Metal Gear Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Metal Gear Wiki
The Pentagon image 2

The Pentagon, circa 1970.

The United States Department of Defense (DOD or DoD), often referred to as the Pentagon, is the U.S. federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military. The organization and functions of the DOD are set forth in Title 10 of the United States Code.

The DOD is the major tenant of the Pentagon building near Washington, D.C. (hence its nickname of "the Pentagon"), and has three major components – the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. Among the many DOD agencies are the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Security Agency (NSA). The department also operates several joint service schools, including the National War College.

History[]

In 1961, the DOD, after receiving intelligence about Yuri Gagarin going into space around the same time as NASA's Mercury Project, intervened and stated that they should add in a window to keep themselves one step ahead of the Soviets. They also attempted to claim that The Boss's prior exposure to the Buster Jangle Dog test in Nevada would have made her more resistant to space radiation, although one of the supervisors of the project did not buy the reason at all.

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.[?]

During the 1960s, the DOD began to feel threatened by the CIA's growing influence in America's military affairs, especially in reference to the Bay of Pigs Invasion (which they also used to make a cover story about The Boss's involvement to cover up her coma state after the disastrous results of the Lady Mercury mission), the covert ops in Indochina, and the Metal Gear project. FOX Lieutenant Cunningham joined the DOD due to his perceived mistreatment by the CIA after losing his leg in an unknown mission.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the DOD suspected that the Soviet Union would attempt to relocate their plans for a missile base to the San Hieronymo Peninsula. In 1970, the DOD enlisted Gene, FOX's commanding officer, to steal the new Metal Gear and launch it into the Soviet Union, in an effort to both ruin the CIA's reputation and gain the Philosophers' Legacy, thus increasing their own influence. However, this plan ultimately failed due to Big Boss's efforts and both organizations were eventually brought under the direct control of the newly formed Patriots.

Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.

In 1974, Hot Coldman, the CIA Station Chief of Central America as well as the leader of the rogue CIA unit: the Peace Sentinel, had activated Peace Walker, causing not only Cuba to become the target of a nuclear strike through false data, but also for NORAD to receive similar false data making it seem as though they were the target of a real Soviet missile strike. The Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff Council was eventually forced to decide whether to launch a retalitory strike against the Soviet Union (most of the White House Cabinet were unavailable due to presiding in Vladivostok for the SALT II talks). Big Boss then called (thanks to Huey Emmerich's help) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to tell him that the Trajectory data for the strike was fake, imaginary due to a CIA based project. The information they received was not supposed to be leaked. However, the Chairman needed to verify if it was Big Boss and not a communist trick outside of his codename, so Big Boss recited how he refused to shake the CIA Director's hand during the award ceremony after Operation Snake Eater, and it was top secret so only a handful of people would know. Although the Chairman agreed after hearing this, and decided to call off the strike, he was unable to do so due to the other members of the Joint Chiefs disagreeing and holding him at gunpoint, in essence committing mutiny.

During the early 2000s, the DOD developed the FOXDIE virus for assassination use, while its sister organization DARPA supported the Metal Gear REX project in a partnership with ArmsTech. The reason for this is because the DOD ended up suffering from big budget cuts and thus being forced to turn to private sectors to help fund their weapons development in order to maintain the high standard of quality in America's defense armaments.[1] In February 2005, the DOD sent Unit FOXHOUND and the Genome Army to Shadow Moses in order to oversee test exercises of a new weapon involving REX. However, a major setback occurred when both FOXHOUND and the majority of the Next-Generation Special Forces went renegade, took over Shadow Moses, and demanded the remains of Big Boss from the U.S. government, otherwise they would launch a nuclear weapon. However, it was later revealed that the DOD had actually suspected that FOXHOUND would revolt on that day, having already made the unit a subject of an undercover investigation. After some of the Genome Soldiers went missing on the day of the revolt, they sent a rookie soldier, Meryl Silverburgh, to Shadow Moses as an emergency replacement, though this was actually done in order to blackmail her uncle, Colonel Roy Campbell.

The DOD were in direct command of Solid Snake's mission to Shadow Moses, his orders being to rescue DARPA Chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker, and to find out if FOXHOUND could indeed launch the nuclear weapon. After REX had been destroyed by Snake, Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman ordered a nuclear strike on Shadow Moses Island, as well as publicizing a cover story stating that the explosion on Shadow Moses was due to the Sons of Big Boss' detonating a nuclear bomb.[2] However, he was placed under arrest shortly thereafter by DIA Major Richard Ames for "displeasing" the Patriots, due to the take off of a nuclear-equipped stealth aircraft making a complete cover-up impossible, and the orders were rescinded.[3] Roy Campbell believed it was President George Sears himself who had ordered Houseman's arrest, after managing to get in contact with him, and told Snake as much.[4]

In 2014, the DOD declassifed Big Boss's file.[5]

Behind the scenes[]

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 was deliberately crashed into the western part of the Pentagon building at 9:37 a.m. EDT by a team of five hijackers, affiliated with the al-Qaeda terrorist group. All 64 people on the airliner were killed as were 125 people who were in the building. The damage was repaired by September 2002 and a memorial was built for those who were killed.

The Metal Gear Solid: Official Missions Handbook implied that the Pentagon had an unlawful intimate relationship with one of ArmsTech's unnamed business rivals, a stealth manufacturer, and was the reason why ArmsTech lost the bidding for the next generation fighter jet.

The DOD also played somewhat of a major role in the non-canon game Metal Gear Ac!d 2, due to the true main antagonist, General Wiseman's affiliation with them as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The DOD also arrested Wiseman under the President's orders, after B.B. managed to hypnotize the latter when the former sent troops to his elementary school.

Related organizations[]

See also[]

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Otacon explains this in an optional Codec conversation.
  2. ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
    Snake: How do you plan on explaining a nuclear attack on Alaska to the media?
    Houseman: Don't worry. We've prepared a convincing cover story. We'll simply say that the terrorists exploded a nuclear device.
  3. ^ In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth by Nastasha Romanenko.
    Richard had other things to attend to. He had one of his men open a radio channel. "Yes, what is it?" I realized with surprise that the person he had called was none other than the Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman. "An air strike was an unwise decision." Richard sounded displeased. "With a nuclear armed Stealth bomber airborne, a complete cover-up is no longer an option. 'They' are not happy with this." "It's the only way to destroy the evidence. The results will bear out the correctness of my decision." "There will be no results. I've already aborted the air strike."
  4. ^ Metal Gear Solid, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (1998).
    Campbell: The Secretary of Defense has been arrested. Early retirement.
    Snake: Arrested?
    Campbell: I was able to get into contact with the President. Metal Gear, the training exercise... all of it... it was all the Secretary of Defense acting alone.
  5. ^ http://metalgear.wikia.com/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_4_radio_conversations#Snake.27s_use_of_CQC
Advertisement