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Special forces, or special operations forces are military units highly-trained to perform unconventional, often high-risk missions. Special forces, as they would now be recognized, emerged in the early 20th century, with a significant growth in the field during the Second World War. The Boss was sometimes known as the Mother of Special Forces for her role in the creation of various special forces groups during her lifetime.

Described below are some examples of special forces unit.

Brazilian Special Operations Brigade[]

The Brazilian Special Operations Brigade (Portugese: Brigada de Operações Especiais - Bda Op Esp) was one of the Brazilian army brigades, as well as the special forces of the Brazilian military. Its headquarters were at Goiânia, which allowed for easy deployment anywhere.

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." Its canonicity within the continuity is disputed, therefore reader discretion is advised.[?]

The PMC Maverick Security Consulting, Inc. was originally supposed to accept a job request from the Brazilian Special Ops regarding conducting drills for the group at Rio de Janeiro after completing the Africa mission in 2018. However, because of the failure of the mission due to Desperado Enforcement LLC.'s interference, as well as their having outdated weaponry at the time, Boris Vyacheslavovich Popov, the PMC's commander, froze the job request temporarily so Raiden wouldn't have any distractions from quelling the Abkhazian Coup.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

Delta Force[]

The United States Army's "1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D)" — commonly known as the Delta Force by civilians — is an integral element of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). Delta Force's primary tasks are counter-terrorism and national intervention operations, although it is an extremely versatile group that is capable of assuming many mission types, including (but not limited to) hostage rescue, enemy raids, and covert enemy force neutralizations. Delta Force conducts missions similar to those attributed to the British Special Air Service (SAS), from which it was originally modeled.

Former members

Extraterrestrial Environment Special Forces[]

The Extraterrestrial Environment Special Forces, also known as Black Ninja, was a special forces unit secretly formed by NASA, which envisioned future conflicts in outer space. The members of the group were technologically advanced ninja-like soldiers, outfitted with experimental flex armor and reflex-enhancing drugs. However, the unit was disbanded before it saw action, due to its controversial nature, and was regarded as being too dangerous to exist. Afterwards, some of the members fled to Zanzibar Land, where they participated in the country's war of independence. One of these members was the former leader of the Outer Heaven Resistance, Kyle Schneider, who was experimented upon after narrowly surviving the NATO bombing of Outer Heaven.

Former members

Green Berets[]

The United States Army Special Forces, a.k.a. the Green Berets, is a renowned Special Forces group that was originally formed in 1952 by Colonel Aaron Bank, based on the Jedburgh teams of the Office of Strategic Services. It is operated under the command of the United States Army. The Green Berets are tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism.

A young soldier by the name of John served as a Green Beret until he joined the CIA, as the first field operative of FOX.

Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." Its canonicity within the continuity is disputed, therefore reader discretion is advised.[?]

He also met another member, Roy Campbell, while imprisoned during the San Hieronymo Incident. Campbell was the sole survivor of a Green Beret unit dispatched to San Hieronymo to investigate why the long-defunct Soviet missile base had resumed development after an ambush instigated by the FOX unit.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

During his mercenary work after leaving America, John, now christened as Big Boss, had briefly rejoined the Green Berets to participate in Vietnam. At some point after McDonell Benedict Miller (a.k.a., Kazuhira Miller) left the Militaires Sans Frontières, he briefly worked with the Green Berets. During the Gulf War, one of the Les Enfants Terribles clones, David, participated in the Green Berets and was part of a dispatch unit to infiltrate Western Iraq.

Former members

GSG 9[]

The GSG 9 der Bundespolizei, formerly the German abbreviation of Grenzschutzgruppe 9 (translated as "Border Guards, Group 9") is the counter-terrorism unit of the German federal police. Founded after the Black September Olympic Hostage Crisis, it is considered to be among the best of such units in the world. In fact, many later counter-terrorism units of other nations were modeled after the GSG 9. During the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, Kazuhira Miller, Big Boss's lieutenant within the latter's private military group, the Militaires Sans Frontières, cited the GSG 9 as an example of a special forces group that was derived from The Boss and thus earned her the moniker of "the Mother of Special Forces."

Former members

Layforce[]

Layforce was a division of British Commandos formed during World War II. It was formed in part by The Boss. On December 30, 1941, The Boss and David Oh lost a close friend in Egypt who was a member of Layforce, also keeping a pin he had in memory of him. Skull Face later exploited this to infect David Oh, going by the codename Zero, with the vocal cord parasite.

New Zealand Special Air Service[]

The New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) was an offshoot of the mainstay Special Air Service of the UK and acted as the special forces unit for New Zealand. It was formed on July 7, 1955, and was modeled after the UK SAS, mostly because some New Zealanders had operated with the British Long Range Desert Group during World War II.

At an unknown point during Solid Snake's mercenary days, he interacted with a former member of the NZSAS, who proceeded to teach him of a technique of keeping warm if they are caught in a freezing environment yet at the same time was too hazardous to create a fire to keep warm, specifically by looking at a picture of a fire long enough to have their body feel like they're being kept warm.

Rhodesian Special Air Service[]

The Rhodesian Special Air Service, originally known as the Southern Rhodesian Volunteers and also known as the 22 SAS, C Squadron prior to Rhodesia's independence from Great Britain, was one of the special forces units for the Rhodesian Security Forces. Initially an independent group known as the Southern Rhodesian Volunteers, they were incorporated into the 22 SAS as members of the British Commonwealth, as well as used to combat guerillas during the Malaysian Emergency. Even after Rhodesia became independent, they kept the "C" Squadron empty in recognition for their service. The Private Force Rogue Coyote was primarily composed of former members of the Rhodesian SAS after Rhodesia itself collapsed in 1980.[1]

Selous Scouts[]

The Selous Scouts were one of the special forces units in Rhodesia prior to its reorganization into Zimbabwe in 1980. Some of the members of the Private Force Rogue Coyote were former members of this group.

South African Special Forces Brigade[]

The South African Special Forces Brigade (popularly known as "Recces") is the only special forces unit of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). 

Former members

Spezialeinsatzkommando[]

The Spezialeinsatzkommando, also referred to as SEK and previously known as Sondereinsatzkommando, was the special response team of the German State Police forces. Comparable to the GSG-9, they often are deployed in areas with riots and high crime rates in Germany's states. Although they are officially deployed in the Capital cities of their states, they can also have multiple units stationed in areas other than the capital city if these areas have a high enough crime rate. SEK was involved in trying to stop some terrorist attacks caused by the Les Enfants Terribles terrorist organization, and were the ones who gave the sub-commander of the terrorist organization the name Running Man.

Underwater Demolition Team[]

Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) were an elite special-purpose force established by the U.S. Navy during World War II. Their primary function was to reconnoiter and destroy enemy defensive obstacles on beaches where U.S. and Allied forces were going to make amphibious landings. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The UDTs pioneered combat swimming, closed-circuit diving, underwater demolitions, and midget submarine (dry and wet submersible) operations. They were the precursor to the present-day United States Navy SEALs.

In 1983, the UDTs were re-designated "Swimmer Delivery Vehicle Teams" (SDVTs). SDVTs have since been re-designated SEAL Delivery Vehicle Teams.

Former members

United States Navy SEALs[]

The United States Navy's Sea, Air, Land Teams, more commonly known and referred to as the Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command and United States Special Operations Command. The SEALs' duty is to conduct small-unit maritime military operations which originate from, and return to a river, ocean, swamp, delta, or coastline. SEALs can negotiate shallow water areas.

In 2009, SEAL Team 10, one of the many units operating under the Navy SEALs, participated in the Big Shell Incident.

Behind the scenes[]

According to the MSX2 manual for Metal Gear, Big Boss had previously served with GSG 9. However, this information was disregarded from his biography in the sequel's manual, and received no mention in the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database, so it is assumed to no longer be canon.

In Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Chris Jenner is a member of Delta Force, whose team was ambushed and massacred by Black Chamber.

In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, when Zero explained The Boss's role during World War II, his explanation that she formed Layforce is mistransliterated as "Rayforce." In the latter game, Zero in one of the tapes also mentions a Layforce pin that he and The Boss treasured due to it belonging to a fallen friend of theirs that died on December 30, 1941. Although the identity is not directly stated in-game, the Metal Gear Solid V script confirms that the person Zero was referring to was Jock Lewes.[2]

In the re-release of Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, included in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, George Kasler erroneously referred to the unit Jungle Evil belonged to as "Rex" Command.

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions (2015)
    Kazuhira Miller (tape): Rogue Coyote operates mainly out of Africa these days. Of the three PFs, they're the smallest. However, they scooped up most of the Rhodesian SAS after the country collapsed four years ago. Picture their organization as one big special forces unit. With Rhodesia a British colony, the Rhodesian SAS had its origins 22 SAS, C Squadron. They started out as a group known as the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers, but in '51 they were incorporated into 22 SAS as members of the British Commonwealth, and deployed to fight guerrillas in the Malayan Emergency. Even now, 22 SAS keeps the "C" squadron designation empty in recognition of their service. In a way, you could say the SAS almost makes up the core of Rogue Coyote. Later on, they were bolstered by other talent including former Selous Scouts and 32 Battalion. These guys are direct descendants of some of the best special forces in the world. They won't go down without a fight.
  2. ^ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sor9i2xUMMHmcXjRbPXaVKM2jpMYpxfy/view

See also[]

External links[]

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