[Timeless Enigma]

You bring up some good points dkellis in identifying the difficulties in creating a genuine character, but I think it all depends on how true you want to be to canon. We don't have all of the information on TSAB and I doubt we ever will so there's going to have to be some made up stuff. I would like to know more information on just how TSAB structures it's armed forces, but I'm not really going to wait until that kind of information is revealed and then finally translated. I don't think one should worry about super-accuracy as long as it fits the purpose of the character/story. And if we do get the information in the end, I would just treat whatever I've inferred as AU. I know once why model of TSAB gets blown to shreds I'll make some revisions here and there, but unless you're a perfectionist (maybe you are) I wouldn't stress on that too much.

But then again, I was never aiming for such super-accuracy that my character would be able to seamlessly fit into the canon situation, there's simply not enough information available (to me at least) to approach this task like that.

The age issue can be a problem as well but not everyone can be a super-soldier still in their teens, and the difficulty in relationships between a younger and older generation may be a good theme to explore. I didn't want my character to be too young, I made him 21, and then I realize Chrono in StrikerS is 25 . Granted my character hasn't reached the pinnacle of his career yet, but I don't think age is as big a problem as it seems to be. I'm actually thinking of upping his age, maybe 24.

I do think the references got out of hand though in StrikerS. Mainly when I watch Subaru, I feel like I'm watching a parody anime...
I won't comment on the original characters being created though as every creator here has their tastes.

On a side note, I'm actually going through a 2nd draft phase on the brief introduction to my fic. Hopefully this motivation won't die on me.