Colleen, or "Cowpoke" as she was known to her comrades was a Earthforce Ground-Pounder who served in the same unit as Michael Garibaldi during the Earth-Minbari War.[1]
When the Minbari came through the Vega System, Cowpoke and Garibaldi's outfit were dug in on a moon orbiting Vega II and though their position was not directly assaulted, the rapid enemy advance through the system left them cut off from their supply lines. They were cut off for weeks with only a merger supply of meal bars, cryo-rations and Insta-Heats left over from the Dilgar War to keep them going. When those finally ran out, Cowpoke and her shelter mate Garibaldi kept their minds off the starvation by talking about food recipes. Colleen taught Garibaldi her mother's recipe for Three-Alarm Chilli that she used to make for her when she was a child and Garibaldi taught her his father's recipe for Bagna Cauda. Though help did eventually arrive, Cowpoke didn't survive. However, Garibaldi remembered the recipe and when in 2260, Emerson Briggs-Wallace, the proprietor of Fresh Air, asked Garibaldi for contributions, he included "Cowpoke's Three-Alarm Chilli".