Metal Gear Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Metal Gear Wiki
248158

Peace Sentinel forces operating in Costa Rica, 1974.

Peace Sentinel was a CIA mercenary unit formed by Station Chief of Central America Hot Coldman during the early 1970s.

History[]

Origins[]

After being demoted from his previous director's position in the CIA after Operation Snake Eater, and subsequently sent to oversee the Agency's activities in Central America, an embittered Hot Coldman decided to initiate the development of the Peace Walker Project. Believing that only a machine intelligence could carry out the principles of mutually assured destruction (and motivated to regain his former position), Coldman aimed to create a "perfect nuclear deterrent" through the use of AI weapons, and commanded the Peace Sentinel unit to achieve this end.

Forming an alliance with KGB agent Vladimir Zadornov circa 1972, Peace Sentinel obtained equipment and additional manpower, in exchange for providing land and money.[1] Doctors Huey Emmerich and Strangelove were recruited into the organization in order to develop the key components of the Peace Walker Project: Huey developed the outer frames of Pupa, Chrysalis, Cocoon, and Peace Walker as well as their respective AI pods (GW-Pupa 5000, TJ-Chrysalis 6000, TR-Cocoon 7000, and AL-Aurelia 8000 (a.k.a. the Reptile Pod)) while Strangelove developed Peace Walker's second AI pod: The Boss AI (a.k.a. the Mammal Pod)), which would grant the weapon its advanced decision-making capabilities, regarding nuclear deterrence. Strangelove, however, suspected that she might end up silenced by the CIA after the project was finished.

Around 1973, Peace Sentinel entered Costa Rica covertly, disguising their activities by acting as members of CODESA.

Peace Walker Incident[]

Main article: Peace Walker Incident

In 1974, Peace Sentinel captured an FSLN-owned drug-purification plant in Costa Rica (disguised as a factory for banana and coffee), forcing the FSLN guerillas (led by Amanda Valenciano Libre) to retreat to their last remaining hideout in a boathouse. Several FSLN members were captured and interrogated on the whereabouts of their comrades, before being killed after giving up said information. Peace Sentinel then made use of the drug smuggling routes that had belonged to the FSLN, and the refining plants they had captured, to ship drugs into the United States, ostensibly out of a fear of a Communist Central America.[2] Afterwards, Peace Sentinel set up various bases throughout Costa Rica, including the facility in Mount Irazu, the AI facility in a Mayan pyramid, and the production facility underneath a mining facility, located near the border of Nicaragua. Peace Sentinel also hired mercenaries to operate in the country and shipped in nuclear warheads. The formerly peaceful village of Aldea de los Despiertos was turned into a prison facility against the villagers' will.

Peace Sentinel later captured French ornithologist Cécile Cosima Caminades, who had accidentally stumbled upon and recorded The Boss's AI while studying the native Quetzal. Afterwards, Zadornov (assuming the identity of Professor Ramón Gálvez Mena of the United Nation's University for Peace) and Paz Ortega Andrade used the tape recording as a bargaining chip for hiring the Militaires Sans Frontières, convincing Big Boss (Naked Snake) and Kazuhira Miller to assist in the liberation of Costa Rica from the invading army.

Peace Sentinel was then forced to deal with the MSF, and their attempts to stop their project. In addition, one of the head scientists/engineers of the project, Dr. "Huey" Emmerich, refused to cooperate with Coldman any longer after learning that Coldman intended to launch a live nuclear missile from Peace Walker to test its stance as the perfect deterrent (and presumably to get a leg up in negotiations with the CIA), resulting in Huey defecting to the Militaires Sans Frontières. Coldman eventually captured Big Boss, after the latter attempted to speak with The Boss's AI. Coldman had Big Boss interrogated for information necessary for the AI's completion, after which he relocated Peace Walker to a U.S. missile base in Nicaragua.

However, Peace Sentinel's so-called Soviet allies later betrayed them as Zadornov intended for Peace Walker to launch a nuclear strike at Cuba, in a plan to foment anti-American sentiment across Latin America. After being stopped by Amanda's FSLN guerillas' timely arrival and MSF's arresting of Peace Sentinel, Coldman (who was close to death thanks to Zadornov's earlier gunshot) chose to activate Peace Walker anyway (despite its change in target) and MSF were able to destroy the weapon before it could launch and its transfer of false trajectory data to NORAD was subsequently halted, preventing the potential outbreak of a nuclear war. Despite Coldman's death, as well as Strangelove being left without a job as a consequence, remnants of Peace Sentinel would remain active in Costa Rica for some time afterwards. During the fourth search for Zadornov, Kazuhira Miller speculated that the presence of Peace Sentinel in Aldea de los Despiertos was tied to Zadornov's presence.[3]

Members[]

Bases[]

When covertly invading Costa Rica, and to a lesser extent Nicaragua, Peace Sentinel established several bases within the region, some of which were also captured from the FSLN unit that was in hiding within the region. In addition, the Sandinista comandante, Amanda Valenciano Libre, claimed that the amount of bases in Costa Rica alone were comparable to Da Nang during the Vietnam War.[4]

Soldier/personnel types[]

There were several types of soldiers within Peace Sentinel that were encountered by the Militaires Sans Frontières and Sandinistas. Many of the soldiers were former U.S. Army members[6] who saw action in the Vietnam war.[7] Some of the soldiers who later defected to the MSF claimed that they had originally joined Peace Sentinel because they couldn't fit back into society, feeling that their governments had betrayed them.[8] In addition, the soldiers during a heightened state of alert, can also split up into two color-based teams to split up to search for an intruder as well as guard a key location, respectively.[9]

Patrolmen/guards[]

110119224158

Patrolman on guard duty armed with an M16A1 assault rifle.

110125001737

Guard on guard duty armed with an M60 light machine gun.

The most common soldiers within Peace Sentinel were those that patrolled or guarded specific operational areas. They were referred to as Patrolmen for the outdoor areas and Guards for the indoor areas. Their senses were also finely honed so as to ensure that they did their job, and they also assumed a more efficient alert posture if an alert was triggered. Their attire was also somewhat different depending on their specific duties. Patrolmen wore green jacket shirts, jackets, a utility belt, green pants, balaclavas, and (sometimes) a battle helmet. The guards wore a bit more bland clothing, which consisted of a white shirt, green pants, and a gun holster. The latter were also one of the few types of soldiers whose faces were exposed. Sometimes they also wore headsets or shades. The Guards also sometimes wore vests and even helmets.

Both patrolmen and guards utilized M16A1 assault rifles, but in some instances carried the M60 light machine gun. Patrolmen also carried RK-47s and LAWs on one occasion.

Commandos[]

110126032605

Commando investigating possible hostile activity while armed with an M60 light machine gun.

These types of soldiers were an assault team that was often deployed if an alert was raised. Well trained, heavily armed, as well as highly dangerous, these soldiers were relentless in regards to hunting down intruders, which involved searching every possible square area, even likely hiding places until they either found the intruder or the alert was called off completely. The commandos also utilized body armor, meaning that a direct assault would be inadvisable against them.

Shock troops[]

110126031855

Shock trooper investigating possible hostile activity while armed with an M37 pump action shotgun.

A subgroup of the commandos, these soldiers utilized shotguns as their primary firearm, and had an endurance level that could allow them to take a few hits and still keep charging at the enemy and firing shotguns. Their uniforms were primarily gray with green utility straps, and wore "t" balaclavas that were adorned with headsets and, should the situation arise, night-vision goggles.

Scouts[]

110124231904

Scout waiting in ambush armed with a suppressed M16A1 assault rifle.

110213011430

A variant of the scout only found at night. Wears a boonie hat and veil.

Soldiers that were specialized in ambushes. They wore primarily green clothing, in order to blend themselves in with the terrain and the vegetation. They only exposed themselves when about to attack. Their fighting style was similar to the commandos, including the use of clearing techniques to flush intruders out. Aside from normal weapons, the scouts also carried wires in case an enemy attempted to engage them in CQC. Some of the scouts also acted as snipers, with some frequently training their sniping abilities in Camino de Lava's Junction at targets. Depending on the time of day, the scouts wore different uniforms: during the day, they wore bandanas and plain uniforms; at night, they wore camouflage-patterned uniforms as well as a boonie hat and veil.

Ghillie suit soldiers[]

110124232317

Ghillie-suit scout engaging in combat and taking aim with an M700 bolt-action sniper rifle.

A subgroup of scouts, these soldiers took their camouflage to the next level, where they utilized ghillie suits. However, their combat ability was not much different than the regular scouts. They primarily operated as snipers, given the fact that they lay completely still and that they are using sniper rifles. During sweep-and-destroy missions or alert mode, ghillie suit soldiers would attack in two ways if an enemy was in close range:

  • If the ghillie suit soldier was stationary he would deploy a knife fairly quickly in an attempt to stab the enemy;
  • If the soldier was being closely pursued, he would drop a stun grenade with a very short fuse time, which was very likely to disorient the enemy (this was a tactic also employed by The End during Operation Snake Eater).

Sentries[]

110126025839

Sentry keeping an eye out for possible intruders while armed with an M16A1 assault rifle.

Sentries were soldiers deployed in several layers such as watchtowers. These soldiers could attack from a distance such as rooftops and far-off vantage points. Also, their high distance made it extremely difficult for an enemy to perform a Fulton recovery on them, unless a specialized launcher was used.

Escorts[]

110124233934

Escort accompanying an LAV-G armored vehicle and armed with an M653 carbine.

Also referred to as reinforced soldiers,[10] these soldiers accompanied armored vehicles, tanks, and helicopters when on operations. The soldiers themselves were not considerably effective on their own, but they were formidable when operating as a team, meaning that they had a tendency to gang up on any enemy soldiers that were spotted. The escorts often wore reinforced armor, as well as white helmets adorned with the Peace Sentinel logo, as well as wearing a face mask similar to a gas mask.

Original escort units carried M653s however when they were neutralized, extra escort units arrived as back-up and may carry different weapons. The most intense battles may allow up to 36 escorts, although only up to four operated at any one time.

Less powerful units carried basic small arms such as the M653 or M10. More powerful escorts would arrive in greater numbers, carrying different weapons, even more powerful weapons such as light machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades or even shotguns making them even more difficult to defeat.

Escorts were known to carry the following weapons:

They also carried knives to use against hostile targets in close quarters. In addition, they also carried stun grenades to announce their arrival to replace their comrades should they either die or end up MIA, as well as smoke grenades to disorient their enemies.

Other than escorting armored vehicles, tanks, and helicopters, they are also assigned to operations where they are to deliver important supplies to one of Peace Sentinel's main bases.[11]

Commanders/captains[]

110213034200

Commander at the top of a T-72 Ural Main Battle Tank

The leaders of the armored vehicle, tank, and helicopter units, these soldiers piloted the vehicles in question. The only notable difference in appearance from other escorts is that these soldiers wore red helmets instead of white. These soldiers didn't expose themselves to fight unless their entire unit had been neutralized and their vehicles had suffered an amount of damage. In the case of helicopter units, the captains could also be exposed if the cockpit was blown off by repeated attacks. The captains also had a tendency to fire shells or missiles around their comrades' perimeter in order to flush out any hidden intruders. Sometimes they would toss a grenade when exposed.

Shield soldiers[]

110125001053

Shield soldier on guard duty armed with an M1911 pistol and a shield.

"Enemies carrying shields can be a real pain in the ass. To hear Amanda tell it, trying to fight those bastards while they sit behind their shields taking pistol shots at you is enough to make you want to rip your hair out. Get around and flank them if you can. You might want to try blinding them with smoke or stun grenades first. Also, armor-piercing rounds should make it a little easier to punch through their shields. Use'em if you can."
―Miller's account of the shield soldiers

Shield soldiers didn't belong to a specific unit, but they were still formidable as they carried riot shields when attacking their enemies. They were susceptible at the legs or from armor piercing rounds, can be blinded with flash or smoke grenades or hurt by grenades that explode behind them. They were primarily stationed at the Mine Base's second underground passage, and guarded the shutter to Peace Walker's hangar.

CIA mercenaries[]

110125000700

CIA mercenary in orange attire armed with an M16A1 assault rifle while on guard duty. Also classified as a patrolman.

Although this name applied to the entirety of Peace Sentinel, the type of soldier that wore orange jackets, olive pants, military ball caps, and carried M16A1 assault rifles were referred to this title by Kazuhira Miller,[12] although they were also classified as patrolmen. These soldiers were primarily stationed around the del Alba area, guarding the nearby shipping facility, although one soldier was stationed in Central Heredia, where he stole the ID card that Cécile Cosima Caminades swiped to escape from the AI Laboratory.

Russian soldiers[]

110124235028

Russian Soldier on guard duty armed with an RK-47 (AK-47) assault rifle.

Numerous Soviet soldiers assisted Zadornov in taking control of the Peace Walker project to further their political schemes, after first masquerading as allies with Coldman for mutual benefit. These soldiers wore brown pants, black boots, beige shirts (similar to office shirts) with a red tie, a red CCCP (USSR) armband on the left arm, body armor as well as a bulletproof helmet with a visor similar to the Battle Dress w/Helmet armor or Riot helmets. Underneath the helmets they wear two-eyed balaclavas. Russian soldiers primarily used weapons such as the RK-47 (AK-47) or PKM. Russian soldiers performed better in combat compared to their American counterparts by responding to threats more quickly and were more accurate with firearms. Russian soldiers were deployed at and took control of the U.S. missile base located in Nicaragua.

Russian commandos[]

110126032906

Russian Commando on guard duty armed with a PKM light machine gun.

Russian commandos operated in a very similar manner to regular commandos, however their performance, just like Russian soldiers, were superior to their American counterparts. Russian commandos wore helmets and two-eyed balaclavas, sported navy blue-black outfits with the CCCP (USSR) logo on the left arm, and bulked up due to their body armor. They used the same weapons as Russian soldiers and also used the SVD semi-automatic sniper rifle and the M37 pump-action shotgun. Russian commandos were deployed at and took control of the U.S. missile base located in Nicaragua.

Mechanics[]

110212195156

Mechanic

These weren't actual soldiers, but they wore orange uniforms with yellow gloves. The mechanics are often found in a prone position, indicating that they were either forced into cooperating with Peace Sentinel or were frequently abused by Peace Sentinel. They were often found in areas that required a lot of maintenance, such as the AI hangar at the mine base, as well as the main maintenance dock at the United States missile base in Nicaragua.

Prisoners[]

110213040659

Male POW

110212194305

Female POW

These weren't actual soldiers, but they wore yellow uniforms with the Peace Sentinel logo on the back. Some of them were FSLN members captured and held hostage by Peace Sentinel, although there were some prisoners who were not affiliated with the FSLN at all.[13]

Scientists[]

Personnel that were responsible for developing the various weapons systems of Peace Sentinel, and presumably the AI. Huey and Strangelove were some of the top scientists in Peace Sentinel before they defected to the Militaires Sans Frontières. Some of the scientists were also forced to work on the weapons against their will. One scientist also ended up escaping imprisonment and servitude from Peace Sentinel by disguising himself as one of their scouts in the Central Heredia region of Costa Rica, although he used a banana as a firearm, which aided the Militaires Sans Frontières in aiding him in defecting to their side.

Equipment[]

Military resources[]

Some of Peace Sentinel's vehicles were experimental war machines made by the West, such as the MBTK-70/KPz 70 (the American and West German variants of the same tank, respectively), and the AH56A Bomber/Raider. In addition, most of the vehicles, aircraft, and weaponry were supplied to them by Vladimir Zadornov, and in the case of the LAV Type Cs and LAV Type Gs, by the Canadian forces as part of their test run. The Sandinista comandante, Amanda Valenciano Libre, also implied that the overall amount of their equipment, weapons and bases were comparable to the American forces manning the Da Nang airbase at Vietnam.[4]

Uniform[]

  • Balaclava (of the T, eyed, and lined variety)
  • Utility harness
  • Alice lc-2 Medium Rucksack w/canteen
  • M1 helmet(with Mitchell leaf pattern)
  • Gloves
  • Headsets
  • White T-shirts
  • Body armor
  • Bandana
  • Bulletproof visor
  • Veil
  • Gas masks

Land vehicles[]

Tanks[]
Transport/Armored Fighting Vehicles[]

Aircraft[]

Note: "Customized" in this case means they have a different paint scheme from the regular vehicles of their class and possesses much greater firepower and defense than their base models. The customized versions are easily identifiable by sporting black camouflage patterns, some white, and traces of red.

Peace Walker Project's AI weapons[]

Weapons[]

Other equipment[]

Behind the scenes[]

Peace Sentinel appears as the main enemy force in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. The name "Peace Sentinel" is never actually spoken in the game, often only being mentioned as the CIA, CIA mercenaries, or just mercenaries. The name is shown on the logos as well as the ID cards of the personnel members. The CIA Mercs class of soldiers (the ones that appear in the tutorial level and to a lesser extent during the key card level later on) originally were supposed to be wearing green jackets in the demo, but they were changed to orange due to complaints by playtesters about how they were not visible. The change had been done without the approval of the staff.[19]

According to the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Official Arts book, there was originally to have been female members of the maintenance crews, who were to be recruited in a similar manner to their male counterparts. The CIA mercs (labelled as U.S. Army in the concept art) were also to have had German Shepherd Dogs accompanying them as watchdogs. Various designs were also considered for the Escort Units/captains, such as a helmet that has a vent in place of the area for eyes, an oxygen mask similar to that of pressure suits in Aircraft, and a brick-like helmet. In addition, the Russian soldiers/commandos were originally going to have a variety wearing red berets and also sometimes come with a shield. Lastly, there was also a subtype not included in the game known as AI lab workers who were presumably going to be in the AI lab. The AI lab workers were going to wear all white, with surgical masks over their face and purple gloves, and they were also implied to be of German origin (presumably West German), as their motto had the words "Was nicht ist, kann noch werden", which is German for "What is not, could still happen", with an owl on top, as well as a female version of the mechanic characters.

In various trailers for Peace Walker, including the TGS 2009 trailer and the Tactical Espionage Operations trailer, there are scenes of various Peace Sentinel vehicles patrolling through Los Cantos and being stationed at the Mine Base, as well as travelling through a field, accompanied by numerous Peace Sentinel soldiers. These scenes were not present in the final version.

Although Peace Sentinel wasn't given a direct mention in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, they were mentioned in some dummied enemy chatter in the game, including that at least one of the soldier's cousins was a member of Peace Sentinel, referred to as CIA, with it being implied that Big Boss was somehow responsible for said cousin's friend's death. This presumably would have been triggered if the player activated at least one alert.

Gallery[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ a b Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Vladimir Zadornov: I brought the technology. You [Hot Coldman] provided the money and land. TSENTR alone could never have accomplished so much in so little time.
  2. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Briefing Files > File Library > Amanda > Relations with the U.S. > Drugs.
  3. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Miller (Radio): Hear anything unusual? Enemy security on the outside looks pretty tight. Which means he must be...
    It is not made clear whether Peace Sentinel is aiding Zadornov in hiding from MSF, or if they are searching for Zadornov themselves in order to detain him.
  4. ^ a b Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010)
    Big Boss: You don't think they're here to push you back into Nicaragua? // Amanda Valenciano Libre: Impossible. Too much hardware too many bases. Didn't you see? They've got helicopters,tanks... It's like we're in Da Nang. There must be something else.
  5. ^ The boathouse was implied to have been captured shortly after Chrysalis' ambush at the location.
  6. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Implied by the Guard's shirts stating "US Army" on the left of the chest, along with other comments from recruitable soldiers.
  7. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Big Boss mentions this to Amanda in a briefing file.
  8. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Some recruited soldiers mention this in quotes that are part of the soldier's bio page on the Mother Base personnel menu ("I got back from Vietnam and found I had no place to call home anymore... Mind if I stick around with you guys for a while?"; "I used to be in the army, but the government sold us out. Is there anything worth risking your life for anymore? ").
  9. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Commander: Blue team, search for the intruders. Gold team, guard the elevators. Go! (Infiltrate the Mine Base Main Ops Mission)
  10. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Demo Ops had Kazuhira Miller referring to them as reinforced soldiers during the Tank battle.
  11. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    This is demonstrated when Naked Snake/Big Boss, after neutralizing the guards near the train, spies the reinforced soldiers offloading the contents of the train onto their trucks.
  12. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    Kazuhira Miller: (Radio) There they are... CIA mercs. Snake, you've got to get past them undetected. Avoid combat whenever possible.
  13. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    This is mplied with some comments from rescued POW soldiers.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Big Boss (Naked Snake) and/or the Militaires Sans Frontières members can encounter these vehicles at the Bananal Fruta de Oro storage shed, the El Cadalso Rail stop, and the Catarata de la Muerte waterfall near the AI facility. With the exception of the normal LAV type G, normal T-72 Ural, and the normal Hind A at the Bananal Fruta de Oro, El Cadalso, and the Catarata de la Muerte, respectively, most of the missions involving the neutralization of these vehicles are in Extra Ops mode, making two encounters for Tanks and Armored Fighting/Transport Vehicles, and two encounters for Aircraft each, implying that there are at least one to two of each vehicle (as the Helicopters cannot be encountered at El Cadalso, nor can any of the land vehicles be encountered at Catarata de la Muerte). In addition, the LAV-typeC (both regular and customized) is only encountered at Bananal Fruta de Oro.
  15. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    The maximum amount found in cutscenes and gameplay in itself
  16. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    The total amount of trucks required to be destroyed in Extra Ops [021]
  17. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    In the AI weapon hangar area in the Mine Base, there were 10 Pupa frames.
  18. ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
    This is implied when Snake explains that he found one after scouting Puerto del Alba.
  19. ^ https://twitter.com/BadHumans/status/1359765729290182659
Advertisement