
Aaron proved himself to be a competent pilot with a preference towards flying Raptors. He also received training as an ECMO should there be no pilot spots available when he graduated. After a short training cruise aboard the Battlestar Meytoria Aaron spent much of his early career flying picket duties from bases on Gemenon before eventually transferring to the Battlestar Hermes.

Battlestar Hermes
At the time of 'The Fall', 'Stinger' was considered to be one of the best Raptor pilots aboard the Hermes and was often paired up with 'Walleye' as his ECMO. It was 'Stinger' who flew Captain Burmeister's team to the derelict Hellenic Traveler in search of supplies. He later flew with 'Magma' (as her ECMO) on a scouting mission ahead of the Hermes making its way back to the colonies. During this mission he started Melissa 'Aurora' Saunder's training and the two of them seemed to strike up a friendship.

Promotion to CAG
Although he was a mere Lieutenant and quite young, the lack of any more senior pilots aboard the Hermes due to combat attrition meant that Major Alexander 'Griffon' Adonia chose 'Stinger' to replace him as the CAG. Adonia became the Acting XO after Caleb Dytto was relieved by Commander Bowman. Bowman agreed with the choice knowing that 'Stinger' whose capabilities were beyond his years.

'Stinger' found the role of CAG as being quite demanding. He felt that he had to take on more than the Lion's share of operations and many people suspected he was tackling more than he could handle. Nevertheless he proved a worthy replacement for 'Griffon' and was trusted by most of the surviving air wing.