Nobody volunteers to be a SCORPION. It is a punishment give to under-motivated VIPERS who refuse to follow orders. In order to survive, they quickly learn to mimic the attack patterns of the venomous, desert scorpions with which they live.
After one year of unblemished service as a Scorpion, a Cobra trooper can be reinstated in the Viper Corps or whatever special force he originated from. A Scorpion fights hard because he knows that if he messes up, he'll go straight into TOXO-VIPERS, the Cobra Hostile Environment Detachment, better known as the "Leaky Suit Brigade".
"A Scorpion prefers to be in the midst of fighting, because it's safer than being in the garrison. In the field, where the whole unit is under threat, everybody pulls together because every trooper's life hinges on their combined firepower and team effort. In the barracks, each Scorpion thinks of himself as a desperate, isolated individual, surrounded by thieves, cutthroats and scoundrels - and he's right."
Desert Scorpion is a G.I. Joe team operative in the A Real American Hero line. First released as a Hasbro carded action figure in 1991, with 1 distinct figure version produced across the 1982 to 1994 vintage run.
Desert Scorpion did not appear by name in the Sunbow or DiC cartoon series synopses. Original Hasbro file-card lore and Marvel ARAH comics appearances are the primary characterization sources.