Overview
Sam served over 20 years as a U.S. Navy SEAL and eventually retired with full benefits at the rank of Commander in February 2005 as part of a graymail deal reached over keeping the true events of Operation PROVIDE SUPPORT in Colombia a secret. The deal included relocation to the city of his choice (he selected Miami, Florida), along with a change of clothes and one ice cold beer. He helps Michael Westen with freelance work, having known him since at least 1992 when they were doing a job together in Poland. He frequently uses the cover name "Chuck Finley" after the baseball player he frequently and successfully wagered upon; coincidentally it is also the name of a coworker of Bruce Campbell's father.
Though he was once one of the world's top covert operatives, Sam is now semi-retired, with a habit of dating "sugar mommas" that forms the subplot of several episodes. For the first and second seasons, he had no living quarters of his own, living instead with his "lady-friends". He eventually got a place of his own in Season Two, when his "lady-friend", Veronica, broke up with him because he married when he was younger. That marriage was done on a whim, but never legally dissolved. He later moved in with Maddie, Michael's mother, in exchange for helping her rebuild an area of her house that was damaged in an explosion.
Even though Michael is Sam's friend, the FBI tied up Sam's Navy pension to force him to inform on Michael. In Season One, Sam was forced to balance his loyalty to Michael with his obligation to the FBI; he often fed the Bureau bogus information or only half-truths. Michael was aware of the situation and even helped Sam on a few occasions by providing him with information to report to the FBI. In the first-season episode "Family Business", Michael's FBI surveillance is pulled and Sam no longer spies on him. Thereafter, the show's opening with Michael describing Sam is changed to "a friend who used to inform on you to the FBI."
Despite being viewed as a slacker, Sam has an extensive knowledge regarding bureaucratic practices of the American law enforcement agencies as well as knowledge of American and international covert intelligence organizations, understanding their operating practices such as breaching perimeters and tactical plans. As well, he also has a grasp on international law, once telling a Haitian client that a criminal warrant from the International Criminal Court would not suffice as legitimate evidence in an American court.
At some point in the past, Sam foiled Michael's ex-girlfriend, arms trafficker Fiona Glenanne, during her attempt to do a deal with a Libyan arms dealer, costing her a considerable sum of money. Despite her initial desire to kill or maim him, by the end of the first season, they have entered into an antagonistic friendship. In the second season episode "Breaking and Entering", Sam is only able to name her and Michael as his real friends (Michael being the only friend who would die for him and Fiona his only female friend).
He is often seen wearing Hawaiian shirts, linen pants, loafers and flashy jewelry, including a pinky ring and Rolex watch, and is also sometimes seen wearing sunglasses. He is often seen drinking beer, mojitos, or other alcoholic beverages, especially in teasers for the show. Sam is often seen drinking the fictional Heisler beer, conceptualized by the Independent Studio Services. Sam has many skills that are useful to Michael, including martial arts, wiretapping, burglary, marksmanship, forgery, interrogation, surveillance, and the ability to plausibly assume cover identities. His main contribution to the team, however, is his apparently inexhaustible supply of contacts (whom he calls "buddies") in seemingly every law enforcement agency, bureaucratic department, military branch and intelligence agency from the Florida DMV to the NSA, who are willing to share information.
In Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe it has been hinted that Sam went to Analy High School, the high school of show creator Matt Nix. This would mean that Sam spent some time growing up in or around Sebastopol, California.
In two different cross-promotional ads with Royal Pains, Sam unsuccessfully runs game on Divya under the guise of seeking medical treatment, and hears out an idea for a spy-for-hire business from Evan.
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