This article is about Militaires Sans Frontières (MSF). You may be looking for Mosquito Stinger Force.

"We're not mercenaries. We're not a foreign legion. MSF's a business. A new kind of business." ―Kazuhira Miller [src]

Militaires Sans Frontières (/mi:li:'tɛ sɒn frɒn'tɪər/ mee-lee-TEH son fron-TEER), abbreviated MSF and known in English as Army Without Borders, was a private military company founded and led by renowned mercenary Big Boss in the early 1970s. Abandoning their home countries, the "soldiers without borders" provided their services to all clients, regardless of nation or ideology, operating from their offshore Mother Base in the Caribbean Sea.

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History

Origins

After leaving the Patriots in 1972, Naked Snake, a.k.a. Big Boss, formed the Militaires Sans Frontières to provide military force to anyone who needed it, regardless of nation or ideology. As such, the MSF specialized in providing a full range of military services, including combat, logistics, training, weapons, outfitting, and R&D. In addition, the MSF was designed to merge the small footprint and exceptional performance of special forces groups with the full military might of a full regular army, as a means to fully break free of nation-states. To avoid enemy intelligence services like the CIA, MSF did not initially establish a permanent base, often choosing to relocate their forces as required.[1]

Employed by the Colombian government sometime after 1972, Snake and the MSF fought an opposing mercenary unit led by Kazuhira Miller for their last contracted job. After MSF defeated the enemy force, Snake offered Miller a place in the group, which he eventually accepted, later becoming its second-in-command. During this time, Miller viewed MSF as a new business model for private military contractors, neither acting as typical mercenaries nor a foreign legion, and intended to help the organization expand.

Main article: Peace Walker Incident

On November 4, 1974, the Militaires Sans Frontières were stationed in Colombia when they were first approached by Ramón Gálvez Mena and Paz Ortega Andrade, representing Costa Rica. The two requested that the group assist "the nation without a military" because of a mysterious security company that had recently invaded their country, presumably for the CIA. In return, Gálvez offered the group an offshore plant to use as a base off the coast of the Caribbean. Despite some rumors that it was a mercenary group, Snake did not seem to consider it as such, and protested at Gálvez's assumption that they were just a pack of "Dogs of War" when the latter attempted to hire them.[2] After some persuasion from Miller, and curious as to The Boss's supposed involvement in the affair, Snake accepted the mission.

The MSF then commenced operations against the occupying force in Costa Rica, later identified as Peace Sentinel, who were attempting to develop an unmanned nuclear weapon known as Peace Walker. The MSF's existence was threatened toward the end of their mission, when Peace Sentinel leader Hot Coldman, intended to launch a nuclear strike at Mother Base. The MSF considered evacuating, but Miller had some confidence that Snake would succeed in stopping Peace Walker's launch. Eventually, the MSF left Mother Base to aid Snake in stopping the Peace Sentinel, who had relocated to neighboring Nicaragua.

During their mission, the MSF also dispatched several of its forces into other war zones for income, in order to increase its numbers and resources (namely small arms, missiles and uniforms) as well as to feed its personnel, in the fight against the Peace Sentinel.[3] In addition, after capturing territory from the enemy forces, the MSF temporarily used them as training grounds for their troops in various weapons and fighting styles.[4] Due to of their mercenary-like status, their questionable battlefied tactics, and their off-shore forward operating base in the Caribbean, they were often referred to as pirates by their enemies.[5][6]

Following Peace Walker's destruction, Paz came to stay aboard Mother Base. At some point during her stay, the Militaires Sans Frontières adopted a cat that they found on one of the missions, which Paz named "Nuke." Big Boss and Miller briefly discussed who their "queen bee" was within the MSF, in regards to Mother Base's hexagonal beehive-like structure. Unable to decide between either Paz, Cécile Cosima Caminades, Amanda Valenciano Libre, or Strangelove, they both agreed that they should instead have an "army of queen bees."[7]

The MSF also completed development of the bipedal tank Metal Gear ZEKE, later installing it with Peace Walker's nuclear warhead to act as a deterrent against enemies, unofficially making them the world's seventh nuclear power. They had been able to do this undetected because both the KGB and the CIA were too busy trying to cover up the chaotic events at Nicaragua to notice. The MSF were later to be dispatched to Angola for their services, which Miller relayed to Cipher during a secret business telephone call (the latter party having earlier promised Miller with MSF's expansion in exchange for going along with Cipher's true plot of getting Big Boss to rejoin them). Cipher planned to have the MSF act as a deterrent for their new world order, with Paz issuing this demand to Snake, after revealing herself to be a triple agent. Having hijacked MSF's Metal Gear ZEKE on Mother Base, she intended to frame the group as being an extremist cult, following Snake's refusal, by launching a nuclear strike on the East Coast of America. However, that plan failed when the MSF defeated ZEKE, with Paz presumed dead after falling into the ocean. Miller also ended up admitting to his knowledge and involvement in Cipher's plot to Big Boss afterwards and apologized.

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

On December 3, 1974 at 13:18 hours, the MSF was hired to eliminate an infamous U.S. Marine sniper duo who had been involved in the Laotian Civil War. MSF had been hired by Miller's KGB contacts from his days in Colombia prior to joining Snake's group. After completing the mission, MSF became suspicious of the naval facility in Cuba after it became apparent that their targets were more afraid of the base than of death, and did some investigating, dispatching an Intel Team agent named Hideo to investigate.

On December 7, 1974 at 05:31 hours, Hideo requested extraction from his current assignment. Big Boss personally infiltrated the location to retrieve the agent and ensure his escape, as Hideo was considered an extremely valuable asset to MSF. The mission parameters originally intended for the Hind to rendezvous with Hideo after the latter stole a Jeep and disguised himself as a Shapka-wearing Russki. However, after his stolen jeep broke down with enemy soldiers, including an APC, closing in on him and his being knocked unconscious, Big Boss and MSF were forced to directly interfere to save the agent, also shooting down a Blackhawk chopper that was harrassing their Hind before successfully escaping.

On December 21, 1974 at 18:08 hours, MSF were hired by the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), via a cut-out, to acquire intelligence regarding Cipher, uncovered by one of their agents at the naval facility. MSF was hired because the JCS chairman owed Big Boss for his quelling the Peace Walker Incident, as well as their prior experience with Cipher, the group suspected to be responsible for subverting the base personnel and converting the facility into a black site.[8] Big Boss was dispatched to meet with the undercover agent, and to avoid blowing his cover, interrogated him as though he were an enemy, learning that the information had been recorded on a cassette tape hidden nearby. After deducing the location of the tape, Big Boss retrieved it, narrowly evading a trap set by the agent. After interrogating the agent again (whose cover had been blown by Cipher), Big Boss recovered the real tape from a bald Marine and escaped. On the tape was an interrogation carried out by an unidentified man, which also contained plans confirming the extent of the bases's conversion to a black site, including the purchasing of a fleet of transports.

On January 9, 1975 at 07:01 hours, the MSF was again hired by the JCS, this time to destroy the facility's anti-aircraft emplacements, allowing a MGTF heliborne assault to secure the base. Big Boss infiltrated the base and sabootaged three of the AA units. He also rescued several prisoners, including a captured Intel Team agent. After successfully destroying all the AA units and an APC with a cannon that would have threatened the MAGTF, Big Boss was about to undergo extraction, when he learned from Miller that two unidentified attack aircraft were en route to the base. Their ETA was 3 minutes, with Miller concerned by the timing, and soon discovered that they had shot down the MAGTF's chopper and intended to bomb the site. Big Boss and the prisoners narrowly managed to escape the place before it was obliterated. Upon returning, Miller debriefed them and revealed that the aircraft were of western origin, and that the one responsible for the bombing raid most likely wanted to eliminate the evidence of the black site, namely Cipher.

Side Ops information ends here.

Main article: Ground Zeroes Incident

Sometime later, Strangelove resigned from MSF due to her purpose in creating ZEKE being complete, and their having no other use for an AI researcher, although Big Boss was on assignment at the time and thus had not been made aware of this. Despite Huey's crush on Strangelove, he accepted her resignation, feeling he had "bigger issues to deal with."[9]

At least a week later, the IAEA ended up contacting the MSF to do an inspection for nukes, allegedly for the organization obtaining nuclear fuel from Uzbekistan authorities. Both Snake and Miller quickly realized that the entire thing was a ruse set up by Cipher to have an excuse to get at Metal Gear ZEKE, as revenge for Cipher's failure from Paz's leak, via the United Nations (as they have an untold amount of influence). Since MSF was not officially a nation, rather a private firm that never signed an agreement with the IAEA for peaceful nuclear use nor information on any nuclear facilities, Snake and Miller refused on these grounds with the IAEA having no authority to conduct such an inspection.[10] However Huey who supported an inspection sent another letter behind their backs claiming they had changed their minds. Although MSF had never been the subject or even mentioned by the IAEA's Board of Governors, Snake and Miller had no choice but to allow the inspection to happen as two major Western media networks would also be observing the proceedings. All AFVs minus ZEKE were transferred offshore along with any 'troublemakers' for mandatory rest and relaxation.[11] The remaining FSLN troopers rendezvoused with Amanda (who was in Cuba at the time) and all civilians including Cécile (sans Huey) were given documentation to return to their home countries.[9]

In addition, ten days earlier, MSF learnt of Paz's survival via leaked Cipher transmissions and Amanda, and that she had been incarcerated at a U.S. prison camp in Cuba known as Camp Omega due to suspicion of being a corrupted double agent. Seeing her as a VIP due to her being their one link to Cipher, especially with Cipher's suspected involvement in the UN inspection, possibly to corroborate Paz's leak, they decided to rescue her, and if she was unwilling to cooperate, they'll silence her. Rumors of her survival spread throughout their soldiers, with Miller telling Big Boss that they keep their focus on the inspection.

They initially intended to wait until after the inspection to retrieve Paz from the facility due to the inspection taking top priority, and kept Paz's survival a secret from Chico (as they realized that Chico still felt guilty regarding being unable to stop Paz when he had the chance). To distract him, he was to be sent to Cuba with his sister.[12]

Unfortunately, Chico somehow managed to learn about Paz's survival. Feeling that MSF abandoned her, managed to escape from the ship he was on and head towards the prison facility, due to the ship being forced to stop to refuel near Santiago, which was sixty miles away on mountainous terrain from the prison facility (necessitating a three-day hike). After they learned from Amanda about Chico's disappearance, Miller and Snake deduced from the stops what happened to Chico, and proceeded to dispatch the Intel Unit at Cuba to search for Chico.[13]

Sometime later, Chico was later captured and was also imprisoned at the camp, although he managed to relay the location of both his and Paz's locations to MSF while in captivity and sent a SOS call to Mother Base. Although they realized it was likely to be a setup, they were left with no other options but to directly rescue him and potentially Paz, as otherwise Chico may end up revealing ZEKE's existence under torture. The Intel Unit then investigated the area to confirm the best infiltration spot, with at least sixteen hours being required for confirming a flight path and preparing an aerial vehicle for deployment to Cuba. Although it meant missing the inspection, Big Boss volunteered to personally go to Cuba as the operative to rescue them, knowing that he's the only one Chico and/or Paz would listen to anyways.

However, as they couldn't take the Marines stationed at the prison facility head-on, it had to be a one-man infiltration mission. Miller held down Mother Base for the inspection.[14]

Two days later, the MSF arranged a rescue mission for the two, with Chico being the most necessary VIP, while Paz can be killed if she was too dangerous to take alive. Because of the politically sensitive nature of the mission, Big Boss infiltrated the facility alone while MSF contended to the inspection, with the knowledge that if Big Boss is caught, due to the base is "leased land" (in other words, technically not being on American soil, and thus not being subject to the United States Constitution), as well as the CIA a few years back making the base into a prison facility for "enemies of the state" due to Cipher's influence, Big Boss won't expect any "civil liberties."

Miller also stated that Chico's survival is mandatory, while Paz can be killed if worse comes to worst, although he briefly implied that he only wanted to bring back Chico because he knew too much about MSF, causing Big Boss to rebuke him. In addition, because the surrounding area had mines set by both the Americans and the Cubans, escaping on foot was impossible, thus necessitating an air extraction via a single chopper.[15] As there as a storm occurring at the mission, Big Boss had some ease infiltrating the base.[16] Miller also monitored the situation and gave advice to Big Boss when needed.[17]

However, MSF and Mother Base ended up attacked by XOF, as the UN inspection was a smokescreen, resulting in several casualties. In addition, Paz sacrificed herself by jumping out of the chopper due to her possessing a second, undiscovered bomb in her body. The attack was enough to have smoke being seen from far away, leaving the media to blame MSF as being a bunch of "money-grabbing private militias," as well as causing a scandal among the United States and various other nations and groups when it became apparent they were among the clients list. However, the United States Secretary of Defense publicly denied that America or its allies had any involvement in the incident, with the UN and the IAEA making similar denials when reports came out that IAEA inspectors had visited the site, and the other countries avoiding any comment altogether. Officially, the casualty figure was uncertain other than there not being any known survivors, although military choppers had been sighted in the area both prior to and during the incident.[18]

Of the soldiers present on Mother Base at the time of the attack, only Miller, Big Boss, and the medic survived both the attack itself and the chopper crash shortly thereafter. And of them, only Miller managed to survive with comparably lesser injuries, as Big Boss fell into a coma, and the medic was hit with shrapnel to the head. The Medic was then put into a medically-induced coma and gradually transformed into Venom Snake, a body double for Big Boss, at Zero's request. Huey had also escaped via chopper by XOF, which also led Miller to bore a grudge against him due to it becoming apparent that he set them up. He would later spend a lot of time trying to track Huey down.

The other MSF survivors learned about the attack on Mother Base. Many of them went their separate ways since Big Boss effectively acted as the glue that held them together, and they had been led to believe that he had died. One, named Mosquito, went into hiding out of fear of being a target for a "clean-up crew" to such an extent that he was left half-insane from his time in isolation and was led to believe that Big Boss had sold their own organization out to go into hiding due to anonymous rumors, which he believed to be true due to Big Boss being absent at the time of the attack. This resulted in him forming his own PF and modeling it after MSF, including using the old MSF logo, specifically to get revenge on Big Boss. At least 10 other survivors, however, had become unhinged from their isolation to a far greater degree, behaving in a very erratic manner.

By the 1980s, the Diamond Dogs were ultimately formed as a result of MSF's destruction. Mosquito eventually enacted his revenge plans against Diamond Dogs and held their R&D Platform of Mother Base hostage, although his plans were quelled by Venom Snake, with his PF being captured. In addition, Venom Snake also encountered and extracted the other surviving MSF members, albeit by force due to their erratic behavior.

Logo and slogan

The MSF's emblem design was based on Pangaea, the supercontinent that is theorized to have existed 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration. This could possibly represent Big Boss's take on The Boss's idea of a united world. The emblem also bears a resemblance to the one later used by Outer Heaven (it looks very much like a skull). This logo was ultimately reused for the private force Mosquito Stinger Force, as most of the members of the PF, including its leader, were former members of MSF, as well as their desiring revenge against its former commander, Big Boss, for his believed role in the XOF attack.

There were two versions of the MSF logo, although overall they were generally the same. The first, used during their initial operations in Colombia and Costa Rica, had a circle with a upward-curving black banner up top, with the banner bearing the name of the organization in yellow colors, and the circle itself containing the Pangaea skull as well as having the left half of the circle being colored black, and the right half being yellow with a black border. The second version, used during MSF's operations in Cuba and up to their destruction by XOF in 1975, and to a certain extent used by one of their succeeding organizations, Mosquito Stinger Force, was largely the same as the previous one, only the curved banner is omitted from the top, having it instead resemble a pure circle. Owing to this, various flags and banners for MSF utilized the colors black and yellow frequently.

During their operations in Colombia, the Militaires Sans Frontières' slogan was "Libertad o Muerte",[19] which is Spanish for "Freedom or Death." The slogan was made famous during the independence struggle of several countries, notably including Serbia, Brazil, the United States of America, Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland and Uruguay. Despite the logo, however, Big Boss initially believed that their revolution should result in neither their victory nor their death.[20]

Military resources

Personnel

During their actions in Colombia, the Militaires Sans Frontière were composed of former Colombian government soldiers who ended up joining the MSF due to being impressed by Big Boss's track record. In addition, thanks to one of their contacts, they also ended up convincing guerilla soldiers who had previously been part of then-freelance mercenary/guerilla drill instructor Kazuhira Miller's elite forces into joining.

After setting up on Mother Base, MSF expanded its staff, primarily recruited by Big Boss in the field, and from those who chose to join separately. Alongside mercenaries and former government soldiers, its ranks included researchers and other civilian personnel. They together formed a group without borders, ideologies, or isms, and had no regard for age, gender, nationality, or race.[21]

Some of the personnel who joined up during the Peace Walker Incident were former United States Army members who fought in Vietnam,[22][23][24] while others claimed to be former SAS.[25] In addition, the MSF managed to recruit several Russian soldiers and Miller considered having Vladimir Zadornov join MSF after his capture to bolster the Russian soldiers' morale.[26] Finnish soldiers also joined MSF at an some point, which prompted Miller to install a Finnish-style sauna on Mother Base, despite Big Boss's hesitations.

During their missions in Costa Rica, MSF staff often caught fish for food.

Every month, the MSF held birthday parties for the soldiers. They primarily consisted of drinking large amounts of alcohol and acting crudely, although any real fights were rare.

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

Their clients included the KGB and the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the latter also having one of their undercover agents, meet up with them.

Side Ops information ends here.

Their client list was extensive enough that, after MSF's destruction on March 16, an international scandal for the United States and its allies, and the Warsaw Pact occurred, resulting in either public denials regarding their association with MSF (which had been discredited by the media as a "money hungry private militia") or otherwise not saying anything for or against the accusations.

Although the Sandinistas weren't technically members of MSF, they acted as allies. They eventually relocated to Cuba to reconvene with Amanda (whose assignment had also been extended) in 1975, due to MSF being forced to host a UN inspection at Mother Base and preparing for it with little time allowed. In addition, several troublemakers had been relocated to the shore for some mandatory R&R alongside virtually all of MSF's arsenal. In addition, all civilians with the exception of Huey were returned to their home countries, and Strangelove had already left the group a week beforehand.

List of members

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

Prisoner 12282 (Intel Team agent)



Side Ops information ends here.

Hired help

Base of operations

The MSF's camp on the Barranquilla Coast of Colombia was not their first encampment, as they had previously relocated several times, to avoid the CIA's presence.[1] At least one of their prior camps also possessed an infirmary, and one base was implied to have been taken from a drug cartel.

The Colombian camp included a one room cabin that functioned as its main office, given the fact that Big Boss and Gálvez discussed their business in there, and contained some large water containers due to the roof constantly leaking water during rain storms.

Shortly after being assigned to repel the armed forces out of Costa Rica, the MSF were provided with an offshore plant on the Caribbean to use as their base of operations. The plant, dubbed Mother Base, had three struts positioned in a way that resembled a triangle, as well as a tower in the center, although throughout the course of their operations in Costa Rica, and later Nicaragua, it was further expanded as its personnel and equipment grew. The Colombian camp was still used for entrance exams, however, which composed of the recruits wishing to join MSF wanting to fight Big Boss to see if he is the real deal.[30] After the disastrous results of the Ground Zeroes Incident on March 15, 1975, Miller as well as the then-comatose Big Boss and medic were briefly placed in a hospital located on the Barranquilla Coast, although it is unclear whether the base was connected to the original MSF base camp barring being in the same relative area. In addition, the Militaires Sans Frontières, after neutralizing the Peace Sentinel presence at Puerto del Alba, Rio del Jade's boathouse, Aldea Los Despiertos, the U.S. Missile Base in Nicaragua, and the Miner's residence near the Mine Base, temporarily used these locations as training locations for medium-range target shooting, long-range shooting, urban combat, medium-range target shooting, and long-range target shooting, respectively.[4]

Unit divisions

There were five divisions within the Militaires Sans Frontières, at least during their time at the Mother Base:

Combat Unit: The main fighting/sneaking force of the Militaires Sans Frontières and source of income. Roster limit was 100.

R&D Team: Responsible for enhancing or otherwise creating weapons and equipment. Roster limit was 50.

Mess Hall Team: Responsible for providing the food for the Mother Base which affects morale. It was formed by Kazuhira Miller shortly after Big Boss encountered a LAV-typeG unit at Bananal Fruta de Oro as a precautionary means of provisions for the troops. Roster limit was 50.

Medical Team: Responsible for the healing of any personnel requiring medical attention due to sickness, injury or PTSD. They are also involved with R&D in regards to the development of weapons with various ways of knocking out personnel (e.g., emitting sleep gas or developing tranquilizers). The idea of a medical team for the Mother Base's Sick Bay was also planned by Kazuhira Miller after Amanda was airlifted to Mother Base wounded with a broken leg, although a Medical Team for MSF itself existed long before then.[31] Roster limit was 50.

Intel Team: Responsible for providing intel for the Militaires Sans Frontières in regards to enemy activity or a weakness of the enemy that could be exploited as well as offering support from Mother Base for MSF soldiers on field missions. The Intel Team also often worked with the R&D Team to develop various radars for MSF, and could also deliver supplies to allied mercenary units. It was brainstormed by Kazuhira Miller shortly after Chico ended up rescued. It was also implied that the Intel Team, or a similar unit called the MSF Intel Corps., were responsible for the recording/adapting of various old data files for the MSF.[32] Roster limit was 50.

Besides the five divisions, the Mother Base had a Waiting Room, where new staff wait to be assigned to one of the divisions, a Sickbay for treatment, and a Brig for captured enemies. The Mother Base could hold a total of 350 members (351 with Snake).

Recruitment policy

MSF recruits were drawn from a variety of disciplines, which included infantrymen, commandos, mechanics, nutritionists, doctors, scouts, and even film and voice actors.

During the MSF's mission in Costa Rica, captured enemy soldiers and rescued prisoners were extracted to Mother Base via Fulton recovery and convinced to join the organization. While some would join up immediately, others were initially hostile and thus imprisoned in the brig until they could be reasoned with.

As MSF grew in size, becoming akin to a corporation, a voluntary recruitment program was enacted. Some potential volunteers first wished to challenge Big Boss to unarmed combat, after hearing of his fighting skills, only joining upon being bested by the renowned mercenary. Other volunteers joined after MSF completed operations outside Costa Rica, and several soldiers were also exchanged with allied mercenary units.

During their later activities in Cuba, MSF extracted rescued prisoners or captured personnel directly by helicopter, due to the risk of the balloons being shot down.

Training regimen

As a military organization, the Militaires Sans Frontières adopted a training regimen for instructing new personnel. The training included, but was not limited to, mastering the use of the line of sight, changing stances, movement, rolling, unarmed combat, Stun Rod usage, and various forms of CQC. Doing 200 stomach crunches[33] and running laps was also implied to be a required part of the MSF training.[34] Additionally, the soldiers had the opportunity to have multiple CQC fights with Big Boss nearing the end of the training session as a special treat if he is present.[35] At least some MSF members, prior to joining MSF and thus learning CQC, had also previously learned the Combat Sambo and Karate martial arts styles, with the latter style being of the fifth degree black belt level.[36]

Uniform

The standard Militaires Sans Frontières uniform (during their missions in Colombia) included:

Two-eyed balaclava (note: only the standard infantry wear this as part of the uniform)

Utility SPIE (Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction) Harness

2x US LC-2 Individual Equipment Belt w/ QR (Quick-Release) Buckle

3x US M1956 Universal Ammo Pouch

2x US 1-Quart Plastic Canteen w/ LC-1 Canteen Cover

US M1967 Nylon Field Pack (Butt Pack)

Drop-leg flap holster (visually resembles the Bianchi M12 / UM84, a holster adopted by the U.S. military nearly a decade after the formation of MSF)

Jungle fatigues (olive drab fatigues customized with a black knee brace on the right side and brassards, the latter set adorned with the MSF logo on the left brassard, and in some cases, the FOX logo on the right brassard)

Jungle boots

During their missions into Costa Rica, the Militaires Sans Frontières later procured other variants of the uniforms used for enhancing camouflage in the area. There are several that are aesthetically similar to the Jungle fatigues, although they emphasize certain elements of camouflage more than others, such as the Leaf camouflage increasing the camo index near jungle environments. "Naked" variants with a black muscleman shirt in the place of the regular top of a uniform exist (Big Boss usually forgoes a shirt of any variant when he uses it). They also procured a Battle Dress as well as a Sneaking Suit. In addition, some of the higher ups will sometimes loan soldiers their own uniforms.[37]

Uniform variants

Fatigue/camouflage uniforms

Leaf

Tiger Stripe

Choco-chip

Auscam

Squares

Splitter

Snake

Naked uniforms

Leaf

Tiger Stripe

Choco-chip

Auscam

Squares

Splitter

Snake

Other

Battle Dress Battle Dress w/helmet



T-shirt

Neo-Moss

Stench

Weaponry

MSF utilized a wide variety of weaponry, including various United States and Russian technologies, and those from the Western and Eastern Blocs, as well as antiquated weapons dating back to World War II.

Close-range weapons

Mock stun rods (training sessions only)

Combat knife (December 3, 1974-March 16, 1975)

Handguns

Shotguns

Assault rifles

Submachine guns

Sniper rifles

Machine guns

Missiles

Throwing weapons

Placeable weapons

Mother Base weapons

M269 Launcher Loader Module with surface-to-surface anti-ground missiles

Mk 141 quad RGM-84 Harpoon Anti-ship missiles

Rockets

Equipment

Food and recovery items

Other equipment

Radars

Temporary equipment

ID Card Huey Emmerich's ID Card Guard ID Card

Jigsaw

Vehicles

* Several of these were stolen from Peace Sentinel. Also, some of the vehicles in question were also customized, giving a black and red hue.

After recruiting enough personnel, Mother Base's hangar section was expanded to include a strut containing a runway strip, implying that the MSF intended to use fighter jets or similar aircraft.

In 1975, because of the impending inspection by the IAEA that the MSF were forced to contend with, virtually all of their arsenal had been relocated to the shore, the only exceptions being Metal Gear ZEKE[11] and several Hind Ds, the latter of which were to act as an extraction chopper at the last minute when Chico ended up getting himself captured by XOF at Cuba.

Known weapons and equipment invented

Although the Militaires Sans Frontières procured much of their weapons and equipment, or their design specifications to create their own variants, there were a few weapons and equipment that they invented themselves.

Metal Gear ZEKE

Stealth Gun

Support Strike Marker (pistol)

Support Supply Marker (pistol)

Mother Base Hexagon model [53]

iDroid

Codename system

Similar to FOXHOUND and its predecessor FOX, the Militaires Sans Frontières utilized an animal based codename system for its various members outside of the highest level personnel.[54] Below is an incomplete list of the codenames.

Aardvark

Aardwolf

Addax

Agama

Alligator

Alpaca

Anaconda

Anemonefish

Angelfish

Anopheles

Ant

Anteater

Ape

Armadillo

Arowana

Axolotl

Baboon

Badger

Bald Eagle

Baleen Whale

Barracuda

Basilisk

Basking Shark

Bat

Bear

Beetle

Bengal Vulture

Bison

Black Bass

Black Seabream

Blenny

Blesbok

Blue Mackerel

Bluegill

Boa

Bobcat

Bobolink

Bobwhite

Bongo

Bontebok

Borzoi

Buffalo

Bull

Bull Shark

Bullfinch

Bunting

Bush Warbler

Bushback

Butterfly

Buzzard

Cabbage White

Caiman

Camel

Capybara

Caracal

Cardinal

Caribou

Carp

Carpenter Bee

Cassowary

Catfish

Centipede

Chacma

Cheetah

Chicken Grunt

Chimpanzee

Chipmunk

Cicada

Civet

Civet Cat

Clione

Cobra

Cockatoo

Cod

Coelacanth

Condor

Conger

Cormorant

Cottontail

Cougar

Cow

Coyote

Coypu

Crab

Crane

Cricket

Crow

Cuckoo

Dabchick

Dalmatian

Dingo

Dodo

Dolphin

Donkey

Dorado

Dormouse

Dove

Dragonfly

Duck

Dugong

Duiker

Eagle

Eagle Owl

Eagle Ray

Earthworm

Eel

Eelpout

Eland

Elephant

Elk

Emu

Ermine

Falcon

Fantail

Ferret

Filefish

Finch

Firefly

Flamingo

Fly

Flying Fish

Frill Shark

Frilled Lizard

Fritillary

Frog

Frogfish

Fur Seal

Gambusia

Garfish

Gazelle

Gecko

Gemsbok

Genet

Gerbil

Giant Panda

Gibbon

Gila Monster

Giraffe

Globefish

Gnu

Goanna

Goat

Goby

Goldeneye

Goldfinch

Goose

Gorilla

Grasshopper

Great Dane

Grizzly Bear

Grouper

Guanaco

Gull

Habu Viper

Hagfish

Halibut

Hamadryad

Hamster

Harbor Seal

Hare

Hawk

Hedgehog

Herding

Heron

Herring

Hippopotamus

Hog

Honeybee

Honey Buzzard

Hornet

Horse

Horse Mackerel

Horseshoe Crab

Hose

Hummingbird

Hyena

Hyrax

Ibex

Iguana

Impala

Insect

Jabiru

Jackal

Jaws

Jay

Jellyfish

Kangaroo

Kestrel

Killer Whale

Killifish

Kingfish

Kinkajou

Kite

Kiwi

Klipspringer

Koala

Komodo Dragon

Kudu

Land Iguana

Langur

Lapwing

Lark

Lates

Leech

Lemming

Lemur

Leopard

Limpet

Linnet

Lion

Lionfish

Lizard

Llama

Lobster

Lungfish

Macaw

Mackerel

Magpie

Mallard

Mammoth

Manatee

Mandrill

Manta Ray

Mantis

Marabou

Marine Iguana

Markhor

Marlin

Marmot

Marten

Meadowlark

Meerkat

Megamouth Shark

Mockingbird

Mole

Mongoose

Monitor Lizard

Monkey

Moose

Moon Wrasse

Mosquito

Moth

Mouflon

Mouse

Mudskipper

Mule

Mustang

Newt

Nighthawk

Nile Crocodile

Numbfish

Nyala

Ocean Sunfish

Octopus

Okapi

Onager

Orangutan

Orangutang

Orca

Oribi

Oriole

Oryx

Osprey

Otter

Ostrich

Ovenbird

Palm Civet

Panther

Paper Wasp

Parrot

Partridge

Peafowl

Peccary

Pelican

Penguin

Pharaoh Hound

Pheasant

Pig

Pilot Whale

Pipefish

Piranha

Platypus

Plover

Polar Bear

Polecat

Porbeagle

Porcupine

Porpoise

Prairie Dog

Pronghorn

Puma

Quail

Raccoon

Raccoon Dog

Ram

Rat

Rattlesnake

Raven

Red Seabream

Rhesus

Rhinoceros

Robin

Sable

Sailfish

Salamander

Salmon

Sambar

Scorpionfish

Sea Anemone

Sea Cucumber

Sea Hare

Sea Horse

Sea Lemon

Sea Lion

Sea Perch

Sea Urchin

Sea-Otter

Seagull

Seal

Serval

Serval Cat

Shark Ray

Sheep

Shelduck

Shrimp

Shrew

Sidewinder

Silkworm

Sillago

Skimmer

Skink

Skipjack Tuna

Skunk

Skylark

Smelt

Snail

Snakehead

Snipe

Snipe Eel

Sockeye Salmon

Sparrow

Spider

Springbok

Squirrel

Stag

Stag Beetle

Starfish

Steenbok

Stick Insect

Stingray

Striped Jack

Stoat

Stonefish

Stork

Sturgeon

Sunfish

Suni

Surfperch

Surgeonfish

Swallow

Swallowtail

Swan

Swift

Swordfish

Tapir

Tarpon

Tasmanian Devil

Terrier

Thresher Shark

Tiger

Tiger Keelback

Tiger Shark

Tigerfish

Toad

Topi

Tortoise

Toucan

Triggerfish

Trout

Tsetse

Tuna

Turbot

Turkey

Turtle

Vicuna

Viper

Vole

Vulture

Wagtail

Wallaby

Warthog

Wasp

Water Flea

Weasel

Whale

Whale Shark

Wild Boar

Wild Dog

Wolf

Wolverine

Wombat

Woodchuck

Woodcock

Wrasse

Wren

Yak

Yellowtail

Zebra

Zebra Lionfish

Behind the scenes

Militaires Sans Frontieres (ミリテール・サン・フロンティエール, Miritarī San Furontiaēru?), the Army Without Borders (国境なき軍隊, Kokkyō Naki Guntai?), appears in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker as the group led by the protagonist. Through the Mother Base hub, the player can completely customize the organization, expanding it via member recruitment, assigning soldiers to certain units, and even utilizing these soldiers during missions, with each possessing various levels of expertise for different job roles. MSF later appear in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, are mentioned in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and make a brief appearance in the non-canonical Metal Gear Survive.

Design and development

According to the Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Official Art Works book, the MSF logo was originally going to be a shield with an eye-patched skull inside that had a knife in its mouth, in reference to both the FOXHOUND and Outer Heaven (mother company) logos. In addition, the banner was originally to have had the motto "The choice is between loyalty to one's country, or loyalty to oneself," paraphrasing The Boss's words to Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. In The Phantom Pain, a bonus staff member for Mother Base, named Skull, has the MSF logo on the right side of the face.

Storyboard concept art included in the same book also showed that the MSF camp in Barranquilla Coast was originally going to be destroyed in a fire, presumably caused by Zadornov, forcing the MSF to move by boat to Mother Base, from which Big Boss was sent by Huey helicopter to his arrival point at Playa del Alba. The last image also had him standing with several backpacks, referencing the MSF soldiers that can accompany him on missions in Peace Walker, through the cooperative gameplay feature.

The balaclavas worn by the soldiers of MSF bear a resemblance to the FaceCamo mask from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Both appear to be made from a leather-like material with similar stitching, and feature attached components partially lining either side of the jaw, with the only major difference being the presence of eye holes for the MSF. According to both the Official Art Works book and Peace Walker lighting art director Kutaka Negishi, the Naked uniform for female MSF soldiers was originally to have been more revealing, consisting of an equipment harness on the upper body. However, due to various circumstances, this was changed to a black tank top in the finished game, with Negishi hoping to release more than just the back view of the original polygon model in the future.[55]

Name

Militaires Sans Frontières is a play on words on the humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières, a group dedicated to assisting countries ravaged by war and epidemics that are in need of doctors and medical experts. The HD Edition of Peace Walker displays a disclaimer before the title screen stating that the fictional MSF mercenary group is not in any way linked to the real MSF. Despite this, MSF's name and abbreviation are left unmentioned in Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, with the emblem modified to omit the organization's name.[56] The group was renamed "Out Of Order" in the Japanese novelizations of Peace Walker and The Phantom Pain authored by Hitori Nojima. The name "Out Of Order" is used as a subtitle annotation in the Japanese version of The Phantom Pain, but is always referred to as "[Old] Mother Base" in spoken dialogue.[57]

During GDC 2012, Kojima Productions held an engineer recruitment event for their next Metal Gear Solid game and the Fox Engine. The event was named "Development Without Borders," a reference to the English translation of the MSF.

In Peace Walker, codenames appear to be assigned to staff members at random, sometimes resulting in duplicate names. It is unclear if duplicate names are used by the organization in-universe, although there is an MSF soldier named Elephant in both The Phantom Pain and the Sauna Drama Track of Heiwa to Kazuhira no Blues is named Elephant, the former being a male Wandering Mother Base Soldier, and the latter implied to be female.

Metal Gear Survive

Two main characters in Metal Gear Survive are former MSF soldiers, specifically the protagonist Captain and their comrade Seth.

In the opening cutscene of Survive, Mosquito and various Wandering Mother Base Soldiers are alluded to via a casualty list that the character Goodluck checks, although they use codename modifiers more befitting of Diamond Dogs than MSF. In addition, some of the members' units are anachronistic, with Dire Gibbon being listed as a member of the Security Team, and Panzer Rat being a member of the Support Unit, both of which were units in Diamond Dogs.

Gallery