The Grey Colonel is a character who appears in Army Men events and in the Army Men 3D version of the same events.
The Grey Colonel is a retired colonel of the Grey Nation which is under occupation by the Tan Republic during Army Men events (and Army Men 3D alternate version). Years later a rumor spread that he may have been the first Army Men of his kind (G1), created at some point in the ending of the first Great Army Men War.
Army Men: World War
During the first Tanic-Greeno World War, Cajun Joe was helping the Blues free themselves from the Tan invasion.
Army Men 3D
The Colonel gives the Green army one key of the 3 used to open the first portal (in fact, the last key) and information about its power.
In exchange for helping his nation to liberate a factory taken over by the Tan and help him to escape from the territory around his mansion (Army Men & Army Men 3D). The Tans took the Colonel very seriously, to the point that they deployed 3 tanks and troops in the place, not to let him go out of his mansion or have contact with anyone. Upon rescuing him and before leaving the area in a Half-Track, he gave Sarge the blue key, precisely the last one the Green army was looking for. But after that Sarge is assigned the task of escorting him to a safehouse on the other side of a bridge, since the Tan had blocked the way for the passage of vehicles. After successfully completing this mission, the Colonel gave the Green army the information about the keys: He knew the secrets.
Describing that putting the 3 keys together a triangle shape would create a device that would open a portal with unknown powers, which was nearby, in a Cemetery. But when Sarge approached the Cemetery through a city that led directly there, the Grays began to attack Sarge and the Tan at the same time. The same thing continued to happen during the following events that led to the opening of the first portal. This was the only time in history that the Gray nation attacked the Green nation, specifically just Sarge. Although it is not known with certainty whether these were intentions known by the Grey Colonel, or it was the Gray government that authorized this, presumably to prevent the secret from being known. There were other occasions where we came into conflict with some individuals from the Gray nation, but they were always renegades from their nation: followers of AWOL Colonel or Dr. Madd.
The Gray Colonel post Army Men events:
After more than 25 years without being seen, the Gray Colonel was severely damaged after Red Retaliation events, and underwent many modifications and improvements to keep fighting.
Leader of the Gray Resistance, he needed to come back to the fight during the Red Retaliation events. With one arm replaced with a cybernetic one, part of his face reconstructed with enhancements on one eye, and vested in full torso, waist, and legs armor, little remains of the original Gray Colonel.
Gray classified documents: Background information about his past (public sample)
Newly declassified Gray documents reveal new information about the Colonel’s past. “Cajun Joe’s Mansion” was part of a top-secret transcript that led us to the lyrics of a song from the Real World, called “Cajun Joe (The Bully of the Bayou).” This proves that the Gray Colonel likely knew about the Real World long before the events of Army Men (perhaps others as well), to the point that he took his name from it, or was given that name because of this “country” style human song that closely matches events related to him and the context of the Bayouland sector where he lives. Therefore, it is not the name of a supposed previous owner of the mansion, because he himself is the owner of that mansion. And extrapolating the age of these discoveries… means that this could go back a long time (that’s all I’m allowed to publish for now).
Behind the scenes:
Why Cajun Joe?
This key clue comes from a poster on the PC box of Army Men (1998).
— o —
[Verse 1]
People still talks about Cajun Joe
Cajun Joe was the bully of bayou
He’d fight anything a beast or a man
In bayou waters or on dry land
In bayou waters or on dry land
[Verse 2]
At sixteen years he won a victory
The longest battle fought in history
When Cajun Joe whipped the thibodaux
He’d become the bully of the bayou
He’d become the bully of the bayou
[Chorus]
He was the bully of the bayou, bully of the bayou
Everybody knew he was the bully of the bayou
Many man’s tried and many man’s died
Cause he could whip ’em with onе hand tied
He could whip ’em with onе hand tied
[Verse 3]
Undefeated at twenty-one
He was a fightin’ son of a gun
Had his pick of the Creole girls
But they all thought he could whip the world
They all thought he could whip the world
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 4]
People still talks about Big Mamou
Where Cajun Joe met his Waterloo
He picked on a little one at his regret
A hundred and twenty pounds soakin’ wet
A hundred and twenty pounds soakin’ wet
[Verse 5]
Cajun Joe swung a mighty blow
He aimed for the head but he swung too low
Joe got set for the second blow
When the little fella tore into Cajun Joe
You couldn’t even recognize the bully of the bayou
[Chorus]
He was the bully of the bayou, bully of the bayou
Everybody knew he was the bully of the bayou
Many man’s tried and many man’s died
Cause he could whip ’em with one hand tied
He could whip ’em with one hand tied
[Fade Out]
He could whip ’em with one hand tied
He could whip ’em with one hand tied
He could whip ’em with one hand tied
He could whip ’em with one hand tied
— o —
Therefore it is clear that some things changed after this printing, they passed by or it is simply the only source where this information can be found.
Sources: https://genius.com/Rusty-amp-doug-kershaw-cajun-joe-the-bully-of-the-bayou-lyrics
Investigating source about Cajun & Bayou/Swamp: https://cocaineandrhinestones.com/rusty-doug-kershaw-cajun-way