Characters of the Rainbow Six series

Domingo "Ding" Chavez
Domingo Chavez, better known as Ding Chavez, is a fictional character created by American author Tom Clancy and appearing in many of his novels and video games. Born in Los Angeles,California, date of birth January 12, 1968.

Professional Life
First recruited to be a member of a secret CIA-ran anti-drug operation in Colombia in Clear and Present Danger, while he was still in the U.S. Army. He first met John Clark during this novel and has worked with him since. He is married to John Clark's daughter, Patricia. He, along with Clark, rescued a Japanese politician who was former prime minister (and later re-elected) in Debt of Honor. He later was recruited into and ultimately became team leader in the multinational counterterrorist organization RAINBOW in Rainbow Six, which defeated several terrorist groups and prevented a bioterrorism plague. It is worthy to note that he later became "Rainbow Six" himself in the later Rainbow Six video games such as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas. The position was formerly held by his father-in-law, John Clark.

Ding formerly was part of the 1st Battalion of the 17th Infantry Regiment, with the motto, "Ninja! We own the night." In Clear and Present Danger, he carries ninja throwing stars (as a lucky charm). Before his operation in Colombia he says "We (ninjas) own the night", before he "kills" an "enemy" jungle warfare instructor.

Misc.

 * Novels featuring Ding Chavez: Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, Debt of Honor, Executive Orders, The Bear and the Dragon, and Rainbow Six.
 * Video games featuring Ding Chavez: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear, Black Thorn, Raven Shield,Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas.

John Clark
John Terrence Clark (real name John Terrence Kelly) is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy who appears in many of Clancy's novels. He is an Irish American Catholic.

Personal life
He was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. John's father was a fireman. He lost his mother when he was a young boy.

Professional Life
He has performed missions for the U.S. Navy SEALs in Vietnam, murdered drug dealers in revenge for his girlfriend, Pam Madden's, murder, was recruited by an admiral James Greer into the CIA (and staged his own death right under his Coast Guard petty officer friend's nose) in Without Remorse, one of Clancy's most violent books. He has also helped a Soviet official's wife and daughter defect in The Cardinal of the Kremlin, apprehended and subsequently interrogated two Muslim terrorists in The Sum of All Fears, rescued an abandoned secret military unit in Clear and Present Danger, rescued a Japanese politician who was former prime minister (and later re-elected) in Debt of Honor, and tracked down the source of a bioterrorism plague in Executive Orders. Though John Clark went into action in the operations mentioned earlier, Tom Clancy suggests that Clark's "day job" was head instructor at "the farm", the CIA's Camp Peary training facility for future field agents. He later founded the multinational counterterrorist organization RAINBOW in Rainbow Six, which defeated several terrorist groups and prevented yet another bioterrorism plague before assaulting a Chinese ballistic missile base in The Bear and the Dragon.

He is married to Sandra O'Toole, a nurse who aided in his recovery in a hospital in Without Remorse after a botched recon attempt involving drug runners, and has two daughters, Maggie and Patricia. Patricia is married to Domingo "Ding" Chavez, veteran of a black military operation in Colombia, Clark's recruit and partner at CIA and leader of an assault team at RAINBOW. In Rainbow Six Patricia gives birth to a son, John Conor Chavez, making Clark a grandfather.

John Clark has been awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star with a repeat cluster, Bronze Star with Valor devices and three repeats, three Purple Hearts and four Intelligence Stars. He is also recipient of the Medal Of Honor, awarded and presented to him by Jack Ryan (then President of the U.S.) for some secret mission during his time in Vietnam (see The Teeth of the Tiger). He is a Simulated Major General (two-stars) in the Rainbow Six book, though he only reached the rank of Chief Boatswain's Mate (Chief Petty Officer) during his Naval career.

Parallels can be drawn between John Clark and Jack Ryan, who both exist within the same fictional universe (Ryanverse). Clark is more capable of bending the rules and operating outside the law than Ryan is, so Clancy uses him in grittier roles. Clark also loathes the "desk work" that Ryan typically finds himself "at home" doing. Clancy himself has stated that John Clark is the "dark side" of Jack Ryan.