Metal Gear Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Metal Gear Wiki
This article is about a fictional representation of a real world subject.
USARMYlogo

The logo of the United States Army.

The United States Army is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of eight uniformed services.

History[]

Origins and 19th Century[]

The United States Army was first formed on June 14 of 1784 after the Continental Army had been disbanded as a result of the Treaty of Paris. The Army had fought against the British in the War of 1812, as well as had minor conflicts with the Native Americans which resulted in gaining territory that became either all or parts of some of the states, including Nevada. During the 1860s, the U.S. Army was divided after the South seceded from the North, forming the Union army and the Confederate Army. After the resulting conflict: the Civil War, the Union ultimately won the war, although it was at the cost of 8% of all Caucasian male Americans and 6% and 18% of all Northern white males and Southern Caucasian males, respectively. The United States Army then oversaw the reconstruction attempts in the South. After fighting with the Native Americans in regards to expanding to the center of America, the United States Army participated in battles such as the Spanish-American War, the Phillipine-American War, and several campaigns in Latin America and the Boxer Rebellion, resulting in more land for the United States.

World Wars[]

The United States later participated with the Entente Forces in World War I after Germany sent the Zimmerman note to Mexico and restarted unrestricted submarine warfare and helped the allies win the war. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, America also decreased its forces at the end of World War I. However, the United States Army entered World War II when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, where the Army participated in several battles, including the Normandy Landings and North African campaigns. One of the soldiers within the Army during this time was The Boss. They also played a central part in the Pacific theater during World War II. Afterwards, the United States Army had occupied Japan and Germany after their respective surrenders. Two years after the end of World War II, the Army allowed the U.S. Army Air Forces to secede and form their own division, the United States Air Force. The Army also desegregated in 1948.

Cold War[]

The Cold War began shortly after the end of World War II, and the United States Army participated in the Korean War in order to help the South Koreans defeat the North Koreans. During the war, the United States Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, were formed at this time. Although the ultimate result was a cease-fire, this caused the United States to become worried about what would happen to Western Europe, so the Army reactivated Corps V and VII under the Seventh Army and deployed them to West Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Britain in case the Soviets tried to attack Western Europe. The United States Army also participated in several Nuclear Tests, including Operation Buster-Jangle in Nevada and Operation Castle Bravo at the Marshall Islands, where The Boss and Jack were irradiated by nuclear fall out, respectively. The United States Army also deployed some of its members into Vietnam in 1959 to instruct some of the Southern Vietnamese soldiers in warfare during its civil war.

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.[?]

Jack later participated in a top secret mission relating to the Vietnam War with Python, but Python ended up being shot during the mission and severely wounded, leading Jack to believe that Python died.

After the advent of the Bay of Pigs Invasion backed by the CIA, the United States Army and several divisions of the United States Armed Forces had begun to fear the CIA's growing influence in military affairs, so they began to plot for a way to tarnish the CIA's reputation. In 1965, the United States Army then began direct participation in the Vietnam War. The Army eventually found the opportunity to overthrow the CIA by recruiting a disgruntled FOX operative (Cunningham) and planting him within the FOX unit and, through Cunningham, giving FOX an alternate order from that of the CIA in regards to what to do with the Metal Gear project after pretending to defect: launch the ICBMG into the Soviet Union, which would result in the CIA's reputation being tarnished.

In 1970, the United States Army had Cunningham covertly recruit Naked Snake (Big Boss) into organizing a resistance against Gene with the intent of forcing Gene to launch the ICBMG into the Soviet Union. However, Snake ended up interfering with even that plan, but was exempted after he managed to save America from the ICBMG.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

The Army officially established the FOXHOUND unit in 1971. They then departed from Vietnam in 1973, and spent most of its time in reorganizing the unit. During this time, several of the Army's soldiers that saw action in Vietnam also ended up disowned by the military, which resulted in their joining Peace Sentinel and eventually the Militaires Sans Frontières. In addition, several military soldiers were also deployed to Nicaragua in order to help rebuild the country after the 1972 earthquake, although several were either killed or taken prisoner when Soviet troops took over the base after Hot Coldman made a deal with KGB agent Vladimir Zadornov.

During the 1980s, the Army participated in a few wars, including the Invasion of Grenada (also known as Operation Urgent Fury) and the Invasion of Panama (known as Operation Just Cause). After 1989, most of the American forces had dwindled down to 23%, and the Cold War was nearing an end.

Post-Cold War[]

When Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United States Army allied with NATO in subsequent Gulf War. A young Green Beret known as David was later dispatched into Western Iraq to infiltrate that area. After the war, the Army began focusing on peacekeeping missions.

In the early 2000s, ArmsTech and DARPA commissioned the Metal Gear REX Project for the Army. In late 2001, the U.S. Army was deployed into Afghanistan as part of the "War on Terror," after multiple terrorist attacks struck America on September 11 of that year. In 2003, the Army was deployed into Iraq when it was suspected that Iraq was developing nuclear weapons. The Army also had trouble within the nation when FOXHOUND staged a revolt on Shadow Moses Island (where Metal Gear REX was under development) in early 2005. However, they sent in their operative Solid Snake (David) as a result of his experience in FOXHOUND during the 1990s, to diffuse the situation, as well as secretly injecting him with FOXDIE. When Nastasha Romanenko published the book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth exposing the events of the mission to the public, the United States Army tried to denounce it as completely fictitious, although growing eyewitness testimony led their claim to be discredited.[1]

The United States Army, under the control of the Patriots, was later involved in framing Solid Snake and Philanthropy for the Tanker Incident, via the deployment of a Cypher drone that photographed Snake on the scene. Snake earlier speculated upon this discovery that they may have been present due to an interest in the Marine Corps' Metal Gear RAY prototype.[2]

When it became apparent that the Fox Archipelago was going to sink due to global warming, the U.S. Army renounced its control over the Shadow Moses nuclear facility and removed all of its warheads.[3]

After the U.S. military allowed for PMCs to become prevalent, as well as for the UN to start the war economy, their overall presence was minimal. However, a joint Army and Marine force, along with Meryl Silverburgh's Rat Patrol Team 01, attempted to arrest Liquid Ocelot in Eastern Europe. The results of this attempt proved to be disastrous for them, as Liquid managed to successfully hijack the SOP system and render all of their weapons and abilities useless, and then massacred most of the unit. Only the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Missouri, captained by Mei Ling, were able to mount an effective resistance against Liquid's Haven Troopers. These raw trainees with reduced reliance upon SOP were able to prevent the capture and likely destruction of the Missouri during its attack against Outer Haven.

Force XXI[]

The United States Army's Task Force XXI program (TF-XXI), also known as the Next-Generation Integrated Infantry Fighting System, was a series of trial exercises and initiatives conducted by the U.S. Army, in the interest of modernization. The goal was to test unique concepts, tactics, and technologies on the modern-day battlefield. The exercises involved virtual reality training for selected soldiers during the late 1990s, but it is said to have been under research and development since the 1980s. Some of the technology that was tested includes software-defined radios, digital transmitters installed on all their weapons, appliqué computers carried by each soldier (to minimize casualties and maximize combat effectiveness by sharing data), ground surveillance radar, satellite radio e-mail systems, and unmanned combat aerial vehicles. Members of this division also had some degree of access to top secret development projects in the military.

In the early 2000s, former Outer Heaven mercenaries were merged with the Force XXI unit, after the U.S. government bought out their contracts, to create the Next-Generation Special Forces.

Jack (Raiden) took part in the TF-XXI trials during his solo special forces soldier training.

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.[?]

Jack (Raiden) left the group by January 20, 2007.[4] Data for his time at Force XXI was also uncovered within his amputated left hand by Maverick Security Consulting, Inc. when trying to back up his data.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

Former members[]

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.[?]
Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

Unconfirmed history[]

The following information has been detailed in official Konami-licensed media, written by various external authors. Its status in the Metal Gear canon is unconfirmed.[?]

Shortly after the Les Enfants Terribles project created the Twin Snakes, the clone with the inferior genes, David, was sent to Oregon to undergo extensive training at a U.S. Army base, only being allowed to go to an amusement park called "Kiddieland" on the summer breaks.

Prior to joining the Militaires Sans Frontieres and FOXHOUND, McDonell Benedict Miller, then known as Kazuhira Miller, participated as a mercenary for the United States Army and ended up becoming a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, before eventually escaping by decapitating his captor/head interrogator via gunshot.

Behind the scenes[]

The U.S. Army first appears in the original Metal Gear, in the form of FOXHOUND, following a retcon that changed it from a NATO unit to an Army one in Metal Gear Solid.

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ New York Mirror review
  2. ^ This is mentioned in a Codec conversation with Otacon (normal channel) during the Tanker Incident.
  3. ^ Metal Gear Solid 4 Database'
  4. ^ [1]

See also[]

Advertisement