J.R. Hornkamp

Jan Roderic Hornkamp (Landulfic: Gւⲛ Roδєрık Hopⲛkւмп), who often goes by J.R. Hornkamp, is a senator from Barenia, the youngest in that nation's history, and a former soldier. Hailing from the state of West Anias, he is one of the most radical members of the Kaurissite Democratic Party. Born on 3 Paskara, 1997, in the small town of Kaubaurg in the state of West Anias, he is the descendant of Sundish immigrants.

Showing good academic performance in primary school, he received an appointment to the Union of Barenia Military Academy at age 16, where he proved to excel at combat leadership, despite poor interpersonal skills. Graduating at age 20, he received a commission into the infantry, and was given command of 2nd Platoon, K Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Infantry Division. He married his girlfriend, Marguerita Coruñez, on 12 Blomara 2018, before his first deployment. This would be during Operation Milima Eagle, a TTO peacekeeping operation in the former Blausland. It was here that he acquitted himself in combat, earning the Order of the Poppy for his actions during the Battle of Gatenga Creek. He was originally recommended for the Exemplary Conduct Medal, Barenia's second highest military honor, but his repeated interpersonal incidents and lack of tact resulted in the downgrading of his award. It was also for his actions at this battle that a bounty would be placed on his head by the Blausblod Brothaskip, a Blauslander secret society, a fact which gives Hornkamp no small amount of pride. He was wounded by a bounty hunter in 2021, losing two fingers on his left hand, resulting in his rotation out of Ozara and return home to recuperate. He was redeployed to Mexas to partake in Operation Mexas Shield, a countercartel operation, where his poor interpersonal skills resulted in him twice being passed over for promotion to Captain.

Embittered, Hornkamp resigned his commission on 8 Paskara 2022, at the same time the Rosemary Scandal weakened down Senator Pierre G. Grenoric's reelection campaign. Seeing an opportunity, he received a last-minute nomination to the K-D Party's ticket, and the fallout of Grenoric's scandal allowed him to be elected as West Anias' new Junior Senator. He is a deeply religious man, and is known as K-D's most radical member, consistently rallying against Fengjiang, and striving to root out the percieved corruption endemic in the Barenian Army.

Early Life
Jan Roderic Hornkamp was born on 3 Paskara 1997 to Theoderic Carlos Hornkamp and Gloria Amala Paxa, in the small coastal town of Kaubaurg, West Anias, the fourth of six children. Descended from Sundish immigrants who fled the unrest of the early 1900s, he was raised in a devoutly Orthodox Kaurissite household. From a young age, he was outspokenly conservative and deeply religious, and the extreme nature of his beliefs led to him having trouble socially. However, despite this,howing good academic performance in primary school, he received an appointment to the Union of Barenia Military Academy at age 16, where he proved to excel at combat leadership, despite poor interpersonal skills.

Military Career
Placeholder

Mexas Scandal
In the Summer of 2022, Hornkamp was posted to the 79th Independent Mountain Brigade in northern Mexas to take part in Operation Mexas Shield. The low-intensity nature of the operation led to a lack of active combat, and Hornkamp's poor interpersonal skills led to him being passed over for a Captaincy twice. Hornkamp internalized this, and perceived corruption as the reason for his failure to achieve higher rank. On 8 Paskara 2022, following repeated rejected appeals, he resigned his commission in the Army.

2022 Senatorial Campaign
Immediately following his resignation from the Army, Hornkamp returned to West Anias and, using the network he cultivated even whilst in the Army, entered the race as a candidate for the Kaurissite-Democratic Party. Following a successful effort, he managed to secure the party's nomination in the primary contest, and won handily in the general contest, in no small part to Pierre G. Grenoric's unpopularity on account of the Rosemary Scandal. He won the election with 52% of the vote. On 20 Slauhtsine 2023, he was sworn into office and began his first term in Sneedhavn.

Personal Controversies
On 2 Weinara 2022, Hornkamp was a guest on Jose Roderiguez' podcast, where the topic of Fengjiang was broached. Hornkamp was quoted saying; "let's assume, for the sake of argument, that the Fengese are human beings", during the discussion, which caused outrage in the Fengo-Barenian community. Hornkamp refused to walk back his statements, reportedly saying that those outraged needed to "learn to take a joke", and refused to walk back his comments.