Outback may not have appeared on the cartoon, but he did appear in animation: as a way around advertising restrictions, Hasbro produced a handful of commercials for the GI Joe comicbook, including this one for issue #59, "Divergent Paths":
Also the only animated appearance of Raptor.
Regarding the Tiger Force version:
1. The white hair on the Tiger Force version makes him look grizzled and experienced.
2. The white hair on the Tiger Force version makes him not look like Snow Job without a parka.
3. The Tiger Force version head looks great on so many other figures. Want an Old Man Hawkeye? Or an Old Man custom of some other character? Tiger Force Outback is your answer.
An orange shirt with tiger is also much cooler than a white shirt that says survival.