1. The personality ... throws me off.
What does it take to provoke him, especially in a command setting? If he's still a powder keg, that's worth knowing. Having a "very level head when the situation demands it" doesn't say much.
People who have "exceptional paranoia" also don't tend to have cool heads and will make mistakes that reflect that. You mean he's a devout cynic?
Either way, if he follows the half-empty model of life, I would think that would show somehow in his command decisions, and/or through talking with subordinates. They're going to know he's just playing the optimist for them, won't they?
In the end, the guy just sounds like a sourpuss, but somehow can cover it up or turn it off whenever he wants. I don't know about a 40-year-old, but at 25 I certainly can't do that -- I am what I am. I just wonder about him in this way.
Everything else I don't see a problem with. He's got such a large amount of experience, it's hard to critique anything else. The history was well done, though.
This character is pending.