The A-Team consisted of the following four men:

(LIEUTENANT) COLONEL JOHN "HANNIBAL" SMITH (played by George Peppard) The leader of the A-Team. Rank seemed to fluctuate between Lt. Colonel and full Colonel. Considered a maverick because of his reckless style and fondness for "classic half-pincer movements" and "through the front door" attacks. Service medals we know he earned during 'Nam and also the Korean War include bronze & silver stars, Korea Service, National Defense, Joint Service Commendation, the Soldier's Medal, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign medal with bar, Distinguished Service, US Army Commendation, Armed Forces Expedition, and the Congressional Medal of Honor. Little is known about his family background, whether he had any siblings, and whether or not "John Smith" is his real birth name or not. While on the run from the military, he supplemented his income by appearing in monster movies (always behind layers of latex and makeup). Most famous role is that of "The Aquamaniac." Loved cigars, and was often heard to say, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

LIEUTENANT TEMPLETON ARTHUR "FACEMAN" PECK (played by Dirk Benedict)Has the most complicated (and conflicting) bios of all the Team members. Birth date (according to "Trial by Fire") is supposedly December 7, 1950. However, this seems highly unlikely so I don't put much weight in that fact. Social Security #522-70-5444. He was orphaned when he was approximately four years old. He is mentioned as living at two different orphanages: Sacred Heart (run by Father Magill, mentioned in early AT episodes) and Angel's Guardian (mentioned in "Beneath the Surface"). The AT books mention two other names (St. Mary's and St. Bartholomew's), but I don't take the novels as cannon and it seems the author probably just made that up. Peck may have been transferred from Sacred Heart to Angel's Guardian when he was in his early teens. He went to college where he met Leslie Bektall, who ended up leaving him and leaving school in fact to become a nun ("The Only Church in Town"). That would be in 1968, according to the fact that he states in the episode it happened fifteen years ago. He then begins his career in the Army. Now, TAT was supposedly part of the Fifth Special Forces Group. Generally these Special Forces groups are trained at Fort Bragg and have on average three years of military service behind them...therefore it seems we may have to assume that he either showed exceptional abilities and advanced much quicker than usual through the system or he conned his way into Special Forces (wouldn't be surprising). We don't know much of anything about exactly when and how he ended up on TAT, although BA points out once that if Hannibal hadn't put Face into his unit in 'Nam (and thereby under his protective custody) he'd most likely be in jail already. So we can assume he was acting as a con man from early in life. In the 5th season episode "Family Reunion," we also learn that Face's father was actually a man named "A.J. Bancroft," a man who was a wanted criminal for being involved in some sort of government conspiracy years before. His original birthname according to A.J. was "Richard." It also turned out he had a half-sister named Ellen.

SERGEANT BOSCO "BAD ATTITUDE (B.A.)" BARACUS (played by Mr. T) Originally from Chicago. (Mother played by Della Reese in the episode "Lease With an Option to Die.") Nickname when he was younger was "Scooter." Played football in high school. Has tendency to punch out officers, generally considered a trouble-maker in 'Nam. A mechanical genius with the ability to do just about anything with a propane torch and some spare parts. Seems to love nothing in life as much as his precious black-and-red van. Hates to fly, especially when Murdock is the pilot, and generally needs to be drugged/knocked over the head, etc. in order to get on a plane. Loves milk and little kids, and appears to spend most of his time while not with the Team helping out at a youth center in one of the poorer sections of L.A.

CAPTAIN H. M. "HOWLIN' MAD" MURDOCK (played by Dwight Schultz) Not much is known on the background of Murdock, the Team's certifiably crazy pilot. No, his real first name was never revealed on the show, although one person has pointed out and speculates that he might be named after Holland M. "Howling Mad" Smith, Marine General in the Pacific during World War II. Murdock's mother died when he was five. Murdock was a member of the Thunderbirds before 'Nam. During 'Nam he worked for the CIA on several missions at least ("Once in '67, then again in '69" - "Wheel of Fortune"). Resided at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Westwood, California. Not wanted by the military police for the bank job because of his presumed insanity. Always suspected of keeping in contact with the Team but the MP's were never able to prove anything (often, Murdock's having to hide whenever the MP's were around would come in handy when the guys needed a quick rescue). Psychiatrist was Dr. Alan M. Richter. "Released" from the Hospital shortly after the Team's trial and escape from the firing line, although there is a strong possibility he just escaped for good. Has an "invisible" dog named Billy.

As stated in the show's introduction, TAT was a Special Forces commando unit during Vietnam. Their Commanding Officer was one Colonel Samuel/Steve Morrison (called Steve in "The Sound of Thunder" and Samuel in the 5th season Trial episodes.) Supposedly, Morrison gave the Team orders to rob the Bank of Hanoi in an effort to help bring the war to an end. They succeeded, but Morrison's headquarter was destroyed that same night in an artillery barrage (along with Morrison, presumably) and no proof therefore remained that they were acting under orders. Smith, Baracus and Peck were sent to Fort Bragg, where they quickly escaped and began working as soldiers of fortune while on the run. They tended to always take on the cause of the underdog: small businessmen & women being forced out of business by greedy developers/mafia-types. Often (especially in later 3rd and 4th season episodes), they tended to stumble into trouble situations more than being directly hired. Although their fees were generally quite high, it was more often than not the case that the Team took on jobs for free or expenses only, or ended up agreeing to a 10% cut on the profits of a business's future earnings. No wonder they all were busy with other jobs when not on a mission!

The Team also had several associates during their years on the run:

AMY AMANDA ("TRIPLE A") ALLEN (played by Melinda Culea) Amy, a reporter for the Los Angeles Courier, hired the A-Team in the first episode to find her reporter friend Al Massey in Mexico. She ended up, in effect, "blackmailing" the Team into taking her on as a member by stating that she would write an expose on them if they didn't. In 1984 (during the 2nd season) she left the Team to become foreign corespondent.

TAWNIA BAKER (played by Marla Heasley) Was apparently a friend of Amy's at the paper, she contacted them after Amy left, determined to work her way onto the Team as well. Apparently Amy told her quite a bit about the Team beforehand. She ended up leaving the Team (although they never took her as seriously as a Team member as they did Amy) in the episode "The Bend in the River," after the Team locates her rich archaeologist fiance and she gets married.

FRANKIE "DISHPAN" SANTANA (played by Eddie Velez) A special effects wiz who initially worked against the Team for Stockwell, setting them up so that he could get them under his control. Ended up assisting Murdock in helping the guys escape the firing squad and thereby became a wanted man himself. Little is known about his background/family except that his father is apparently in a nursing home, and originally worked for Stockwell only because he threatened to cut off the money that was keeping him in the home.