Jerry Boyd

Actor: Rick Cramer

Name: Jerry Boyd*Nationality:* American*Affiliation:* Allied Forces / United States*Rank:* Lieutenant*Weapon:* Service pistol*Role:* Nuclear launch Officer*Post:* US nuclear silo*Conflict:* Third World War*Game:* Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

Lieutenant Jerry Boyd is a US Air Force Officer stationed at a US Nuclear Missile Silo at the start of the Third World War.

He appears in the opening cutscene of Red Alert 2, when Soviet forces launch their surprise invasion of the United States.

Faced with the attack, President Michael Dugan immediately orders a nuclear retaliation against the Soviet Union.

In the silo, Boyd and another Officer are ordered to initiate the launch procedure. As required by protocol, both men must use their keys simultaneously to authorise the launch.

But the Soviet invasion had been planned specifically to neutralise this very possibility.

At the crucial moment, Boyd receives a call from the command line. On the other end is Yuri, Premier Romanov’s chief psychic adviser.

Using his powers, Yuri instantly takes control of Boyd’s mind and orders him to prevent the launch. This intervention is one of the first demonstrations of Soviet psychic abilities in Red Alert 2.

When his colleague nevertheless attempts to continue with the procedure, Boyd draws his weapon and points it at him.

The silo doors therefore remain closed at the moment of launch.

The missiles are nevertheless fired and crash into the still-closed doors of their own silos, causing them to be destroyed before they can reach their targets.

Yuri’s intervention thus neutralises the American nuclear counter-attack at the very moment the Red Army begins its offensive.

This scene is also particularly significant for understanding Yuri. Even before the player discovers the Psychic Beacons or the Psi Corps units, it demonstrates that Yuri can directly manipulate an individual from a great distance.

Boyd, however, is neither a Soviet agent nor a traitor:his behaviour is entirely caused by Yuri’s mind control.

After this incident, the character disappears completely from the story. His fate following the destruction of the silo is never specified in the game or in the available biographical information.

Jerry Boyd thus remains an extremely minor character in the series, but his single appearance fulfils an important narrative function: it enables Yuri to neutralise the United States’ primary retaliatory capability in a matter of seconds and immediately reveals to the player that this war will not be fought solely with conventional weapons.