John Patrick "Jack" Ryan, Sr., KCVO, (Hon) is a fictional character created by Tom Clancy who appears in many of his novels and their respective film adaptations. The character is born in Baltimore in 1950 and grows up there. He earns an NROTC commission in the Marines at Boston College. Medically retired following a helicopter crash, he works as an investment broker. He meets and marries Caroline "Cathy" Mueller, a medical student and later an ophthalmic surgeon, with whom he has four children. He returns to academia eventually accepting a position at the U.S. Naval Academy. Later he is recommended to the CIA, eventually spending a short period there writing a position paper as well as developing a counter-espionage mechanism. He returns to the Academy and while on a history research trip to London, he interrupts a kidnapping attempt on the Royal Family. After his return to the States, he eventually accepts a position with the CIA. He rises rapidly through the ranks in a variety of covert operations against the USSR, eventually becoming a Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. As DDI, he begins having political battles which eventually lead to him becoming President of the United States, serving two terms and dealing with international crises in the Pacific.