One of the first members of the Revolution, Mel insists he just stepped off the boat from Glasgow, even though it's obvious to everyone that he is a regular piece of havarti.
Not much is known about his background at this point besides the fact he is an avid shuffleboard player. His dedication to the cause is easy to see: he got himself arrested and sent to Detroit Dairy Penintentiary once Jack sent word that Scooter McQueen was on the inside. Although Mel is, in the words of Monterey Jack "loopier than a box of artifically fruit-flavored, nauseatingly sweet children's breakfast cereal," his eccenctricities may just be a front. At certain times Scottish Mel has been known to be almost supernaturally cunning: his role in both the planning and execution of the jailbreak are clear evidence of that.
Mel is a former Royal Diary Air Force pilot, a plot point convieniently revealed when the trio was trapped on a cruise ship and their only means of escape was via F-14. He was also the cheese that recruited Monterey Jack, another ex-military officer, into the movement.