This article is about Kazuhira Miller, a.k.a. Master Miller. You may be looking for his father, Colonel Miller.

"We hold our rifles in missing hands. We stand tall on missing legs. We stride forward on the bones of our fallen. Then, and only then, are we alive. This "pain" is ours and no one else's: a secret weapon we wield, out of sight. We will be stronger than ever, for our peace." ―Kazuhira Miller [src]

Kazuhira Miller (カズヒラ・ミラー, Kazuhira Mirā?), also known as McDonell Benedict Miller and Master Miller, was the subcommander of both the Militaires Sans Frontières and Diamond Dogs, and later, the survival trainer of FOXHOUND. He was well-read and possessed a vast array of scientific knowledge.

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Biography

Early life

The child of an American GHQ officer and a Japanese woman, Kazuhira was born in Yokosuka of the Kanagawa Prefecture[2], Japan, during the country's occupation by U.S. military forces, and was named after the Japanese word for "Peace" (和平) by his mother. Kaz was conceived as a result of his mother working as a prostitute, though his father treated her as a wife. Kaz's early life in Japan was a struggle, as he was born after his father had returned to America, and could not obtain Japanese citizenship due to his father being unknown. Many Japanese children would often mock him for his Western appearance, with his blue eyes, blond hair and fair skin. Because of these factors, he identified himself more with the United States, the winners of World War II, than to the Japanese. However, his father had left his mother some money prior to leaving, which she used to set up a shop, selling items such as cigarettes to occupation troops.

When Kaz was ten years old, his mother became ill, leaving him to run the shop by himself. While his mother was bedridden, he stumbled upon a picture of his father, and began showing it to the American soldiers who came into the store, asking if they knew who the man was. He eventually learned from one of his father's students that the man was Colonel Miller, who had retired from active duty and was serving as a military instructor. Kaz knew he wanted to go to America as well as meet his father, so he eventually sent a letter to him in the U.S., requesting to travel there.

That wish was eventually granted and Kaz was picked up from his home, left his mother behind, and went to the U.S. to get an education. Kaz soon discovered that he once had a half-brother, though he had recently died in the Vietnam War, which had caused his father to enter a state of depression. Taking on his father's surname of "Miller", Kaz was supplied with money to enroll at an Ivy League school, later graduating from it and receiving his college degree. During his stay in America, he also witnessed the rise of the anti-Vietnam protests that were occurring within America. He then returned to Japan, only to find that his mother wasn't angry that he had left her behind, but that she had simply forgotten who he was entirely, her mind having been affected by a disease she contracted during her days as a prostitute. Shortly after returning, he joined the Japan Self-Defense Forces, both to pay for his mother's hospital bills, and also as a way for him to get a taste of the battlefield.

Unfortunately for Miller, life in the JSDF wasn't as glamorous as he had hoped. His skills as a policeman were unmatched, but his superiors often feared them and chose not to reward those skills, so he didn't rise through the ranks as quickly as one would expect. Furthermore, he longed for a more active battlefield than what life in Japan typically offered, and by 1970, he decided to leave the JSDF, especially after witnessing The Temple of the Golden Pavilion author Yukio Mishima's coup d'etat and suicide at the JSDF Headquarters. He returned to America, only to learn his father had committed suicide, and was already buried. After his mother died, he began to drift around the world as a mercenary and a well known philanderer who loved the freedom of the '70s.

First encounter with Big Boss

In 1972, two years prior to the Peace Walker Incident, Miller's travels eventually led him to Colombia, where he got himself a position as a drill sergeant for a band of revolutionaries, despite never having seen a day of combat. It was during this time that he gained the name "Master Miller." Two months later, he and his guerrillas fought against the Colombian regime at the time, but they were caught in an ambush. Being inexperienced with actual combat situations at the time, half of his unit was wiped out and he ended up sending a soldier to act as bait while he fled. Doing so, he was caught in an explosive booby trap, injuring himself, although not before killing several of the opposition.

In the aftermath of the battle, he met the enemy commander, Big Boss (Naked Snake), who was fighting for the government forces. Big Boss attempted to get him to surrender, although Miller claimed he was unable to show his hands resulting in Big Boss informing Miller that his men were already dead. Miller then mentioned that he came all the way from Japan as his place was on the battlefield, and requested that Big Boss act as his kaishaku; an executioner for dishonored warriors as part of the Japanese ritual known as harakiri.

However, Miller had actually intended to distract Big Boss to pull his trump card: Miller prepared to take his own life with a grenade that was concealed behind his back and ensure Big Boss died with him as a last stand. However, Big Boss managed to stop Miller by clasping on Miller's hands thus preventing the grenade's lever from being released. Though Big Boss's men insisted on shooting Miller, Big Boss decidedly ordered them to stop. Miller then ended up falling unconscious, although not before declaring that Japan won't lose again. Big Boss was impressed with his spirit, likening it to that of a samurai, and had him recovered from the battlefield. Big Boss then placed Miller in a field hospital tent at the government soldiers' base to recover.

After Miller regained consciousness and discovered he was in a tent, Big Boss arrived to negotiate with Miller. Miller, however, did not wish to speak to him, due to being his enemy. Big Boss revealed that he had not come to interrogate him (having already found out who Miller was shortly beforehand) nor did he come to request that Miller join the Colombian government soldiers: Instead, revealing he was himself a mercenary like Miller and he had in fact completed his paid assignment with the defeat of Miller's unit.

Doing so, Big Boss intended to convince Miller to instead join the Militaires Sans Frontières. Miller, however, declined to join Big Boss, especially when he was still his enemy. Big Boss then listed the alternative scenarios that might befall upon Miller: He could let Miller be handed over to the Colombian army, where they would interrogate him with a bamboo manicure (as Big Boss trained them in interrogation himself), and then end up executed; he also couldn't return to the guerilla forces he led due to CIA-laced rumors being spread that Miller had been a government agent sent to sabotage their efforts from within, and thus would probably end up executed by his former forces; and there's little chance of him escaping Colombia, either.

Big Boss also relayed that if Miller were to cooperate, he could ensure Miller received a pardon from the base's commander, and explained to Miller his philosophy about how soldiers like him are to constantly fight on the battlefield. Miller, while not agreeing to join, decided instead to hold a contest to determine whether he should actually join him, as he doesn't want to admit defeat. Big Boss agreed, under the condition that Miller not try to escape as the soldiers are temperamental at the base. In actuality, however, Miller's "contest" was a ruse for an elaborate escape attempt, as well as a means to convince Big Boss to join him in fulfilling his own dream of a new form of business.

To this end, Miller had a local peddler, Miel, deliver a letter to his elite soldiers (who weren't present when Miller's unit was attacked) listing a plan to ambush Snake and his men at sundown in a specific, Drug cartel-owned area of the jungle, also giving the signal by loudly shouting the final event. Miller and Big Boss then conducted their contest events: knife-fishing (originally spear-fishing, before Big Boss suggested to use knives instead); arm wrestling; fast gun assembling (which was done blindfolded after Miller bragged that he was the fastest one while in the JSDF); speed-eating the raw Arowana they caught earlier; and speed-shooting, with Big Boss beating Miller every time to an extent that Big Boss made it easier for Miller by stating that he only needed to win one event to ensure his freedom.

However, during the final event, after Big Boss finished his turn, Miller's guerillas came into position and surrounded them. Miller then explained his goals and tried to get Big Boss to join him instead, not wanting to be subservient to Big Boss. However, Big Boss refused, and ended up quickly disarming Miller with his field-strip (which one of Big Boss's soldiers had earlier warned him of this by mentioning that he'll pull his "broken gun trick" if Miller tried it). To make matters worse for Miller, his own soldiers ended up restraining him instead of Big Boss and his forces, albeit reluctantly. Big Boss then admitted that they joined his forces due to Miel showing him the letter Miller sent earlier before it reached its destination, and he met with them as a result; convincing them to join just by sitting down and talking to them one at a time.

Humiliated once again, Miller left for the forest alone, declaring he'll make do with himself if that's what he can do. Big Boss, however, pursued him, both because he knew he wasn't well-equipped to deal with the bandits in that area at night and still hoping that he'd join MSF. Big Boss eventually reached Miller, though he ended up getting into a fight with him, in which Big Boss eventually slammed him down onto the ground. Miller finally accepted joining MSF, deciding that he would fulfill his dream through Big Boss instead, having acknowledged the Big Boss's inner strength (although Miller makes clear he hasn't lost yet and will hold the contest again in the future for real).

However, while making small talk about themselves, Miller and Big Boss were ambushed by some bandits, although Big Boss subdued them and slammed them into the ground. The two then made their way back. Years later, Miller would tell Big Boss that he didn't realize until he met him that "there's no such thing as an absolute enemy" and how "our enemies are always relative."[7] Miller would later play a vital role in the management of the MSF and supported Big Boss during his missions in Colombia.

Main article: Peace Walker Incident

In November 1974, Miller brought Paz Ortega Andrade and Ramón Gálvez Mena to the MSF camp on the Barranquilla Coast, after making sure that they weren't being followed by "their 'friends' from Langley." Gálvez wanted to hire Big Boss and the MSF to repel a security company that had recently entered Costa Rica. Unlike Big Boss, Miller didn't really feel that the deal was a bad idea, especially with the offer of an offshore plant in the Caribbean to use as a base of operations (as their current base was in disrepair), although he became reluctant upon learning that Gálvez was a KGB agent. Big Boss eventually agreed to take Gálvez's offer for Paz.

From their "Mother Base", Miller provided radio support to the MSF forces as they entered Costa Rica. He also briefly thanked Snake for accepting the mission, especially when it served as an opportunity to fully enter the mercenary business, although he admitted he suspected that the real reason he accepted the mission involved The Boss.[8] Big Boss contacted Miller from a nearby shipping facility, noting the unusually large amount of radiation film badges located there, and the radioman that he had previously interrogated having mentioned something about "spears" being delivered in the cargo. Miller and Big Boss then realized that this could mean only one thing: nuclear weapons were being shipped into Costa Rica, something that Miller found horrifying.

Miller then suggested that they ally with the local Sandinistas that had been ousted from Nicaragua, to help in tracking down the supply route to the facility in Mount Irazu, and gave a status update on Mother Base's repairwork.[9] Meanwhile, he and the MSF refurbished Mother Base, personally suggesting to Big Boss that he be assigned anywhere on the base's staff that needed assistance, citing MSF's small size. Despite Big Boss's view that being second-in-command was good enough, Miller did not want feel as though he was just "sitting around."[10] In addition, he also rigged Big Boss's radio so that he could contact Paz while she was hiding at Ciudad Colon.[11] The revelation of an unmanned weapon during the interrupted meeting between the FSLN and Big Boss had Miller reacting with shock at the presence of a weapon he only heard rumors about, and agreed with Big Boss to have FSLN comandante Amanda Valenciano Libre followed, as she's the only person besides the then-recently deceased Sandinista Comandante who can confirm whether or not the CIA group did have nukes in the region.[12] Miller later had FSLN comandante Amanda,[13] her brother Chico, and French citizen Cécile Cosima Caminades[14] extracted from Costa Rica, after Big Boss made contact with them.

Miller continued to propose ideas for the expansion of MSF, including the adoption of a Mess Hall Team,[15] a Medical Team for Mother Base's sick bay,[16] an Intel Team,[17] outside operations,[18] and voluntary recruitment.[19] He also coined the phrase "Pooyan Mission" for operations that involved preventing enemy usage of Fulton recovery, named after a pet pig belonging to neighbors of his, during childhood.[20] With Amanda in crutches due to her injuries, Miller initially attempted to stop her from leaving Mother Base's sickbay, citing concern for her wanting to return to the battlefield, only for Big Boss to point out that she wanted to do so for her comrades, and suggested letting her out of sickbay for the time being as it was also beneficial to MSF's development.[21] In addition, after AI weapon researcher Dr. Huey Emmerich defected to the MSF and was assigned to the R&D Team to develop a bipedal tank, Miller discussed the possibility of the weapon's name, and the two came up with "Metal Gear ZEKE." Miller believed that MSF would need ZEKE as a deterrent against other countries, in order to achieve true independence.[22]

At an unknown point, Miller proceeded to enter a mission with Snake via the use of a cardboard box, bypassing a truck and even one of the AI weapons, although problems arose from the obviously cramped space between them, plus his use of sunglasses making him effectively blind, which caused instances of him tripping, as well as his becoming disoriented from the residue fumes in the cardboard box (as the box had originally been used to transport onions). Eventually, it got them so fed up that Snake inadvertently blew his and Miller's cover while expressing irritation at the latter's complaints.[23]

Big Boss and Miller eventually learned that Hot Coldman, the CIA Station Chief of Central America, was the one behind the invasion and the Peace Walker Project, although Big Boss ended up captured shortly after a failed second-attempt to destroy the Mammal Pod. During Snake's capture, Miller attempted to contact Snake in vain,[24] explained to a concerned Amanda that there was one thing Big Boss would never allow the Peace Sentinel to confiscate from him (referring to the jigsaw that Big Boss had on his person that he disguised as a scar that was a copy of The Boss's scar),[25] and also had MSF forces aid Big Boss by retrieving his equipment so they can give it back to him when he escaped.[26] In addition, Miller, noticing that he couldn't get into contact with Paz, had an MSF member sent to the school at Ciudad Colon, and discovered from the soldier that while the school itself did exist, Paz and Gálvez were not seen in the school for quite some time, and later relayed these details to Big Boss as soon as the latter escaped from the prison.[27]

However, neither Big Boss nor Miller had known that Coldman was planning on using Peace Walker to launch a nuke towards Mother Base, namely to poison the fish and crops so that mass production could begin, but also to annihilate the MSF. When they learned this, Miller stated that Big Boss had to stop Peace Walker from arriving in Nicaragua. However, after that had failed, he considered evacuating Mother Base, but decided against it as the personnel believed in Big Boss.[28] He did, however, prepare a backup unit in case Big Boss was unable to stop Peace Walker at the U.S. Missile Base in Nicaragua.[29]

Later on, Miller arrived with the majority of the MSF forces into Nicaragua to aid Big Boss in stopping Coldman's plans. After joining forces with Amanda's FSLN group, they took down the Peace Sentinel, arrested Vladimir Zadornov (Gálvez) and Coldman (the latter of whom was mortally wounded by the former via forcing Paz to fire a gun). Miller also lectured a distraught Paz in not picking up a gun unless she planned to use it. Miller discovered that Coldman activated Peace Walker after hearing the pinging sound from Coldman's activating its nuclear briefcase, and not only was it going to be launched at Cuba (as Zadornov had changed the target earlier), but it would also transmit false missile trajectories to third parties all over the world, including NORAD and the Pentagon. He alerted Big Boss and Strangelove (who at the time were headed over to Peace Walker to uncover any answers regarding The Boss) about what happened, with Coldman dying before he could give the abort code (a factor Coldman had taken into account), forcing Big Boss and Strangelove to destroy the Peace Walker unit.

After the fiasco ended, Miller teamed up with Huey and Strangelove to build Metal Gear ZEKE, which was created from the prototype weapons of the Peace Walker Project. He also arranged for Peace Walker's nuclear warhead to be fished out of Lake Nicaragua, both to avoid causing another conflict for the natives, and to provide MSF with a possible nuclear deterrent. After some thought, Big Boss accepted Miller's proposal to install ZEKE with the warhead.[30]

When Paz came to stay aboard Mother Base, Big Boss tasked Miller with keeping an eye on her. However, when Miller attempted to shield Paz from the crude atmosphere of one of the MSF's monthly birthday parties, he failed after becoming drunk himself and began mooning everybody, saying that they should see "the real Kazuhira Miller."

Miller once delivered a package to Big Boss from EVA, after having it checked for explosives. Upon learning about Big Boss's former ties to EVA, he speculated that the two had been lovers, and warned that his commander not get "distracted" by her at the expense of MSF.[31]

With Zadornov in MSF custody, Miller considered recruiting him into the group in order to boost the other Russian members' morale. However, Zadornov's numerous escape attempts from Mother Base forced him to change his mind against it.[32]

At some point during the Peace Walker Incident, with the development of Mother Base, Miller had created a sauna on the base, to boost the morale of the Finnish personnel as well as it being viewed as economical. However, he let his womanizing side get the better of him, with him committing "soap play" with one of the female MSF soldiers, Swan, causing her boyfriend Armadillo to faint in shock at Miller and Swan doing this, resulting in Armadillo being sent to the infirmary for a month. Big Boss eventually deduced what happened after interviewing Gazelle, who was a witness to Swan and Miller's actions and being one of the women Miller slept with.

In addition, Miller had scratches on his body which implied that Swan scratched him while having sex. Big Boss then reprimanded Miller for his recent behavior due to it setting a very bad example for the personnel, resulting in an argument that escalated into a full-on brawl in the area, which several MSF personnel, including Paz, witnessing it. As a result of Miller's actions, he was sentenced to cleaning up the sauna for a whole year, apologizing to all involved in his womanizing, and being warned to be more careful about his womanizing nature.

After Zadornov escaped captivity for the seventh and last time, Big Boss warned Miller that he must have had an accomplice, given his final words. Miller then noticed that ZEKE had begun to move on its own, implying that someone had hijacked it, and noticed that Paz was acting strangely. Paz then revealed that she was really Pacifica Ocean, a Cipher agent. After ZEKE was disabled and Pacifica was defeated, Miller wondered "which was the real Paz and which was the lie."[33] Miller later apologized to Big Boss because the former knew what Paz and Gálvez had been up to all along, and in fact was in on their plot, but didn't tell Big Boss sooner.[34] However, Zero ordered Paz to launch a nuke at the East Coast, to frame the MSF as being an extremist cult should Big Boss refuse to rejoin Cipher, and thus would jeopardize any chances for MSF expanding. It was later revealed that Miller had secretly been collaborating with Cipher (Zero), the two sharing a common interest in the expansion of MSF, due to Miller's belief that the mercenary business would become a new driving force in the world economy after the Cold War's end.[35] However, he considered himself nothing more than a business partner to Cipher, and thus neither an ally nor enemy.[36] In addition, he had earlier leaked news of Paz's modifications to Zero before she had a chance to lie about her progress.[37]

At some point, Miller examined UFO photos given to the press by Sir Eric Gairy, prime minister of Grenada, and stumbled upon an image of the Chrysalis AI weapon, which he then reported it to Big Boss. Big Boss revealed that he had taken the photo and given it to Chico, which he had then sold to a magazine. Speculating that the CIA was involved in recent incidents of cattle mutilations and abductions across the Americas, Miller expressed concern at Gairy's attempt to have the UN investigate the "UFO problem," believing that he may be "digging too deep" and would get himself into trouble.[38] At another point, Miller also gave a proposal to Snake about a possible new weapon concept, although because there weren't any volunteers for Subject D to test it out, Big Boss decided to have Miller act as "Subject D" for the weapon, presumably surviving the launch. When Snake and the other MSF soldiers were coming back from a mission, Miller initially intended to have a chopper pick both Snake and the other MSF soldiers, although Big Boss, largely due to being tired and the soldiers insisting, had Miller send another chopper to get him back while he himself stayed behind, with Miller largely understanding the situation.

Post-Peace Walker

Warning: The following events occur in the pseudo-historical Side Ops in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes; its level of canonicity is ambiguous.

Side ops

Afterwards, Miller had MSF take various jobs, with Big Boss participating in the missions in person.

On December 3, 1974, at 13:18, Miller and MSF were hired to neutralize an infamous sniper duo who made their mark during the Laotian Civil War as part of a request from the KGB backers Miller had earlier been acquainted with. Miller relayed this aspect of his past to Big Boss, although he made clear that the KGB contacts had no connection whatsoever to Zadornov beyond common KGB affiliation. He also relayed information about the targets, including that they killed innocent civilians, and that their extradition to Laos to stand trial was in the talks for the peace negotiations.[39] After the mission was completed, Miller noted that the two soldiers had been afraid of something even more than that of death itself, causing him to become suspicious of the base they had just infiltrated, Camp Omega. He later had an Intel Team agent infiltrate the base to investigate.

On December 7 at 05:31, one of MSF's Intel Team agents, Hideo, requested an extraction from his assigned location, Camp Omega at the Naval Prison Facility in Cuba, with Miller arranging for him to be retrieved as he was vital to MSF's operations. As they had little time to do the stealth approach, Miller told Big Boss to assault the base. He also relayed orders to the pilot of the Hind chopper that Big Boss used to extract the agent, Hideo. Miller was impressed by Hideo's resourcefulness and skill in hijacking and driving a jeep.

On December 21 at 18:08, Miller had Snake return to Camp Omega to retrieve a classified intel from an undercover agent planted at the facility. Their client hired them via a cutout to retrieve the intel, although Miller suspected their client was the Joint Chiefs of Staff, especially as their Chairman owed Snake for his actions in quelling the Peace Walker Incident. As they couldn't risk blowing the DOD mole's cover, they instead had to directly interrogate him. Miller, however, became suspicious of the agent's storage location in the central control tower and warned Big Boss to be careful.[40] True to his suspicions, Big Boss overheard the agent and a bald Marine talk about the central control tower being a trap[41] The cassette tape was placed near a surveillance camera.[42] Big Boss managed to escape with the intel on both the tape from the tower and the actual tape that he took from a bald Marine. The first tape contained information on a Cipher agent known only as Skull Face. They also analyzed the tape and deduced it to be an interrogation, thus providing undeniable proof that it had been converted to a blacksite.[43] In addition, analyzing the other tape, which had been the true target, supplied a full plan for the black site, making it more apparent the base's black site status, though Miller wondered whether this was the "world without borders" that Cipher alluded to.[44]

Sometime afterwards, Miller, suspecting Cipher's involvement and deciding to get a lead on them, secretly dispatched an Intel Team agent to the base to uncover information. Unfortunately, this decision ended up resulting in the agent's capture.[45]

On January 9, 1975 at 07:01, Miller and the MSF were hired by the United States military's Joint Chiefs of Staff to sabotage one of their own base's anti-air emplacements, as they were preparing a MAGTF to retake the base. Miller guided Big Boss through the mission, informing him to take out three of the four AA guns. He also admitted that he had secretly sent an agent to the base, but he had been captured, and after apologizing for not telling Big Boss earlier, requested that he save the agent, provided he was still alive,[45] as well as informed him that there were several other moles belonging to the DOD who had been captured, and that the U.S. Government unofficially supported the JCS's mission due to it causing a negative diplomatic disaster had the base been uncovered.[46][47] Shortly after Big Boss infiltrated the area and placed a C4 package on an AA gun, Miller reported that the base had undergone a full alert due to the base's defense systems detecting the amphibious assault carrier containing the MAGTF sooner than expected.[48] After all three were destroyed, Miller told Big Boss about an APC with a cannon that would prove to be a threat to the MAGTF choppers, requesting that Big Boss destroy it.[49] Afterwards, Miller was about to send the extraction chopper, but then noticed an unexpected development on Mother Base's radar: Two unidentified aircraft were headed towards the base, and their speed exceeding the 500 mark made clear they were attack aircraft. Disturbed by the timing of their discovery, Miller told Big Boss to get out of the premises,[50] also informing him they were non-friendly after the MAGTF was shot down by the craft and identified their payload as being bombs, meaning the aircraft were going to do a bombing run on the camp.[51] After Big Boss rescued the moles and Intel Team agent and managed to escape (witnessing the destruction of the blacksite during the escape in a bombing run), Miller was nonetheless satisfied that they fulfilled their end of the bargain despite the unexpected ending to the mission. During the debriefing, Miller revealed that the aircraft were of western origin, meaning someone within the United States didn't want the black site discovered and manipulated everything to ensure that it was kept secret. Miller then voiced suspicion that the person or entity responsible for the attack, although unconfirmed, was most likely Cipher.[52]

Side Ops information ends here.

Inspection preparations

In February 1975, the MSF received a request for an inspection from the IAEA. Officially, the reason was because they received a shipment of nuclear fuel from Uzbekistani officials, although both Miller and Big Boss knew that this was actually done under the influence of Cipher, as revenge for their earlier defeat and Paz's earlier leaks. The two attempted to write an official letter of refusal explaining that they were a private firm,[53] but Huey, one of the few actually supporting the inspection, ended up sending a letter that indicated that MSF changed their minds and accepted it. Now with no other options but to allow the UN inspection to come about with media coverage by at least two major western networks, Miller ended up relocating all AFVs save for Metal Gear ZEKE to shore, and have troublemakers go with the vehicles for some mandatory "R&R."[54] He also informed the remaining MSF members the truth relating to the UN inspections to ensure they don't inadvertently reveal ZEKE's existence. He also arranged for Amanda to house her fellow FSLN troops at Cuba due to her being stationed there at the time, and the presence of soldiers that were technically Soviet-bloc would leave a bad impression on MSF. Except for Huey, all civilians were evacuated from Mother Base, including Cecile, where he prepared her papers so she can return to Paris. Miller also admitted that he had Strangelove retired from MSF due to the AI development program not accomplishing much as well as ZEKE being completed anyways while Big Boss was on a mission the prior week.[55]

Rescue mission at Camp Omega

Ten days later, Miller relayed reports that Paz had survived her fight with Big Boss and was rescued by a fisherman when she lay adrift in the Caribbean. He later planned a rescue mission to retrieve Paz who was detained by Cipher on the Cuban prison facility Camp Omega under suspicions of her allegiance being compromised as she was the only viable link left for MSF to track down Cipher and find out their plans and also to find out "what she really thought of them."[56] Miller found out about Paz's capture from information supplied to them by Amanda. They initially planned to delay rescuing Paz until after the inspection, and had Chico moved to Cuba to distract him by having him meet his sister there.[57] However, Chico ended up disappearing from the ship he was assigned to. Miller initially thought and relayed to Amanda as much that Chico must have simply gotten lost in the city, but then realized to his horror after conversing with Big Boss that Chico must have snuck out of the ship while it was refueling at Santiago de Cuba, which was sixty miles away from the prison facility that Paz was imprisoned at, with it being a three day hike due to mountainous terrain. Miller then had the Intel unit dispatch at Cuba try to find him.[58]

They eventually learned that Chico was taken prisoner and received an SOS signal from him which also confirmed the location of Paz in the same facility, with the Intel unit also confirming Chico's account. Big Boss volunteered to take the mission to retrieve them, resulting in Miller holding down Mother Base for the inspection.[59] He briefed Big Boss on the details of the military base Chico and Paz were held at, and also stated that while Chico must survive and escape, Paz can be killed if no other option is left, as well as stating that it was impossible to escape the base on foot due to mines. Miller also briefly implied that he only wanted to save Chico to prevent him from talking as he knew too much about MSF, earning a rebuke from Big Boss.[60] Because of their current situation, they could only afford to send no more than one extraction chopper to Big Boss once he has gotten Chico and Paz, although both also noted that the one silver lining was that, because of the stormy weather near Cuba on the day of the mission persisting until sunrise, Big Boss can easily infiltrate the base due to the inclement weather acting as cover.[61] During the mission, in addition to hosting the UN inspection, Miller monitored the situation and gave advice to Big Boss when needed.[62] 40 hours after Chico lost contact with the MSF on Camp Omega, Big Boss was dispatched to Chico and Paz's last known location: an old area of the facility, while he and the rest of MSF will deal with the nuclear inspections by the UN that were implied to have been sent by Cipher due to Paz's earlier leaks about their possessing a nuclear weapons program.[63] Miller alongside the other MSF members ended up informing Amanda about Chico's current status, with Amanda telling him that, as Chico was her younger brother, she'd know if Chico was lying, and with that said, she was "ready for the worst." He also expressed some disturbance about Amanda apparently being elated about her "readiness."[64]

Main article: Ground Zeroes Incident

As Big Boss returned to Mother Base with both Chico and Paz, Miller heard an explosion and went to investigate. Miller and the MSF were soon caught in a surprise attack by the military group XOF, which had used the UN inspection as a "trojan horse." Miller had been wounded by the time Big Boss arrived back at base, and was evacuated to a helicopter with the help of his commander and another soldier. Escaping at the last second before the strut sank into the ocean, a furious Miller informed Big Boss that the UN inspection had been a smokescreen, and proceeded to interrogate the injured Paz, largely out of anger at MSF's recent losses. Startled awake, Paz coughed up blood in his face and rushed away from him. She then opened the door of the chopper and sacrificed herself by jumping out, knowing that a bomb implanted inside her body would detonate at any moment. However, she was unable to fall far enough for the helicopter to avoid damage from the explosion's shockwave, and it was sent spinning into the path of another chopper.[65]

Miller, Big Boss, and an MSF medic were hospitalized in the aftermath of XOF's attack, with Miller himself suffering lacerations to his face. He was informed that Big Boss had been resuscitated, although the time take to do so caused him to fall into a coma. Miller then asked about the status of the medic.

Unlike his two comrades, Miller recovered quickly from his injuries and was contacted by the ailing Zero who revealed that he had nothing to do with Skull Face and XOF's attack on Mother Base and the MSF. Zero gave Miller financial support, so he would be able to continue his mercenary activities in Big Boss' absence, and Zero also told him that while he would watch over Big Boss for the immediate future, he wanted Miller to one day join forces with Big Boss again and assured him that he would be contacted with the code phrase "V has come to", when that time came. While Miller accepted Zero's help, he also made it clear that whether Zero had actually ordered the attack or not, he still held him responsible for the losses MSF experienced and the events of that night, and promised him that once him and Big Boss were together again, they would hunt him down after Skull Face was wiped out, despite being assured by Zero that he wouldn't be able to find him.

In 1976, Miller went to Rhodesia (presumably to fight as a mercenary in the Civil War). He also bore somewhat of a grudge against Huey, due to the latter's role in the XOF attack. He also lost contact with Strangelove, although he knew that she had made contact with Amanda regarding Peace Walker in Lake Nicaragua before he lost contact.

Diamond Dogs

Miller and some of the other survivors of MSF eventually reformed as the Diamond Dogs. During the nine years Big Boss was in a coma, Miller spent his time training various dissident soldiers.[66] During this time, he was referred to by the Diamond Dogs soldiers as Commander Miller. In 1984, Miller was training some Mujahideen soldiers in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, with his also having the personal motive of hunting down Huey, as he had heard that Huey was at the Afghanistan Central Base Camp. However, he and his unit were ambushed by the Parasite Unit, which eventually resulted in his unit being killed, him losing his right arm and left leg, and him being captured and tortured by the Soviets. Before his capture though, he told Ocelot to seek out "Big Boss" at the hospital, both to rescue him from a similar attack, but also so he could save him. Miller was later found chained up in a house by Venom Snake, who helped him to escape the country on March 21st, 1984.

Miller shortly recovered and was given a prosthetic leg and a cane to help him walk. Although Ocelot suggested that he get some Soviet-made prosthetics to replace his lost limbs, Miller declined, stating that he didn't care for his limbs anyhow and that he wanted to at least live with his phantom pain until his comrades were properly avenged. The attempts to destroy MSF, combined with the suffering endured during captivity, made Miller extremely vengeful towards Cipher, more specifically XOF and its leader Skull Face, and obsessed with its destruction. Although he wanted Diamond Dogs to be based in Latin America over Seychelles, he ultimately accepted the latter, as Latin America was doing fine under Amanda.

Miller then began to undertake his duties as Mother Base's XO, being in charge of all of Mother Base while Venom Snake went out on missions. Among his first duties was providing a list for Snake via the iDroid regarding which missions they have accepted they should do first, citing that they'll have to get their hands dirty if Diamond Dogs is to complete their objectives.[67] Miller, along with Ocelot, provided tactical support for Venom Snake whenever the latter was out in the field, giving him advice on how to achieve his objectives and advising him on the multiple courses of action Venom Snake could take. At some point after their new Mother Base received extensive expansions, one of their forward operating bases ended up invaded by a competitor. He later notified Venom Snake of this as soon as he returned upon receiving the news, and requested orders from him in a way that made clear he was very eager to find the intruder and teach them and whoever they worked for a lesson. After several successful missions in Afghanistan, Miller received a coded transmission from a man he had been hunting for years, Huey Emmerich, who wanted to defect from mysterious military group XOF over to Diamond Dogs.

Believing that Huey was somehow involved in the attack nine years earlier that destroyed MSF, Miller insisted that they agree to Huey's request so that they could interrogate him about his whereabouts during the MSF attack. Venom Snake then headed to the Soviet occupied Serak Power Plant where the transmission was sent from, but was sidetracked by the sniper Quiet who began shooting at him. Miller, not wanting Huey to disappear, advised Venom Snake to sneak past Quiet and return later. Upon arriving at the facility, Venom Snake snuck his way past the Soviet troops stationed at the plant and discovered a hidden XOF facility housing a Metal Gear, although Miller reminded him that the priority was Huey. Venom Snake then caught Huey discussing the Metal Gear with the XOF commander, Skull Face, on the facility's checkpoint tower. Overhearing their dispute after Skull Face learned of Huey's betrayal, Miller advised Venom Snake to go after Huey before he was executed.

After Venom Snake managed to extract Huey out of Afghanistan, Miller ordered his men to take Huey into custody and bring him to the interrogation room, where he and Ocelot proceeded to torture Huey for information regarding his disappearance nine years earlier and his affiliation with XOF. While Miller accused Huey of being involved in the MSF attack, Huey countered and accused Miller of being the traitor, knowing of his previous ties to Cipher. After Huey begged that he too had lost something, Miller took his frustrations out on Huey and grabbed the latter's controller that allowed him to operate his exoskeleton, with Miller bending one of Huey legs out of shape. Because they needed proof of Huey's treachery before passing judgement, Venom Snake and Miller allowed Huey to stay onboard Mother Base as a prisoner while giving him permission to work with the R&D Unit, though Miller still suspected Huey of betraying MSF.

Miller became furious towards Venom Snake when the latter had defeated Quiet in a sniper duel but refused to execute her, instead taking her prisoner in an attempt to find out who she worked for. Upon arrival at Mother Base, Miller had ordered a chopper escort for Venom Snake so that he could be brought straight to the command platform. There Ocelot and a team of of his own Diamond Dogs waited for his arrival, but Miller, not wanting to take chances with Cipher, ordered them shoot Quiet even though she had prevented a XOF fighter jet from shooting down Venom Snake's chopper, saving his life. He continued to give the order despite Ocelot's objections, constantly reminding the angry Miller that she had saved Big Boss's life. They were both ultimately stopped by Venom Snake, who ordered his men to escort Quiet to the Brig. Miller, angry with Venom Snake over his choice of sparing Quiet, told him that he would regret it in the long run, to which Venom Snake countered that she would have to be put down eventually, and that he would pull the trigger when the time comes.

After finishing his interrogation of Huey, Miller informed Venom Snake that Skull Face had moved his operations to Central Africa and advised that they do the same in order to find out what he was up to while growing their reputation as a PMC. One of these missions involved in the execution of a group of child soldiers who were being held prisoner by a PF. Not wanting Diamond Dogs to be responsible for the murder of children, Venom Snake instead freed the children and extracted them back to Mother Base. Upon arrival, one of the kids accidentally bumped into Miller, causing him to lose balance and fall. While he did believe that Venom Snake did the right thing in sparing the children, Miller made it clear that he did not like children and that they weren't fit to be on a battlefield or even on Mother Base, proceeding to hit one of the kids with his cane. The kid then proceeds to grab Snake's rifle and pointed it at Miller, with Snake commenting that the kids a natural until Miller disarms the child soldier, making it clear that he did not like them. Miller then told Snake that the children will go through a reintegration program to help them get actual jobs that don't involve warfare.

Shortly thereafter, after Snake neutralized the commander of Rogue Coyote, Miller, having been given a suggestion by Huey Emmerich about a counterweapon to the various Walker Gears in use by the PFs in Central Africa, called Snake notifying him of this, and requesting that he return to Mother Base.[68] Miller then, alongside Ocelot and Snake himself, went to Room 101 to meet with Huey who proposed the designs, also clarifying Huey's intended message by telling Snake that he intends for his proposed weapon is supposed to be customizable. Despite Miller's personal hatred of Huey for his suspected role in MSF's downfall, he ultimately agreed to the development, mostly because he realized Diamond Dogs needed that deterrent, citing that the tank had greater turning radius than a tank, making it vital in regional skirmishes, combined with the PFs gaining similar tech, and told Snake as much when the latter mentioned he was having deja vu from Huey's explanation of Battle Gear's properties. Miller then asked if they had Snake's approval, with Snake reluctantly complying before leaving.

Soon, Miller had sent Venom Snake to rescue the Mbele Squad's former captain, Shabani, who had been taken to the Devil's House at Ngumba Industrial Zone, who paid the Diamond Dogs with diamonds that the children had earlier been forced to mine prior to their rescue. However, they stumbled upon their arrival a horrific site where people literally had "voices" jammed down their throats via an acoustic as well as the patients having horrific growths on them, with the Intel Team also picking up the chatter nearby. However, due to Skull Face's interference, as well as the involvement of the Man on Fire and the Floating Boy (with the former also being Miller's first witnessing of the entity due to not being present when the hospital was attacked), they ultimately failed to rescue Shabani before he died, and were forced to leave his corpse behind in the burning building. They also had confirmation that Skull Face was indeed involved with whatever was going on at the lab due to their brief encounter. However, they couldn't identify the little amount of the experiment Snake brought back with him (both due to the lack of anything to compare the pathogen with, and because the sample itself was almost completely burned off by the Man on Fire), nor could they connect anything regarding the radio transmissions barring that they couldn't find English among the transmissions.

They were later contracted for the assassination of White Mamba, the brutal commander of a small army of child soldiers who turned against their adult superiors and were now a small band of savages, raiding villages. Miller, not wanting Diamond Dogs to be infamous for the murder of children, insisted that Snake only arm himself with non-lethal weapons and to extract as many as he could.

After a few more missions, including the rescue of two former researchers involved at the Devil's House that confirmed that English was never among the languages present, Miller and the other Diamond Dogs soon had to deal with a massive disaster at the base regarding an outbreak of an unknown pathogen. Left with no alternatives, he and Snake, at the behest of Ocelot, had placed several soldiers into quarantine, with Miller also wondering whether this epidemic was the WMD to surpass Metal Gear Cipher was developing that Huey had alluded to earlier when Ocelot reminded them of both the floating bodies at the Mfinda Oilfield and the bodies at the Devil's House earlier.[69] He then dispatched the Intel Team to find the root cause, as well as to either assassinate or otherwise retrieve a human trafficker who had previously been involved with Skull Face's activities at the Devil's House. Eventually, only one of the Intel Team members survived, and was quickly recovered by Venom Snake. The Intel Team member in turn revealed a hint at who they can find to quell the epidemic and his location: Code Talker. Miller then had Venom Snake immediately go to the mansion at Lufwa Valley to retrieve Code Talker. When Venom Snake confirmed he had retrieved Code Talker, he told Snake to order a chopper request, knowing that the latter's advanced age meant he could not risk a fulton extraction. While overhearing Code Talker explain what was occurring on Mother Base, and what exactly it was, Miller realized in horror from both Code Talker's statements and their earlier mission to the Devil's House that Skull Face was most likely planning to wipe out all languages save for English from the face of the Earth. While traversing to the chopper, Code Talker also directed Snake to a mass grave containing victims of the vocal cord parasites, which he neither knew about the experimentations nor could he do anything to help them, with Miller deducing that the remaining MIA Intel Team members were most likely among that mass grave, eventually declaring that XOF will pay for what they did to them. Shortly after Code Talker was placed on the chopper, Miller sent a squad to investigate the mass grave, and confirmed his suspicions that the Intel Team members were indeed among those victims. The rescue of Code Talker, however, ran into a snag when Pequod ended up making a forced crash landing onto Nova Braga Airport due to the Armored Skulls ambushing them via a cloud of Metallic Archaea rusting the chopper. Knowing that Code Talker's survival is their only key to Mother Base's survival, Miller told Venom Snake to fight off the Skulls and their puppet soldiers. Upon Code Talker's arrival, they then managed to cure the epidemic, although at the cost of becoming sterile as a result.

Ultimately, he and Venom Snake eventually found Skull Face and Sahelanthropus upon dealing with an epidemic via interrogating Huey (as they knew Skull Face needed the Walker Gears and Metal Gear Sahelanthropus as well as the vocal cord parasites specifically to allow literally anyone to become a nuclear power thanks to Code Talker). Miller then personally accompanied Snake via the gunship Queequeg alongside Huey Emmerich (who wanted to redeem himself for his previous ties to Skull Face and supply information on Sahelanthropus), some Diamond Dogs soldiers, and, albeit unintentionally, Eli (who had snuck onboard Queequeg via the supply compartment). Despite the circumstances, however, the official chain of command of Diamond Dogs was still in effect, with Miller relaying any orders to the remainder of the staff at Mother Base regarding retrievals and/or developments via the iDroid. He also had Queequeg secretly tail Skull Face after Venom Snake surrendered to the former at OKB Zero, with the intention of shooting XOF on sight in an ambush. However, things entered an unexpected hitch when not only was Queequeg's controls malfunctioning, but Sahelanthropus itself somehow became active (unknown to Miller at the time, both of these were due to Eli's presence onboard). After Sahelanthropus was taken out, Miller then had Queequeg land to pick up Snake. They then arrived back at the Serak Power Plant just in time to "see Skull Face" after he was gravely injured from Sahelanthropus going haywire due to Tretij Rebenok reacting from Eli's presence and lust for revenge. Miller and Snake considered killing him right then and there but they chose not to, deciding instead to shoot off two of his limbs as revenge for the losses they suffered at Skull Face's hand. They had also planned to leave Skull Face to die in agony under the rubble, with Miller, in reference to Skull Face's begging for them to finish him off, coldly telling him to "do it [himself]" before tossing the lever-action rifle and using his crutch to point the barrel away to ensure Skull Face could not reach the barrel in his current state. However, Huey proceeded to kill him shortly afterwards.

The death of Skull Face left Miller somewhat anguished, largely because he wasn't able to recover his limbs or the losses he had endured. This, alongside lingering suspicions that Cipher was somehow among them, caused him to become a lot more erratic, telling the staff to constantly suspect each other, something that the other soldiers noted.[70] After the Battle Gear had its development completed, Miller, both due to no longer seeing any use for Huey (due to Skull Face being killed and the aforementioned completion of the Battle Gear) and due to suspicions that Huey was already planning to betraying them in the near future, had Venom Snake find The Boss AI and recover it from the Soviet central base in Afghanistan, to see if they could find any evidence pointing to Huey's betrayal of MSF nine years earlier.[71] Upon confirming the AI pod had been launched, Miller, after unsubtly expressing hope at finding evidence pinning Huey with the demise of MSF, then told Snake that he'll be the first to know if they discover anything.[72] What he got when the AI was sent to them and examined was more than even he had bargained for, as Diamond Dogs uncovered a female mummified corpse inside. He and the other Diamond Dogs members then interrogated Huey regarding the identity of the corpse, and later relayed the information to Snake,[73] presumably also calling Snake back to Mother Base for this reason under the pretense of wanting Snake to take a break from the battlefield,[74] although he was briefly sidetracked from actually delivering the information due to events on Mother Base where Quiet risked her life trying to retrieve a necklace belonging to the Mbele Squad when it was discarded in a vat filled with chlorine disinfectant, which resulted in her hospitalization. During this event, he also wondered why the Mbele Squad let their necklace fall down the vat (unaware that Eli had been involved in this action), and when witnessing Quiet jump in and narrowly alongside Ocelot stopping Venom Snake from recklessly pursuing her, thought she tried to scare the Mother Base members. After seeing her survive and successfully retrieve the necklace, he stayed behind to ponder what he just witnessed.

Ultimately, the events of Quiet's sacrifice resulted in their discovering her true identity as the assassin who tried to kill Big Boss at Cyprus via an MRI scan as well as Code Talker, and worse, she was also infected with the vocal cord parasites, thus explaining her abilities.[75] Suspecting she was carrying the English strain of parasites, and angered at Quiet for her attempt on Big Boss's life, he then proceeded to brutally interrogate her, including dousing her with seawater knowing full well about her ability to drink through skin. However, he reluctantly backed down when both Venom Snake (whom he had earlier called back to base with the discovery[75]) and Ocelot suggested against it, although he was clearly angered at the decision, storming out and shouldering Venom Snake as he left.

In addition, Miller's leadership was later put into question when Eli repeated defied the Mother Base staff, repeatedly causing incidents that brought harm to the staff. He later began to rally the children against the Mother Base staff, claiming that they would not let them return home and that they were only prisoners. While Ocelot repeatedly requested that they isolate Eli from the other children as he considered his rebellious behavior to be contagious, Miller vehemently objected, saying that Eli deserves a chance to change despite his violent tendencies. When one of the child soldiers Ralph, was seemingly killed in an accident caused by a staff member, Ocelot conveys his suspicions that Eli could be responsible for Ralph's death as the other children no longer trusted any of the staff members charged with looking out for them, although Miller again objected as he believed that Eli was not capable of such machinations.

After a few children on Mother Base managed to escape, Miller requested Venom Snake to find and bring them back. While Venom worked on recovering the runaway children, the relations between the child soldiers and the mother base staff only worsened, with Eli threatening that they will suffer if the last child is brought back. Eli eventually leads the children in a failed revolt against the staff using make shift weapons, with Ocelot taking charge of the situation as Miller had failed to take precautions as he underestimated Eli's ruthlessness. While Miller admitted that he did fail to act when he should have, he told Venom that he had always heard the phrase "I hate kids" growing up, and now as an adult, he had a responsibility to show them that there are ways to live in this world without war. Eventually, after realizing the full gravity of the situation with Eli and his threat, Miller then called Snake back to Mother Base after relaying their discovery of both Eli's role in the children's escape and his masterminding an armed revolt against Diamond Dogs, and also notifying him that Eli's likely to be hiding something else before requesting Snake's return to Mother Base.[76] Ocelot had Eli isolated from the other children and later interrogated him, wanting to find out Eli's supposed end game while Venom Snake and Miller watched from the observation room. Eli eventually makes his move and hijacks Sahelanthropus with the help of Rebenok, with the rest of the children hijacking a Diamond Dogs helicopter and taking the pilot hostage. Owing to the unexpectedness of Sahelanthropus being active again, he and the rest of Diamond Dogs then conducted an investigation as to what happened, and eventually learned why it was active again, let alone under Eli and the other escaped children's control: Huey Emmerich had earlier used them to rebuild Sahelanthropus in secret. He then had him interrogated, and forwarded the recording of his interrogation to Venom Snake, assuring him he needed to hear it.[77]

Eventually, he reported to Snake that they discovered a radiation leak on the Quarantine Platform, and were currently investigating it. However, while investigating it and trying to evacuate any personnel to another area, they also discovered that there was a second outbreak of the vocal cord parasites, and worse, the wolbachia treatment has no effect this time around. He sent a Level 3 MOPP unit to take care of it, but they had been wiped out by the newly infected staff. He then called Snake back to Mother Base, briefing him on what they had uncovered, due to the serious nature of the situation requiring Snake's presence.[78] Although he planned on sending another unit, Venom Snake volunteered to personally go into the quarantine platform to investigate, with Miller ultimately letting him.

During the second parasite outbreak in the laboratory on Mother Base, once Venom Snake could identify those who were infected, Miller urged Venom Snake to kill anybody who was infected, as they could neither treat them nor could they allow them to escape and risk spreading the parasite. He later attended the funeral for the personnel that were killed in the incident, also assuring Snake that he did the right thing, as otherwise, they would have to forcibly place the soldiers through the incinerator. He believed that their cremated remains would be buried at sea, although Venom Snake instead ordered that they be formed into diamonds, which Miller felt would give the soldiers a "light" even after death. He then acknowledged his reckless pursuit of revenge may have cost people, and wondered whether Big Boss realized this regarding the pain never going away, and then admitting that he now respects Big Boss more than ever.

He then investigated the events of the outbreak, and eventually realized what caused it: One of the X-ray scanners used to monitor the parasites had been illicitly modified to emit beta radiation, which caused the parasites and even the wolbachia itself to mutate. Knowing that Huey was in charge of delivering the X-ray equipment, he deduced Huey must have been the one who modified them to emit beta radiation. This, alongside monitoring Huey's calls and learning he had been in contact with one of the DOD's contractors regarding the parasites, had him and Ocelot interrogating him, and nearly having him executed. However, they then decided to instead investigate to see if he was innocent or guilty, wanting to make sure they at least do the justice procedure rather than act rashly. He also sent both interrogations as well as the near attempt at executing Huey to Venom Snake as recordings, feeling he needed to hear it.[79] They then uncovered audio within the AI confirming that it had actually been Huey who shoved Strangelove and locked her into the AI pod, not Skull Face as Huey earlier claimed, and presumably uncovered more evidence that proved he was responsible for MSF's betrayal. This caused the Diamond Dogs to grow restless especially due to their discovery of Huey's crimes against Diamond Dogs, which caused Miller to call Snake and request his return to Mother Base to avoid a riot ensuing on Mother Base.[80] He then, after bringing out the witness (the AI), and reviewing the evidence, he then declared Huey in thinly veiled anger that he was guilty on "all counts." Although he wanted Huey executed, Venom Snake ordered for him to be exiled instead. Although he was angry at the decision, he ultimately relented, though he was certain Huey would spread lies about them and people would foolishly believe him due to their "fool's morality." He then had R&D use his notes left behind during his exile to ensure they can continue without Huey being present.

After Quiet escaped in large part because of the events of the second outbreak, Miller strongly insinuated that they may need to kill Quiet to ensure she doesn't become a threat, suspecting her escape was so she would go kill everyone she can. After she left after being forced to speak English to save Venom Snake's life, he then talked with Code Talker about Quiet during the debriefing.

An unknown period of time after his rescue from Afghanistan, Miller eventually discovered Venom Snake's identity as a phantom of Big Boss, meant to act as a decoy on the world stage. He confronted Ocelot with this knowledge, and Ocelot decided to let him in on Big Boss' true plan of creating Outer Heaven, an army that was a nation onto itself, and asked Miller to aid Big Boss in his coming revolution by continuing to work alongside him and support Venom Snake in growing Big Boss' legend. Miller, however, refused to have any part in said revolution; he felt utterly betrayed by this revelation and gave up on his former friend, declaring that while he would continue to play his role as Venom Snake's business partner for now, but only in order to make Big Boss' phantom and son stronger in order to one day send him to Hell. Ocelot coolly warned him that if he really decided to go against him and Big Boss and switch back to Cipher's side, then the two of them would be enemies and he would oppose him by aiding the other son. Miller grimly accepted this and told Ocelot that he would be ready when that time came, but for now it would be in both their best interests to just learn to coexist.

Miller would indeed continue to keeping up appearances for a while, but he eventually broke with Diamond Dogs, seeking the employ of official governments once more.

Later career

As "McDonell Benedict Miller," he later served as a survival instructor for the SAS, the Green Berets, a U.S. Marine boot camp, and eventually FOXHOUND.[4][5] He also went on to volunteer as a coach in a mercenary school twice a year before his retirement.[4][5] During his time as a drill sergeant in FOXHOUND, he was referred to as "Hell Master" and draftees called him "Master Miller" with the utmost respect.[4][5] It was at FOXHOUND's training camp that he met Solid Snake.[81]

By 1999, Miller was married, and lived with his daughter Catherine.[4][5]

Main article: Zanzibar Land Disturbance

In December 1999, Master Miller was hired by Colonel Roy Campbell to serve as a survival consultant for FOXHOUND, during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance. Miller thus assisted Solid Snake by radio, providing information on survival techniques, and guidance on how to overcome the various obstacles Snake faced during his infiltration of Zanzibar Land. Such advice included code breaking[82] and finding alternative uses for any equipment at hand,[83] as well as moral support.[84] During Snake's battle with Big Boss, Miller referred to the latter as a "monster" and urged the unarmed Snake to find something to use as a weapon against him.[85]

Main article: Shadow Moses Incident

By February 2005, McDonell Miller had moved to Alaska to live in solitude, occasionally helping to train the Alaskan Scouts during his free time. However, Miller was murdered in his home by an assassin at least three days prior to the Shadow Moses Incident.[3]

Liquid Snake, FOXHOUND's squad leader, then assumed Miller's identity in order to aid Solid Snake in his mission at Shadow Moses Island, and provided him with information on how to operate within the Alaskan environment via Codec. This disguise also fooled Roy Campbell, the very man that had requested Miller's support in the first place.[86] The truth was later revealed when mission staff member Richard Ames became suspicious, after "Miller" revealed information on Naomi Hunter that not even the DIA were aware of, resulting in Ames sending an agent to his home, and the discovery of the real Miller's dead body.[87] Campbell's Codec link with Miller had also been cut off, though the former eventually learned the truth after Mei Ling traced Miller's signal to within the base at Shadow Moses. Before Campbell could warn him, Snake unwittingly activated Metal Gear REX due to Liquid's trickery, who then mockingly revealed his true identity.[3][88]

Equipment

Miller often wore aviator sunglasses due to having photosensitivity,[89] even in times where sunglasses would not have been appropriate, such as while indoors, at nighttime, while driving during stormy weather, and unintentionally, while showering.[90] Although he wasn't demonstrated to have difficulty in the first two instances, his wearing sunglasses did cause some problems during a mission with Snake where they made use of the Two-Man Cardboard Box, which caused him to trip occasionally (which was also compounded by his disorientation from both the cramped space in the cardboard box and the onion fumes affecting him),[23] as well as affecting him while showering enough that he wondered why the room was dark before Big Boss informed him that he forgot to remove his sunglasses.[90]

He also wore a Rolex watch on his left wrist during his time with the Militaires Sans Frontières. Because of his formerly commanding a guerrilla unit prior to joining MSF, his MSF uniform was a modified version of a guerrilla outfit, complete with a yellow scarf. He continued wearing this uniform after the formation of Diamond Dogs, at least up until his capture and maiming in Afghanistan in 1984.[91] After his capture, he was only seen with his green undershirt and pants, with his boots, BDU top, and neck scarf gone, and also separated from his sunglasses until Venom Snake when rescuing him gave them back to him. He also had a green bomber jacket with the Diamond Dogs logo placed on it, which he used as a makeshift blanket after being rescued from Afghanistan.

After losing his limbs, Miller opted for a rudimentary leg prosthetic and walking crutch, refusing the use of advanced bionics. This decision was so he could remember the pain Cipher had caused him, as a reminder of his desire for revenge. He also wore a green suit with a red tie, as well as a khaki trenchcoat and a black beret depicting the Diamond Dogs logo.

Personality and traits

Proud of his abilities, Kazuhira Miller dreamed of uniting the world as one based on his past experiences as a child of Japanese and American descent. He originally felt that he didn't really belong in Japan, viewing himself as a byproduct of war. He would go on to cherish his Japanese name after his mother's death, understanding her sentiments of peace especially with regards to his father being an American soldier. Because of his experiences during his youth, he vowed to not allow himself to die in war nor become a pauper. Similar to his compatriots in MSF, most notably Big Boss and the various Sandinistas, he was shown to be a massive fan of the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. He also had some degree of charisma, as he had an elite unit among the guerilla forces that was very loyal to him to the extent that they did not believe the claim that he had been working for the government as a mole at all.

The creation of MSF would cause Miller to place his hopes of achieving his dream through Big Boss. Although Miller did ultimately care for the MSF, he was willing to mercilessly use them to his own ends if need be.[92] He served a vital role in expanding the organization, secretly working as a "business partner" with Zero to further MSF's growth, but regretted hiding it from Big Boss, after his refusal to join Cipher and the resulting mayhem caused by Paz.

Miller was fluent in Japanese, English. and Spanish.[93] His favorite food was curry.[94] He was a trained helicopter pilot, having piloted a Huey over to the U.S. missile base in Nicaragua to aid Big Boss in stopping Coldman's plans, as well as piloting it back to Mother Base afterwards.

During his time with the MSF, Miller was a renowned womanizer, frequently having relationships with multiple female soldiers at the same time,[95] contributed to by his good looks, though he drew the line when it came to underage teenagers.[96][97] On one occasion, two female soldiers reported this to Big Boss, who reprimanded Miller for his behavior, leading to an argument that caused them to get into a brawl in the showers.[90] Although he doesn't really show any particular interest in females by the time he was running Diamond Dogs, he nonetheless still retained enough of an allure that several female Diamond Dogs personnel actually were considering vying for a relationship with him with rivalries with female staff who preferred Ocelot, although there was one who had no preference for either, with Miller in particular largely because he at times frightens her with his constant desire for revenge against XOF.[98]

Miller was an audio enthusiast who enjoyed recording and listening to atmospheric noises, especially steam locomotives.[99] He thus had MSF study and analyze the prototype cassette player supplied to them by Ramón Gálvez Mena.[100] Though Miller was fond of music, he was apparently a poor singer, as demonstrated by his performance of a Japanese lullaby for an ill Paz.[101] His lack of singing ability prompted Paz to join his band in order to avoid letting Miller be the singer.[102]

After the destruction of MSF by Cipher's strike force XOF, Miller developed a hatred for everything relating to Cipher. Initially, Miller viewed XOF's actions as part of Zero's scheme, but Zero would later inform him of how Skull Face had primarily taken over Cipher's outward operations. Largely because of Paz's betrayal and her later circumstance of being involved with XOF, he held some resentment towards Paz.[33] Despite this, he was still curious about what Paz's true feelings for MSF were.[56]

After meeting up with Venom Snake in 1984, Miller's personality had changed drastically. He was significantly angrier due to the pain he harbored after both the XOF Trojan Horse Operation and his torture in Afghanistan; in which he only reverted to his old personality on occasion. He also at times was reluctant to kill any targets even if it was under the guidelines of a mission, particularly if the targets in question were rumored to be extremely skilled in combat. While he still proved himself to be an effective XO, Miller's anger often clouded his judgement when it came to certain matters, treating both Huey and Quiet harshly during their interrogations with Ocelot acting as his voice of reason. Any failings that befell Diamond Dogs affected him deeply, and he often blamed his own inattentiveness as the cause for them. He also implied upon discovering to his shock that XOF was still active shortly after Skull Face's death that he knew about Zero's disappearance and current debilitating condition.[103] In large part due to the suspected reasons for XOF's successful destruction of MSF and the old Mother Base, and to some extent Paz's earlier betrayal, he also was shown to have disgust towards any treacherous actions by people. This was especially evident with his vowing to be "extra persuasive" towards the Viscount upon rescuing him after learning from the other POWs at Camp Kiziba that the latter sold his compatriots out with the implication that he intended to utilize more intense interrogation on him as punishment for his actions earlier,[104] as well as his disgust when he learned that XOF and Skull Face backstabbed the Soviet personnel at OKB Zero upon Sahelanthropus's completion via releasing the Russian strain of the Vocal Cord parasites.[105]

Although he claimed to hate kids upon the arrival of rescued child soldiers to Mother Base, Miller was shown to have a soft spot for them, requesting that Venom Snake not kill any if he were to encounter them. He also supported Snake's decision to fake the deaths of the Mbele Squad instead of executing them as planned. Finally, he was willing to forego payment to prevent killing any child soldiers. He would not allow Diamond Dogs to use child soldiers themselves, opting to instead give them an education and life beyond being a hired gun. In addition, when he learned about how Huey had planned to use his then-toddler son Hal as a test pilot for Sahelanthropus, he displayed clear revulsion towards Huey for this act. He implied to Snake that this was because of his harsh upbringing back in Japan, and in part because of his guilt regarding Chico's death.

Miller was knowledgeable in various sciences, which he later put to use when aiding Solid Snake during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance. Miller was one of the few people Snake deeply respected, being the only person Snake would rather have in a foxhole with him.[86]

Relationships

Big Boss

Miller originally saw Big Boss as a true comrade, as evidenced by his recollection of how they first met: having initially wanted to kill him regardless of himself after Big Boss destroyed his unit in 1972, Colombia. His conversations with Big Boss would vary from teasing jokes[106] to sincere, moving displays of his heart.[107] However, despite his respect to Big Boss, there were some things that he was unwilling to do even if Big Boss requested it.[108] In addition, when Big Boss was injured in 1975 and forced into a coma, Miller demanded that Big Boss not die on him. This affection for Big Boss naturally carried over to his relationship with Venom Snake, with Miller often conceding to Venom Snake's decisions even if they both disagreed with each other.

Miller later discovered the truth behind Venom Snake's identity through Ocelot. Disgusted with the deception and that Big Boss left them while Diamond Dogs was left to fend off XOF, Miller vowed that he would aid Venom Snake and Big Boss's clone sons in hopes that doing so would hasten Big Boss's downfall. This would serve as the cause for Miller siding against Big Boss during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance, in favor of Solid Snake.[85]

Huey Emmerich

Initially, Miller and Huey got along very well, with Miller learning from Huey about the Peace Walker project mechs, as well as Miller suggesting to Huey that they create ZEKE. However, he did briefly get annoyed with Huey when the latter ensured the UN inspection was to occur at Mother Base despite Big Boss and Miller refusing earlier.

In large part because of Huey Emmerich's role in the downfall of MSF, Miller later held a lot of hatred for his former comrade, as he had spent a lot of time trying to track down Huey's location and even used one of his missions with the Mujahideen to locate Huey immediately before he was ambushed by the Parasite Unit. His hatred was such that he by the time of the 1980s referred to him strictly by last name basis rather than his nickname of Huey, with the only exception being when calling Venom Snake back to Mother Base when informing him of Huey's idea for a counterweapon to Walker Gears.[68] When first meeting him and realizing the truth serums didn't work in revealing his role in the incident, he didn't even consider the possibility that Huey was telling the truth, instead suspecting that Huey either had undergone a prior procedure to increase his metabolic enzymes, or otherwise went through special gene therapy to make him resistant to truth serum-based interrogations. In addition, he also expressed disgust towards Huey when his crimes came to light shortly after the second pandemic of parasites was unleashed on Diamond Dogs and Huey's role in causing it, as well as taking the opportunity to show the Mammal Pod as a witness to Strangelove's last moments with incriminating statements towards Huey killing her. Miller desired for Huey to be executed and was outraged when Venom Snake chose to exile him instead. After the parasitic outbreak, however, he did seem to realize that his desire for revenge may have resulted in his judgment being clouded.

Revolver Ocelot

Though they seemed to tolerate one another, the relationship between Miller and Ocelot for the most part was strained. They often disagreed on how to handle situations such as bringing Quiet to Mother Base, using the Honey Bee and Emmerich's new Walker Gear as well as handling the children when they rebelled against the Mother Base staff. This came to a head when Ocelot took over the situation from Miller as he had failed to keep the children under control. Finally, Miller learned of the deception surrounding Big Boss and Ocelot's role in it. When Miller decided that their goals didn't align, Ocelot said that one of them would have to kill the other should they one day become enemies.

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.[?]

Prior to joining FOXHOUND, Miller participated in the Vietnam War, and was once placed in a POW camp and tortured by the Vietcong, although he later managed to escape, "blowing the brains out" of the head interrogator in the process.[109] He first met Roy Campbell while serving as an instructor at the Marine boot camp.[110]

During his retirement in Alaska, Miller resided in a three story house close to the Canadian border, with several huskies that he owned. [111] His reasons for moving there was to study various Alaskan legends and folklore, due to it being a subject of interest to him. For three hours a day, Miller worked out in a makeshift gym in his basement, striking his punching bag in order to take his mind off the loneliness he felt. For security, he stored a weapon in every room in case of a break-in, including a Glock 9mm and other handguns behind a clipboard inside the gym. [110]

In 2005, Miller was murdered in his home with a nerve toxin, which he suspected to be sevoflurane prior to his demise. The assailant had apparently approached Miller's home over treacherous terrain without a vehicle, silenced one of his huskies mid-howl, and disabled the circuit box for the house's central alarm system.

According to Solid Snake, Master Miller was not a talkative type, which Liquid Snake attempted to emulate while impersonating him. However, Liquid exaggerated this characteristic, causing Snake to become slightly suspicious, especially during a conversation regarding Nikita missiles.

Behind the scenes

McDonell Miller (マクドネル・ミラー, Makudoneru Mirā?), also known as Master Miller (マスター・ミラー, Masutā Mirā?), is a recurring support character in the Metal Gear series, often serving as a radio contact of the protagonist.

Names

Miller's original given name of McDonell has also been transliterated as McDonnel,[110] MacDonel,[112][113] and McDonnell.[114][115] This article uses the earliest English spelling "McDonell" from Metal Gear Solid, which is retained in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (via flashback), the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database[81], and Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (via answer choice in the Déjà Vu Extra Op quiz).

The given name Benedict (ベネディクト, Benedikuto?) originated in the English language Metal Gear Solid: Official Mission Handbook, a strategy guide published by Millennium Books.[110] It was later used in Miller's biography (English text only) on the official Japanese websites[112][113] then his entry in the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database,[81] before finally appearing in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

When Miller's birth name was revealed as Kazuhira (カズヒラ, Kazuhira?), in the prequel game Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, his use of the European names "McDonell" and "Benedict" in later life was left unexplained.

Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

Miller's original (left) and revised (right) Transceiver Mode portraits in Metal Gear 2.

Miller first appeared infor the MSX2, where he was originally depicted as an Asian-looking man with black hair (presumably the Japanese survivalist author and military critic Hisoyashi Tsuge.). Later releases of, from the 2004 mobile phone version and onward, redesigned Miller's portrait to make him resemble his later incarnation from, in which he is depicted with blond hair and aviator sunglasses. The MSX2 version ofis therefore the only game in which he doesn't wear sunglasses.

Supplementary material for Metal Gear 2 and Metal Gear Solid stated that Miller was a third-generation Japanese-American. However, this account was later changed in Peace Walker.

Metal Gear Solid

Master Miller is murdered prior to the events of Metal Gear Solid, with his role on Solid Snake's radio support team assumed by a disguised Liquid Snake. His portrait in the game's Codec screen is that of Miller, complete with sunglasses, though Liquid's actual physical resemblance is used during some moments of fourth wall breaking; he physically "unmasks" himself to the player via the Codec screen, upon revealing his true identity, and later asks Snake whether he liked "his sunglasses." These actions were omitted from Nastasha Romanenko's book In the Darkness of Shadow Moses: The Unofficial Truth,[117] but retained in the Raymond Benson novelization, which features a video-equipped Codec.

Depending on which ventilation shaft the player entered through from the heliport, Miller's introductory call to Snake will be slightly different. If the player entered the lower ventilation shaft, Miller will also talk to Snake about the native Alaskan field mice, explaining that they will eat any young that isn't their own to ensure their own genes are passed on, referencing the larger themes of the story.

During Snake's fight with Liquid's Hind D, if the player attempts to contact Miller by Codec, there will be no response, foreshadowing who "Miller" really is. Similarly, if the player tries to contact Miller during Snake's fight with the M1 Tank, there will also be no response.

While Miller (Liquid in disguise) was trying to convey his suspicions about Naomi Hunter by pointing out various flaws in her backstory, he claimed that he used to work for the FBI. As Snake stated that he was unaware of this, and due to his Codec's monitor being turned off (preventing others from disputing the claim), this may have been a lie crafted by Liquid.

Although Metal Gear Solid heavily implies that Liquid was involved in Miller's death, the identity of the person who physically killed him is unknown. Prior to the second end credits of Peace Walker, a timeline states that Miller was killed in his home by an "unknown assailant." The "Truth" ending of The Phantom Pain implies that Ocelot was the assassin.

Miller appears as a hallucination in both the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel and the novelization, although in a different manner in each: in the former, Miller manages to dispose of Psycho Mantis and get Snake to the REX hangar, only for them to be "ambushed" by Liquid and Revolver Ocelot, before Snake deduces the truth; in the latter, Miller also appears before Snake, although after exiting through a door, they somehow end up at the amusement park "Kiddieland," with Miller later disappearing.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Master Miller appears as a sticker in Brawl, based on "his" appearance in Metal Gear Solid and its remake, The Twin Snakes. Characters equipped with Miller's sticker will have their battering resistance increased by 7.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Kazuhira Miller appears as a spirit in Ultimate, based on his appearance in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Master Miller makes a vocal cameo in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, when, while crawling through a ventilation duct in the tank hangar in Act 4, an audio flashback of when Miller (actually Liquid Snake) contacted Solid Snake while crawling through the vents. His voice is also heard when Snake takes the elevator down to the underground base, with an audio flashback of Miller telling Snake that Naomi Hunter may be a spy. In addition, a "ghost" of Miller, based on his face portrait from Metal Gear Solid, will apparate in a photograph.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

Kazuhira Miller returns to the series as a main character in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. His presence in the game was hinted at with a leak showing his younger self at Playa del Alba on September 20,[118] with Hideo Kojima later confirming that he is indeed a younger version of Master Miller at TGS 2009.[119]

According to Kojima, Miller's Peace Walker design was partly based on the flight captain from Westworld per his request, although the development team had never heard of the film.[120] Miller and Vladimir Zadornov share the same motion capture actor: Takashi Kubo.

Miller's view of the Militaires Sans Frontières as being a "new type of business" foreshadows the development of the war economy and the spread of PMC activity across the world, as portrayed in Metal Gear Solid 4.

"We're not mercenaries. We're not a foreign legion. MSF's a business. A new kind of business." ―Kazuhira Miller's soldier profile quote on the Mother Base staff menu.

Militaires Sans Frontières Mother Base staff Miller Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Role MSF Subcommander Life Psyche GMP+ 7000 7000 7875 Team Ability B B A B A Combat Ability B B B B B B B B Skill Mother Base Deputy Commander Increases morale of all staff on assigned team.

Miller is a unique staff member at Mother Base, available from the start of the game. He requests Big Boss assign him to any of the unit divisions as they were initially understaffed. His skill ("Mother Base Deputy Commander") increases morale of all staff on assigned team. However, if he is assigned to the Combat Unit he cannot be used in missions.

If the player rescues a female POW via Fulton recovery, Miller will remark "oooh, all right!" and "nice" instead of his usual comments regarding a successful retrieval, which goes in line with him being a playboy.

Miller's relationship to Snake is portrayed as a romantic/sexual one in several tongue-in-cheek scenarios, such as Extra Ops: 068 "Date with Kaz," and the "Sauna" track from Heiwa to Kazuhira no Blues. "Date with Kaz" has Snake and Miller go on a date to watch the sunset at Playa del Alba, while the "Sauna" audio drama features much suggestive dialogue between the two. In the main game, equipping Snake with the Swim Trunks will initially annoy Miller, though he eventually concludes that "they don't look bad on him." His briefing about the Naked Uniform in the Japanese version includes a suggestion that he and Snake go naked skydiving some day. Paz comments in her diary that, despite his womanizing behavior, Miller only trusts Snake, and describes his attitude toward Snake as "infatuation" in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

In "Date with Kaz," the player can perform many actions that Miller will react to:

Miller's Affinity goes up/down according to Snake 's actions. If his Affinity keeps decreasing, he storms off and the mission is a failure.

Miller's Affinity goes up if you say nice things to him via CO-OPS COMM.

Miller reacts when Snake approaches him in any Naked uniform.

If Snake wears the Swim Trunks, Miller will wear swim briefs.

Performing CQC strikes will boost Miller's affinity. Striking him enough times will result in his sunglasses breaking.

If the player knocks Miller unconscious, the Patriot Design Specs can be obtained from him.

Miller reacts when Snake faces the camera toward him.

Miller reacts when you lay a magazine near him.

Miller dances if you play "Koi no Yokushiryoku" on the Walkman, even doing a air guitar pose. If the player bumps him during this time, he'll demand to know what Snake's problem is and eventually threaten to punch Snake and cause a lowering of affinity. [121]

Using a Battle Cry will trigger a radio conversation between Cecile, Huey, Amanda, Chico, Strangelove, and Paz.

If the player puts Miller to sleep with "Time to say 'Good Night!!!'" and then lies on him, he will briefly mutter "Stop it...I'm not that kind of guy..." and "Oh ho ho... Snake..." Similarly, if the player uses the Codec while lying on him while he's asleep, the rest of the main cast (barring Paz) will comment on the situation. [122]

Sometimes, Miller will sleeptalk while asleep, making comments such as not doing something under even Snake's orders, repeating one of the Game Over lines, commenting on his mother's miso soup being too salty, and telling his father about his American nationality, [123]

If the player interrogates Miller, he will say, "I got...nothing...to hide...", "No skeletons...in my closet...", "OK, OK…there's one thing…I never told you…", and "You were always…my…"

The Miller Uniform is acquired by S-ranking "Date with Kaz," which can be used in both Main Ops and Extra Ops. If the player character calls Miller while wearing his uniform during a mission, he will tell the player that he gave them a dirty uniform, as he goes by a certain fashion routine.[124][125] In addition, some of his calls will have him remarking that it "looks like viewing [himself] in a mirror."[126] and requesting that the soldier not "cause any trouble by dressing up like [Kazuhira Miller]"[127] to Big Boss and a MSF Male soldier, respectively, foreshadowing the fact that Liquid Snake will pose as Miller in order to deceive Solid Snake during the events of Metal Gear Solid.

Miller's role in Peace Walker is expanded in the radio drama tracks released with the CD Heiwa to Kazuhira no Blues. The first five drama tracks, "Snake & Kaz (Encounter)," gave in full detail the circumstances behind Miller's meeting of Big Boss and later joining MSF, something that was previously only given in a briefing tape as a conversation between Big Boss and Miller. The dramas in question revealed the circumstances behind his joining as being a lot more dramatic than the briefing tape implied. Aside from this, the other drama tracks included "Snake & Kaz (Entry Gate)," "Snake & Kaz (Love Cardboard)," "Snake & Kaz (Sauna)" (which elaborated on the events of the fight between Big Boss and Miller in the shower room that Paz had earlier alluded to in one of her diary tapes), "Snake & Kaz (Strongest Armed Duo)," "Snake & Kaz (Mission Complete)," and "Kaz Radio. Outer Ops "Boss Radio."" Tomokazu Sugita reprises his role as Miller in these segments, as well as sang a character song for Miller called "Minato no Yoko, Yohohama, Yokosuka," which is Miller's own take on the Japanese song.

Miller is the only major character other than Big Boss to get his own action figure under the Peace Walker line for Square Enix's toy-making subsidiary Play Arts Kai. Similar to Big Boss's Battle Dress action figure, Miller can also be customized into an MSF soldier wearing his uniform. Also similar to the Battle Dress action figure, Miller's figure does not come with a passcode that unlocks a volunteer soldier. Both Miller and Snake's respective action figures were also included in a limited edition set that included the Love Box that was released for Japanese events. Similarly, he's also the only major character besides Big Boss to have a cover for one of the releases for Peace Walker dedicated to him.

E3 Battle

Miller later made a reappearance in the Konami-sponsored event E3 Battle, where he faced off against Rat Patrol Team 01. He ended up losing to the combined efforts of Rat Patrol Team 01, despite his extensive combat experience.[128] His bio for the site erroneously lists Miller's first appearance in Metal Gear Solid rather than Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake.

"KAZUHIRA MILLER

FIRST APPEARED IN

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

Big Boss' second-in-command in the Militaires Sans Frontières, later retained as support staff for FOXHOUND operations." ―Kazuhira Miller's bio from E3 Battle

Versus Battle

Miller later made an appearance in Versus Battle, where he fought against Jonathan.

STRENGTHS:

Guerilla Warfare, Big Boss’s Second

WEAKNESSES:

Analysis, Singing, Monogamy

FEATURED FACT:

Kaz was a driving force behind building the MSF, Mother Base, and ZEKE

FEATURED GAME:

METAL GEAR SOLID: THE LEGACY COLLECTION " ―Kaz's bio in Versus Battle

Metal Gear Solid V

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes

Miller was hinted in the PAX Prime 2012 trailer to be a returning character for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (then known simply as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes). At one point, he tells Big Boss shortly after he arrives at Camp Omega "Excellent, Snake. Age hasn't slowed you down one bit!", something that Roy Campbell will tell Solid Snake when infiltrating Shadow Moses in Metal Gear Solid, should the player board an elevator quickly.

In the TGS 2013 showing of Ground Zeroes, Miller appeared in two demos: one dealt with the nighttime portion of the game. Miller told Snake that the man he rescued was not Chico in the ending of the game, although he nonetheless brought the prisoner under the fold as a recruit before telling Snake that next time, he'd make absolute certain that he actually rescues Chico and Paz. In the other demo, a special TGS demo covering a daytime Extra Ops mission, Miller had Snake be sent to Camp Omega to retrieve classified intel from one of their moles, Brian. After Snake escaped from the facility by hijacking a Jeep, due to the original escape plan going awry due to being spotted, Miller commented that he was impressed that Snake could "rep a car like that," though he admitted that he shouldn't expect less of his superior, and that they'd analyze the data on the cassette tape, estimating that the results of their findings would be ready "by the time we launch."

The Japanese version of Ground Zeroes features Miller on the cover alongside Big Boss, although he is absent in the overseas covers. According to Kojima, the reason for this was due to Peace Walker's poor sales outside Japan, resulting in most people being unfamiliar with Miller.[129] He further elaborated on his rationale in a series of tweets on December 23, 2013, explaining that he let the overseas branch of Konami handle the key artwork for the overseas version, which he had been told that Miller, due to Peace Walker's release on the PlayStation Portable, was likely to be a little known character.[130] When the final overseas cover was unveiled, he discovered, much to his surprise, that Miller had actually been well received, and that people were actually wondering why he was removed from the cover.[131]

Although Miller did not appear in the extended trailer for the DLC mission Déjà Vu, the March 2014 issue of Game Informer confirmed that Miller would appear in the mission, and would quote various lines from the original Metal Gear Solid.

In the trailer for the DLC mission Jamais Vu, Miller briefed Big Boss on a request for the MSF to investigate the naval facility at Cuba due to Body-Snatchers taking over the facility after the crash of a Soviet commuter jet nearby. He then, alongside Big Boss, recruited Raiden, a cyborg from the future, to stop the threat, as his cybernetic body made him immune to the bioroids attempts to take over his body. Miller also commented that, in exchange for Raiden's services, he could retrieve the XOF patches from the base that Big Boss found.

In both Extra Ops, Miller mimics the voices of various characters. For the Déjà Vu mission, he mimics Roy Campbell, Psycho Mantis, Meryl Silverburgh, and Gray Fox. For the Jamais Vu mission, he mimics George, Kevin Washington, and Boris. Aside from the main aspects of both missions, he also mimicked and quoted Solid Snake, Otacon, The Boss, and Drebin for Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metal Gear Solid 3, and Metal Gear Solid 4, in addition to quoting his own lines from Metal Gear 2 and Peace Walker. He also used one of Big Boss's quotes from Metal Gear and attributed it as his own. He'll also mimic Mantis after all of the main Metal Gear titles are removed. During the endgame quiz for the latter Extra Op, He will also mimic Liquid, Vulcan Raven, Ocelot, and Campbell.

In the Japanese version of Ground Zeroes, the five part radio drama detailing how Miller and Snake met was included among the Mother Base Archives section of the tapes menu. Because of the game possessing seven language subtitles to choose from, it also marks the first time that the drama was released with an English translation.

Aside from the main game, Miller is also an officer character in the Mother Base development game on the Ground Zeroes app for the iPhone and Android devices, available from the start alongside Big Boss.

After the release of Ground Zeroes, many fans have noted Robin Atkin Downes's delivery of Miller's line "They played us like a damn fiddle!" upon his rescue at the end of the game which became a very popular meme. When asked about it, Downes jokingly said, "You’re about to see some major music coming out of Kaz in the next game" and that "Fiddling is just the beginning of it."[132]

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Diamond Dogs Mother Base staff Miller Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Ability E C A++ A++ A+ A+ Skill Mother Base XO Facilitates increased morale among staff in unit Language Japanese English Spanish

Miller's appearance in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was confirmed in the GDC 2013 trailer. In the E3 2013 trailer, Miller is revealed to be a double amputee, despite originally being depicted with a full set of human limbs in official artwork for Metal Gear Solid.

According to Hideo Kojima, Miller's role was to give all players a motive for exacting revenge on XOF, as the desire for vengeance would most likely be stronger among those who had already played Peace Walker and Ground Zeroes.[133] He also confirmed that Miller and Ocelot are not friends at all, and like the other Mother Base staff, only work alongside each other because of Snake, without whom their alliance would collapse.

Due to Miller's clouded eyes, as revealed in Episode 1: Phantom Limbs, as well as his constant use of sunglasses, it had been speculated that he had either developed cataracts or gone blind. However, when asked by a user on Facebook, a Konami representative stated that he was not blind, but had photophobia.[134]

If the player triggers an enemy alert and leaves Miller to be spotted by a guard during the Phantom Limbs episode, unique dialogue will be elicited from Miller. Offscreen, Miller tells an unseen person "You sure about this? The Boss is on his way!" and then says "Go ahead... I won't hold it against you. My hatred is reserved for someone else!" before being gunned down. If the player is nearby as this is happening, Miller will also tell Venom Snake "Boss, it's up to you." before being shot