The earthbender captain served in the Earth Kingdom military during General Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se, where he developed an especially strong hatred toward the Fire Nation officer. Not long before the winter solstice of 99 AG, he and his unit of earthbending soldiers stumbled upon a bathing Iroh and captured the retired general by trapping him in the spring with their earthbending. When a soldier commented that Iroh was a Fire Nation soldier based on his uniform, the earthbender captain quickly identified Iroh for who he truly was: the Fire Lord's brother, the Dragon of the West. He smugly finished off by stating that the "once great" General Iroh was now their prisoner.