Timeline FAQ Metal Gear Series Copyright 2006-2008 David Christy (drummerdave4689@cableone.net) Version 1.6 (6/5/08) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Table of Contents| (Use CTRL-F to quickly find the section you want. Just copy and paste the desired section name and/or number into the "Find what:" box.) |-1-| Introduction |-2-| Legal Info |-3-| Version History |-4-| Timeline |-5-| Special Thanks |-1-| Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document is intended to be an organized and accurate timeline of any and all events referred to and/or occurring within any canon installment of Kojima's Metal Gear series. There are already several storyline guides that are organized by game or by character, but I felt a guide was needed that set forth all the events of the series as they happen, chronologically, without the limitations of character point-of-view or organization by each individual installment. So I created this guide to accomplish that goal, and to be more of a visual tool for understanding the whole series as it intertwines with actual history. This guide covers the main Metal Gear story arc: Metal Gear (MSX-2, PS2), Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX-2, PS2), Metal Gear Solid/The Twin Snakes (PSX, GC, PC), Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Substance (PS2, XBox, PC), Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Subsistence (PS2), Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops/Portable Ops Plus (PSP), ... and eventually Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3). I only consider text from the manuals, text from the games, and words straight from the creators' mouths reliable enough to base information on for this FAQ. Any useful input would be welcome and greatly appreciated. Feel free to e-mail me and notify me of any spelling/grammar/timeline errors, to make a suggestion, to offer an alternate idea as to the placement of events on the timeline, or even to simply ask a question about the Metal Gear storyline. If you e-mail me with a suggestion though, please be as descriptive as possible and give me some evidence to back up your claim. Also, please use proper English (don't send me e-mails consisting mostly of leet and Internet lingo). Be sure to mention the FAQ in your subject line and please no attachments. |-2-| Legal Info ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This document is copyright 2006-2008 by David Christy. Feel free to use this document however you see fit, but only after notifying me via e-mail. Please do not alter anything in the document and be sure to give me credit where it's due. I am aware of this FAQ's presence on the following sites: www.gamefaqs.com www.supercheats.com www.thesonsofbigboss.com If anyone should find this FAQ on any site not listed above, please e-mail me at drummerdave4689@cableone.net and let me know. Thank you for your cooperation. |-3-| Version History ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.0 (6/19/06) - Initial draft of timeline. Bulk of general information complete. Submitted FAQ to GameFAQs. More detail may come later. Version 1.1 (6/24/06) - Added www.supercheats.com to the authorized web sites list. Made some detail adjustments with help from people on GameFAQ's message boards. Revised all of the awkward, bulky sections (MGS2 is a beast). Added all currently known storyline info for Portable Ops and Guns of the Patriots. Version 1.11 (12/24/06) - Added www.thesonsofbigboss.com to the authorized web sites list. Updated my e-mail address (If anyone has tried to e-mail me since July or August, please write me again and I'll respond as soon as I can. My new e-mail address is drummerdave4689@cableone.net). I'll be adding the events of Portable Ops to the timeline very soon, so keep checking back. Version 1.5 (3/29/07) - Added the events of Portable Ops to the timeline. I'm still a little bit fuzzy on how some of those events tie together so if someone wants to read over what I've done and make some suggestions, that would be greatly appreciated. I still need to add details to the events of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, so keep checking back for another update. Version 1.6 (6/5/08) - Just a few minor updates in preparation for MGS4's release here in about a week. Added details from the timeline at the end of the Metal Gear Saga Vol. 2 DVD. |-4-| Timeline ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An X in the ones or tens digit of the year means that I am only sure of the decade or century. All ?'s in the year means that I have made an educated assumption about the placement of the event but I am uncertain about the exact placement. Other than that, the format is basically the same as the timeline in the MGS3 manual. 4000 - (Ma) Life begins developing in the oceans. ???? - Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent and commit original sin. 1789 - (April) George Washington is inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City, beginning his term as the 1st President of the United States. 1812 - Federal Hall is destroyed. 1842 - Federal Hall is rebuilt as the United States' first Customs House. 1873 - The first model of the Colt Single Action Army is produced. 1886 - (October) The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, is dedicated by President Grover Cleveland. 1914 - (June) Gavrilo Princip assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, setting off World War I. 1917 - (February) The Russian Revolution begins. Czar Nicholas II is overthrown. - (October) The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, takes over Russia. The Russian Civil War begins. 1918 - (November) The Allies sign an armistice treaty with Germany, putting an end to World War I. 1922 - The Russian Civil War ends. The Communist Party assumes complete control of the country and establishes the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). 19XX - The true holders of power in America, China, and the newly formed Soviet Union come together in a secret meeting (the Wiseman's Committee) and make a pact. This marks the beginning of the Philosophers. 192X - The Boss is born to one of the Philosophers. - The Boss's father is killed by the other Philosophers for telling the Boss too much. 193X - The last of the original Philosophers die. - Tatyana is raised in a "charm school" as a sleeper agent for the Philosophers. The Boss is an instructor at one of these schools. 1939 - (August) Albert Einstein writes a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt urging the development of an atomic bomb. - (September) German Army invades Poland, setting off World War II. - (November) Soviet army invades Finland (the Winter War) 194X - Night vision devices are introduced. 1941 - (June) German army launches a surprise attack against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). - (July) British Army's SAS (Special Air Service) is formed. - (December) Japanese navy attacks Pearl Harbor. 1942 - (June) The Office of Strategic Services is opened. - (August) U.S. army's research division begins development of the atomic bomb (the Manhattan Project). Otacon's grandfather joins. - (September) Siege of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) begins. - The Philosophers pool their countries' money and resources to defeat the Axis powers and create a new world order (The Philosophers' Legacy). A secret spy network is established between the countries. - The Boss establishes the Cobra Unit at Stalingrad. - (December) Physicist Enrico Fermi succeeds in splitting an atom inside a nuclear reactor. 1943 - (January) Soviet army emerges victorious in the battle of Stalingrad. 1944 - (June) Allies land at Normandy (D-day). The Boss and the Cobra Unit take part. The Boss gives birth to the Sorrow's baby (Ocelot). - The Philosophers steal Ocelot and raise him. Ocelot joins GRU at an early age to report the Soviet Union's dealings back to the U.S. - V-1 rockets fall on London. 1945 - (July) First atomic test in history takes place at Trinity Site in Alamogordo, New Mexico in the United States. - (August) Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Otacon's father is born. - World War II ends. The Cold War begins. The Philosophers are split up. - Volgin's father launders all the money from the Philosophers' Legacy in banks all over the world. A microfilm is created with a record of all the transactions. - (September) The Democratic Republic of Vietnam declares independence. 1946 - (February) ENIAC, the world's first computer, is built. 1947 - (September) CIA (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency) established. - (October) Pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the Bell X1. - The Boss disbands the Cobra Unit. The Boss returns to the U.S. and the Sorrow returns to the Soviet Union. 1949 - (April) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) established. - (May) Germany split into East and West. - (June) British author, George Orwell, publishes "1984." - (August) U.S.S.R. tests its first atomic bomb at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, becoming the world's second nuclear power. - (October) People's Republic of China founded. - (December) The Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, is formed. 1950 - President Truman orders development of various types of atomic bombs. - (June) Outbreak of Korean War. - Naked Snake becomes The Boss's disciple. 1951 - (March) The Mossad is reorganized and made part of the prime minister's office. - (November) "Buster Dog" atomic test conducted at Area 7 in Nevada, with Army troops participating. The Boss is exposed to the radiation. 1952 - Wernher von Braun proposes plan to send men to Mars. - (November) U.S. establishes the National Security Agency (NSA). 1953 - (April) Watson and Crick discover the double-helix structure of DNA. - (July) End of the Korean War. - (August) Nikita Khrushchev becomes First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. 1954 - (January) Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announces the New Look policy (the so-called "massive retaliation strategy"). - U.S. Navy launches the world's first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus. - (February) Hydrogen bomb tested on Bikini Atoll. Naked Snake is exposed to the radiation and diagnosed as sterile. - (March) KGB (Soviet Commission for State Security) formed. - (May) French garrison of Dien Bien Phu falls, signaling the victory of the Viet Minh. France pulls out of Indochina. - (November) Japanese movie, "Godzilla," is released. 1955 - (April) Albert Einstein dies, pleading for an end to nuclear weapons. - First conference against atomic/hydrogen bombs meets in Hiroshima. 1957 - (August) The USSR successfully launches an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). - (September) Elisa's parents are killed in the Kyshtym nuclear disaster in the Ural Mountains. - Elisa begins developing ESP. She is sent to an East German lab to study her ESP potential. She develops a second personality (Ursula). - (October) The Soviet Union succeeds in launching the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit (the Sputnik Shock). - IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is established to oversee applications of atomic power all over the world. - (December) The U.S. successfully launches its own ICBM. 1958 - (January) U.S. launches its first artificial satellite, Explorer 1. - (October) NASA (U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration) begins operation. 1959 - (January) Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro comes to power. - The Boss leaves Snake to go on a secret mission. - Python accompanies Snake after the Boss leaves and helps Snake become a better soldier. - The Soviet Union stops supplying China with nuclear weapons technology. - (October) Luna 3 moon rocket photographs the dark side of the moon. - University of Minnesota professor Mordecai Roshwald publishes the novel, "Level 7." - (December) American movie, "On the Beach," is released. 1960 - Mafia sting operations start in Chicago. - (May) American Lockheed U-2 spy plane violates Soviet airspace and is shot down over the Ural Mountains. Plans are made to conduct all future spy missions with an unmanned spy drone. - Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev announces missile aid to Cuba. - South Vietnamese National Liberation Front (NLF) forms. - The U.S. secretly sends the Boss into space to keep up with the Soviet Union in space exploration. The Boss is once again exposed to high levels of radiation. - (September) Two NSA cryptanalysts, ADAM and EVA, defect to the Soviet Union. 1961 - (January) John F. Kennedy assumes office as the 35th President of the United States. - (February) U.S. conducts first test of Minutemen intercontinental ballistic missile. - (April) U.S.S.R launches Vostok 1, the first manned spacecraft in history, piloted by Yuri Gagarin. - (May) Alan Shepard becomes first American in rocket flight aboard the Redstone Rocket. - (August) Construction begins on the Berlin Wall in Germany. - American movie, "The Guns of Navarone," is released. - (September) U.S. 5th Special Forces Group, the "Green Berets" activated. Naked Snake joins. - (October) U.S.S.R. tests the Tsar Bomba, the largest, most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated, over the Mityushikha Bay nuclear testing range. - Japanese movie, "Last War," is released. - (December) U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces increase in military assistance to South Vietnam. - Harry Gregson-Williams is born. - The Boss is sent to Cuba as part of a CIA-sponsored invasion under the guise of taking Cuban exiles back to their country (the Bay of Pigs invasion). Cuban and American diplomatic relations end. - President Kennedy falls into disfavor with the Philosophers. 1962 - (January) Navy SEALS formed. - (February) U.S. achieves its first manned space flight with the launch of Friendship 7. - Major Zero helps Sokolov and his family defect to the U.S. - (July) Kyle Cooper is born. - (October) British spy, James Bond, makes his first movie appearance in "Doctor No." - American U-2 spy planes confirm presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, precipitating the Cuban Missile Crisis. - Sokolov sent back to U.S.S.R. He is forced to continue working on the Shagohod. Major Zero begins creation of the FOX unit. Naked Snake and Python join. - Following the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet Union begins looking for a new secret location to build an IRBM base. - (December) U.S. Mars rocket, Mariner 2, approaches Mars and begins sending back survey data. - U.S. begins producing the "Davy Crockett" portable nuclear missiles. - The Boss kills the Sorrow at Tselinoyarsk as part of a secret mission for the Philosophers. 196X - Python is sent on a top-secret mission to Vietnam. He is severely wounded and his body loses the ability to regulate its temperature. He is fitted with a liquid nitrogen-filled suit that regulates his body temperature. 1963 - (February) U.S. and U.S.S.R. sign Hotline Agreement, establishing a direct telephone hotline between the American and Soviet leaders. - (March) Ending a 114-day strike, the New York Times publishes a 702 page Sunday edition. - (June) Valentina Tereshkova boards Vostok-6 and becomes the first female cosmonaut. - (August) U.S., U.K., and U.S.S.R. sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) in the Kremlin (banning atmospheric, space-based, and underwater testing of nuclear weapons). - Movie, "The Great Escape," is released. - Hideo Kojima is born. - (November) U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes the 36th President of the United States. - Colonel Volgin leads an uprising against Khrushchev with the Brezhnev faction. - John le Carre publishes "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold." - 10,000 U.S. military advisors stationed in Vietnam. - 100,000 South Vietnamese civilians serving U.S. military. - Granin creates basic Metal Gear design for Volgin but has no actual results from research. ???? - The U.S. secretly conducts the Successor Project to create the ultimate battlefield commander. They use the Boss as the model. Gene is a product of the project. 1964 - (January) U.S. Department of Health announces that cigarettes cause lung cancer. - (April) James Bond movie, "From Russia with Love," is released. - (July) U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson, signs the Civil Rights Act into law. - (August) Gulf of Tonkin incident occurs in Vietnam. - The Soviet Union provides military aid to FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). In return, the Soviet Union gains control of the San Hieronymo Peninsula. They begin plans to construct an IRBM base there. - The U.S. learns about the Shagohod and decides to get Sokolov back from the Soviet Union. - Volgin uses the Philosophers' spy network to suggest that the Boss defect to the Soviet Union and join his faction. The U.S. Philosophers use this opportunity to attempt to steal the Philosophers' Legacy. - The American Philosophers send Ocelot to infiltrate Volgin's faction and oversee the operation. - Tatyana is sent by China to steal the Philosophers' Legacy. She infiltrates Sokolov's research facility pretending to be an agent of Khrushchev's. - Snake is sent to Tselinoyarsk to rescue Sokolov (Virtuous Mission). - The Boss "defects." Volgin kidnaps Sokolov and Tatyana and steals the Shagohod (Virtuous Mission fails). - Colonel Volgin uses the Davy Crockett to destroy Sokolov's research facility. The Boss is blamed for it. - Khrushchev calls President Johnson and demands that the U.S. eliminate the Boss and Volgin. The American Philosophers decide to use Snake to fulfill Khrushchev's demands, retrieve Sokolov, destroy the Shagohod, and get the Legacy. - Snake is sent back to Tselinoyarsk (Operation Snake Eater). Ocelot (codenamed ADAM) is set up to meet with Snake and assist him. - Tatyana, posing as EVA, meets up with Snake instead and plants a transmitter on him. - EVA gives Granin shoes with a transmitter in one of the heels. - Ocelot and Snake have a duel but are interrupted by the Pain's hornets. - Snake kills the Pain and meets Granin at his research facility. Granin tells Snake about his Metal Gear designs. - Snake battles with and kills the Fear and the End. EVA steals the C3 plastic explosives from Groznyj Grad. - Ocelot obtains the Metal Gear designs from Granin. - Volgin kills Granin and finds the transmitter in his shoe. Snake kills the Fury and infiltrates Groznyj Grad. - EVA obtains the Shagohod test data from Sokolov. Snake finds Sokolov but ends up getting captured. Sokolov is tortured and taken to a Russian prison camp. - While torturing Snake, Volgin finds the transmitter. Ocelot accidentally shoots out Snake's right eye. - Snake escapes from captivity and meets the Sorrow's ghost. Snake meets back up with EVA and receives the C3. - The Boss makes Ocelot and EVA both promise that they won't kill Snake. - Snake uses the C3 to destroy the Shagohod's hangar. EVA tries to steal the Philosophers' Legacy but is caught by Ocelot. - Volgin tells the Boss to put the Legacy somewhere safe, but she keeps it. She gives EVA a fake Legacy and lets her escape. - Snake fights Volgin and destroys the Shagohod. Volgin is killed by lightning from the Sorrow's storm. - Snake and EVA escape to the lake where the Boss is waiting. The Boss destroys Groznyj Grad and the Granin Research Facility with the Davy Crockett. - Snake battles with and kills the Boss. Before she dies, she gives Snake the Philosophers' Legacy and her Patriot. - Snake and Ocelot have one last, meaningless duel. - Snake and EVA escape in a WIG and head for Alaska (Operation Snake Eater successful). - EVA leaves Snake, taking the fake Legacy, and goes back to China. She leaves a tape explaining the Boss's true mission. - Snake brings the Philosophers' Legacy back for the United States and is awarded the title of "Big Boss." - The Director of the CIA decides to create an infiltration unit for the army. - Big Boss retires from the FOX unit. - Gene rescues Sokolov from the Russian prison camp and brings him back to the U.S. - Ocelot somehow obtains half of the Legacy. - Ocelot gives Granin's Metal Gear designs to the Director of the CIA. The CIA begins building a Metal Gear for the U.S. Sokolov participates in its development. - The CIA recovers the remaining half of the Legacy. - The CIA chooses Python to kill Big Boss if Big Boss ever betrays them. Python rejoins FOX. - (September) First test flight of XB70, a heavy bomber capable of Mach 3. - The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) initiates a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule, setting off the Mozambican War of Independence. Frank Jaeger is a child soldier in one of the guerrilla groups. - (October) Tokyo Olympics held. - U.S.S.R. sends 3 cosmonauts into space aboard the Voskhod 1. - Khrushchev is ousted from power. Brezhnev becomes the First Secretary of the Communist Party, with Kosygin as Premier. - China conducts its first successful nuclear test in the Takla Makan desert. - (December) Motosada Mori is born. - Ocelot practices torture techniques at Lubianka Prison in the Spetsnaz headquarters. He serves as a special torture advisor in the concentration camps. - Vulcan Raven begins training in Russia with the Bimpel. 1965 - The U.S. begins bombing North Vietnam (Operation Flaming Dart & Operation Rolling Thunder). - Sigint joins ARPA. 1966 - The U.S. government conducts a study on emergency medical treatment. The Department of Transportation lays the groundwork for the creation of the EMT system. - Gene takes Elisa/Ursula away from East Germany as part of a FOX mission to get ESP for the CIA. Elisa/Ursula joins FOX. - Big Boss meets Frank Jaeger in Mozambique and takes him to a rehabilitation facility in the U.S. The Philosophers use him in the Perfect Soldier project and give him the codename "Null." 196X - A new formula for truth serum is developed. ???? - Lieutenant Cunningham is wounded on a FOX mission and the CIA moves him to a desk job. He secretly joins the Department of Defense as well. 1968 - The Soviet Union invades Czechoslovakia. - EVA disappears without a trace in Hanoi. 1969 - (July) Apollo 11 is launched by a Saturn V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and, four days later, puts the first man on the moon. - (November) The U.S. and Soviet Union begin conducting the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I). - The construction of a Soviet IRBM base on the San Hieronymo Peninsula is abandoned. - (December) The U.S. Department of Defense and ARPA establish ARPAnet, the basis for the Internet. Sigint takes part in it development. 1970 - Para-Medic establishes the nation's first paramedic system in Seattle, Washington. - Competitive tension reaches a breaking point between the CIA and the Department of Defense. - (Month before Portable Ops) The CIA plans to give the U.S.'s new Metal Gear to the Soviet Union in order to prolong the Cold War and maintain the CIA's influence. - The Pentagon enlists Gene and the FOX unit (including Lt. Cunningham, Elisa/Ursula, and Python) to steal Metal Gear before it can be given to the Soviet Union. - Instead, the FOX unit goes renegade, steals Metal Gear, flees to the San Hieronymo Peninsula, and takes command of the Red Army unit stationed there. - The U.S. sends in a unit of Green Berets (including Roy Campbell) to find out what is going on at San Hieronymo. FOX wipes out the entire unit and captures Roy Campbell. - The Pentagon has Major Zero and Big Boss charged with instigating the FOX rebellion and imprisons Big Boss at San Hieronymo. The Pentagon hopes Big Boss will disrupt Gene's plans, cause him to resort to launching Metal Gear at the Soviet Union, and prolong the Cold War. In the process this would increase the Pentagon's importance. Ocelot and a mystery man intend for Big Boss to disrupt Gene's plans if he decides to launch an attack against the Philosophers. - The Pentagon orders Lieutenant Cunningham to destroy the base with a Soviet-made Davy Crockett after the operation is complete. - Ocelot tells Gene that Lt. Cunningham is going to betray him. Gene secretly plans to launch nukes at the CIA's headquarters and the Pentagon to destroy the Philosophers' main bases of operation. This would allow him to build a nation of soldiers (Army's Heaven). - Big Boss meets Roy Campbell, escapes from prison, and joins forces with Para-Medic and Sigint. - Big Boss recruits an enemy soldier named Jonathan and begins creating his own unit to infiltrate San Hieronymo and prove his innocence. - Big Boss meets and befriends Elisa. - Big Boss is contacted by Sokolov (disguised as "Ghost"), who tells him about the stolen Metal Gear. - Big Boss battles and recruits Python. - Big Boss battles Null and is recaptured by FOX. - Gene receives launch data from Ocelot and plans the nuclear attack on the U.S. - Jonathan and the unit rescue Big Boss with the help of Elisa. - Big Boss and Elisa go to the plant where Metal Gear RAXA is being stored. - Gene awakens Ursula from inside Elisa and Big Boss battles Metal Gear RAXA with Ursula controlling it. - Big Boss destroys Metal Gear RAXA and Elisa/Ursula disappears in the explosion. It turns out RAXA was only a test model of the real Metal Gear. - Gene tricks Big Boss's soldiers into killing one another. Jonathan is killed. - Big Boss battles and recruits Null. - Big Boss heads to Metal Gear's underground launch silo and is told about the Pentagon's plans by Lieutenant Cunningham. Big Boss battles and kills Lieutenant Cunningham. He then confronts Gene. - Gene tells Big Boss his true plan to destroy the Philosophers and establish "Army's Heaven." He also tells him that everything behind Operation Snake Eater was orchestrated. - Gene tries to launch Metal Gear but Elisa/Ursula appears and stops him. Gene kills Elisa/Ursula. As she dies, she predicts that Big Boss will build a new Metal Gear. She also says, "Your son will bring the world to ruin... Your son will save the world..." - Gene restarts Metal Gear's launch sequence. Big Boss battles and kills Gene. As Gene dies, he gives Big Boss a microfilm containing information on the resources he accumulated to build Army's Heaven. - Big Boss and the remaining soldiers manage to destroy Metal Gear. - Ocelot kills the Director of the CIA and steals documents containing a list of members of the Philosophers and data on the CIA's half of the legacy. - Big Boss, Roy Campbell, Null (Frank Jaeger), return to the U.S. along with the soldiers at San Hieronymo. Big Boss receives a medal for his services. - Ocelot obtains the other half of the legacy from the CIA. - Ocelot and the mystery man plan to use the Philosopher's Legacy and Big Boss for a project that will allow them to become the "Patriots." - Major Zero disbands FOX. - The United States accumulates the entire Philosophers' Legacy. The U.S. branch of "Philosophers" changes its name to the "Patriots." - America, the Soviet Union, France, England, and China sign the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty). 1971 - (April) The Soviet Union launches Salyut-1, the first space station. - Carrying on the traditions of Major Zero and his FOX unit, Big Boss establishes FOXHOUND. 1972 - ARPA is renamed DARPA. - Big Boss is wounded in combat and falls into a coma. - The "Les Enfants Terribles" project. The sons of Big Boss are born. - Liquid Snake moves to England upon birth. - Psycho Mantis is born in a small village in Russia. His mother dies in childbirth. Mantis burns his village down and is later recruited by the KGB. - (December) Project Apollo ends with Apollo 17. 1973 - (January) The U.S. signs the Paris Peace Accords, officially ending direct U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. The U.S. finishes withdrawing troops from Vietnam. - (May) The U.S. launches its own space station, Skylab, into orbit. 1974 - (September) The Mozambican War of Independence ends with a ceasefire. - NEST (Nuclear Emergency Support Team) is established to provide technological support to the FBI during incidents involving criminal threats of nuclear weapon use. 1975 - (June) Mozambique gains its independence from Portugal with FRELIMO as the new ruling party. 1976 - Richard Dawkins publishes "The Selfish Gene." - Nastasha Romanenko is born and raised in Prypiat, Ukraine. 1977 - Delta Force is established by Colonel Charles Beckwith. - The Mozambique Resistance Movement (RENAMO) is formed in opposition to the Marxist-oriented FRELIMO government, setting off the Mozambican Civil War. 197X - Iraq is inspected by the IAEA, but only allows inspectors from Bulgaria and Russia to enter. 1978 - (August) The Soviet Union deploys the 40th Army in Afghanistan, setting off the Soviet-Afghan War. ???? - Vamp is born in Romania. His church is blown up by a terrorist's bomb and he is forced to feed on the blood of his dead family while stuck in the rubble. 1981 - The U.S. launches "Columbia," the first space shuttle. 1982 - (April) The Falklands War begins. - Naomi Hunter is born. 1983 - Ronald Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). 198X - Sniper Wolf is born in a Kurd tribe in Iraq. Her family is killed by Saddam Hussein in a chemical attack. - Big Boss finds Wolf and brings her to the U.S. - Raiden is born in New York City. 1984 - Frank Jaeger kills Naomi's parents in Rhodesia and takes Naomi with him. - Big Boss finds Naomi with Frank Jaeger, during Mozambique's civil war, and brings them to the U.S. - Big Boss and Frank Jaeger (Gray Fox) return to Africa to continue fighting the war. 1985 - (March) Mikhail Gorbachev is elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 1986 - (January) The U.S.'s space shuttle program stalls due to the Challenger explosion. - (February) The Soviet Union launches the space station, Mir, into orbit. - Nastasha Romanenko and her family are showered by the radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Prypiat (a city 3 kms north of Chernobyl). - The U.S. proposes the Human Genome Project, igniting a global research effort. 198X - Solidus kills Raiden's parents and raises him as a soldier in the Army of the Devil. 1987 - Meryl Silverburgh is born. 198X - Big Boss secretly establishes his armed fortress nation "Outer Heaven" in South Africa and takes in many mercenaries and war orphans. He continues his role as the commander of FOXHOUND. - Otacon begins having an affair with his stepmom, Julie (Emma's mother). - Otacon's father commits suicide and Otacon leaves the family. Emma and Julie later move back to England. 1989 - (April) David Christy, the author of this FAQ, is born. - (December) The National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) invades Nimba County sparking the first Liberian Civil War. - Raiden fights in the Liberian Civil War alongside Solidus. - The Berlin Wall falls. 1990 - (August) Iraq invades Kuwait, setting off the Gulf War. - (October) East and West Germany are reunified. - Nastasha's parents participate in the cleanup at Chernobyl and die of radiation sickness. Nastasha moves to the U.S. - Liquid works for the British special force SAS to destroy the mobile SCUD missile launchers in the Gulf War. He becomes a POW in Iraq and is declared MIA. - Solid Snake infiltrates western Iraq with a platoon of Green Berets. 1991 - The military secretly injects soldiers in the Gulf War with Big Boss's "soldier genes" as part of an experiment (Gulf War syndrome). - The Gulf War ends. - (September) IAEA discovers that Iraq had been developing nuclear weapons right under their nose. - (October) The KGB is dissolved and replaced by the SVR. - (December) The Communist system collapses. End of the Soviet Union. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) rises in its place. 1992 - The Cold War ends. - Snezhinsk, Sergei Gurlukovich's home, is bought out by America. Gurlukovich establishes a private army that aims to restore Mother Russia. - Psycho Mantis moves to the U.S. and joins the FBI as a psychic profiler. - Nastasha joins the DIA. She marries Richard Ames but they soon are divorced. Ames disappears. - Ocelot serves in the Russian Tax Police's elite SWAT team and then joins the SVR. - Ocelot is dissatisfied with the rigid system of the KGB (SVR) and is recruited by FOXHOUND. - (October) The Rome General Peace Accords are signed, bringing an end to the Mozambican Civil War. 199X - Big Boss begins construction on Metal Gear TX-55 to establish military superiority over the world. He kidnaps Dr. Pettrovich's daughter, Ellen, to blackmail him into working on Metal Gear TX-55. - Due to his skill as a child soldier in the Liberian Civil War, Raiden becomes the platoon leader of the 'small boy unit.' 1993 - (January) START-2 Accord signed. - (September) A coup d'etat is launched against Russian President, Boris Yeltsin. Vulcan Raven participates. - The coup d'etat fails and Vulcan Raven is demoted. Raven flees the country and becomes a mercenary. He joins Outer Heaven. 1994 - Liquid is rescued from Iraq by the U.S. government and returns to England. ???? - Fatman downloads a guidebook off of the Internet and builds an atomic bomb. - Solid Snake joins FOXHOUND. 1995 - Nastasha leaves the DIA to become a freelance analyst. She writes for assorted information magazines, including ones for the U.S. Navy. - NATO discovers that a new nuclear weapon is under construction at Outer Heaven. FOXHOUND is asked to take care of it. - Big Boss sends Gray Fox to Outer Heaven and captures him (Operation Intrude N313). - Big Boss then sends in the inexperienced Solid Snake hoping that he can trick Snake into delivering false information about Metal Gear TX-55 back to the U.S. - Snake is able to rescue Gray Fox, Dr. Pettrovich, and Ellen. - The U.S. government tries to kill Kyle Schneider because he is a liability. - Snake finds Metal Gear TX-55 and destroys it, causing Outer Heaven's self-destruct sequence to begin. - Snake is confronted by Big Boss while escaping. Snake defeats Big Boss and escapes from Outer Heaven. Outer Heaven is destroyed, but Big Boss manages to survive (Operation Intrude N313 successful). - NATO conducts an air raid on the remains of Outer Heaven to eliminate any evidence of the war orphans that reside there. Big Boss rescues the survivors. Kyle Schneider is one of them. - Snake retires from FOXHOUND. - Vulcan Raven joins FOXHOUND (with high recommendation from Ocelot). - Roy Campbell becomes the new commander of FOXHOUND. 1996 - Nastasha attends the Canberra Committee, the world's first nationally hosted nuclear weapons abolition proposal group, as an advisor. - The Liberian Civil War comes to an end. Raiden is taken in by an NGO and brought back to the United States. - (September) The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is adopted by the UN. 1997 - Big Boss establishes the military regime, Zanzibar Land in Central Asia. He fights off the CIS army with his army of mercenaries to declare Zanzibar Land's independence (The Mercenary War). - Gray Fox becomes the leader of Zanzibar Land. Dr. Pettrovich voluntarily begins construction on Metal Gear D. - (July) First sub-critical test performed at the Nevada Nuclear Testing Facility. 199X - Start-3 negotiations begin. 1999 - Petroleum begins to run out causing an energy crisis. - Dr. Kio Marv invents OILIX to solve the energy crisis. - Holly White enters Zanzibar Land as a journalist. - Dr. Marv is abducted and taken to Zanzibar Land. The U.S. calls upon FOXHOUND to handle the situation. - Colonel Campbell calls Snake out of retirement to recover Dr. Marv and OILIX (Operation Intrude F014). - Snake infiltrates Zanzibar Land and finds Dr. Marv dead. - Snake kills Dr. Pettrovich and recovers OILIX. - Snake destroys Metal Gear D and kills Gray Fox. - Snake confronts and kills Big Boss. - Snake escapes from Zanzibar Land and disappears into Alaska (Operation Intrude F014 successful). - Roy Campbell retires from FOXHOUND. - UK scientists clone the somatic cell of a sheep. - Dr. Clark starts the gene therapy project. He revives Gray Fox, keeps him drugged, and experiments on him. - Big Boss's body is taken by the U.S. government for gene therapy experiments. - The test on the National Missile Defense program succeeds but is considered a chance happening. - A countermeasure program to the Y2K bug is distributed worldwide along with a secret program designed by the Patriots. 2000 - (January) The Patriots hire a group of hackers (including Emma Emmerich) to carry out a test on the NSA's Fort Meade communication facility. The Patriots decide to move further data-gathering operations to a more isolated location (Arsenal Gear). - Psycho Mantis accidentally dives too far into a killer's mind and is infected by him. - Liquid joins FOXHOUND and becomes commander of the new FOXHOUND. - Liquid recruits Sniper Wolf and Psycho Mantis for FOXHOUND. - (June) The Human Genome Project is completed. An estimated 30 to 40 thousand genes are announced. But the Patriots secretly suppress information about a remaining 60,000 genes. - The Genome army is secretly created through gene therapy and Force 21 VR training. Raiden is also trained through the Force 21 training. - Another test on the National Missile Defense program is a complete failure. - The CNO (Chief of Naval Operations) begins a classified project utilizing the Pentagon's black budget. - George Sears (Solidus) is elected 43rd President of the United States. 2001 - (September) Multiple terrorist attacks strike the U.S. on 9/11. 2002 - The CNO is killed, freeing up the black budget for the Metal Gear REX project. - A nuclear weapons disposal plant is built on Shadow Moses Island to house the Metal Gear REX project. - Naomi Hunter is recruited by ATGC and leads several genetic therapy programs. - President George Sears (Solidus) organizes the Dead Cell special forces unit. 200X - Mei Ling joins the ROTC program at MIT. After leaving, she designs the Soliton Radar system and the Codec. 2003 - (March) Nations launch a multi-lateral strike upon Iraq. - Gray Fox kills Dr. Clark. Naomi Hunter is recruited to fill his post as chief geneticist for FOXHOUND. The Foxdie research is completed. - Donald Anderson initiates construction of Metal Gear REX at Shadow Moses Island. Otacon participates. 2004 - A bomb goes off in a church killing everyone inside. Peter Stillman blames himself for failing to defuse it. - George Sears (Solidus) is re-elected to the Presidency. ???? - Fatman attends NAVSCOLEOD (Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal) in Indian Head, Maryland and is instructed by Peter Stillman in the ways of bomb disposal. After finishing the course, Fatman joins NEST (Nuclear Emergency Search Team). He quits NEST almost immediately and is recruited by Dead Cell. 2005 - A dummy warhead is tested on Metal Gear REX. Kenneth Baker, Donald Anderson, and Liquid Snake (along with other members of FOXHOUND) are called in to supervise the test. The test is successful, but the Patriots are suspicious of FOXHOUND. - George Sears has Ocelot provoke Liquid Snake into starting an uprising at Shadow Moses Island so that he can get Metal Gear REX and the warhead data. This works to the Patriots' advantage as well. - Liquid kills McDonnel Miller in his home and begins impersonating him. - Meryl Silverburgh is transferred to Shadow Moses in order to manipulate Campbell. - FOXHOUND revolts and takes over Shadow Moses Island. They demand the remains of Big Boss and one billion dollars to cure Liquid and the Genome soldiers of their "genetic symmetry." Donald Anderson and Kenneth Baker are taken hostage. - Liquid "promises" Sergei Gurlukovich that he will use Metal Gear REX to help restore Mother Russia in exchange for technology and support. - Solid Snake is chosen as the vector to spread Foxdie to the terrorists, allowing the Patriots to retrieve Metal Gear REX and the warhead data. - Richard Ames recruits Nastasha Romanenko as part of the radio support team to help as a nuclear weapons specialist. - Before injecting Snake with Foxdie, Naomi Hunter changes the incubation period to a random value. - The terrorists manage to get Kenneth Baker's PAL code. - Ocelot kills Donald Anderson because he knows Ocelot's true identity. - Decoy Octopus disguises himself as Donald Anderson to coax information out of Snake. - Gray Fox infiltrates Shadow Moses Island with the hope of meeting Snake again. - Snake infiltrates Shadow Moses Island. - Snake meets Decoy Octopus disguised as Donald Anderson, but Decoy Octopus is killed by Foxdie. - Snake finds Kenneth Baker and battles with Ocelot, but the battle is interrupted when Gray Fox cuts off Ocelot's right arm. - Kenneth Baker gives Snake the optical disk with Metal Gear REX's warhead data and is killed by Foxdie. - Snake defeats Vulcan Raven in the M1 tank. - Snake finds Otacon and defeats Gray Fox in battle. - Snake meets up with Meryl, gets the PAL key, and kills Psycho Mantis. - Meryl is captured. Snake battles Sniper Wolf and is captured himself. - Ocelot takes the optical disc from Snake. - Snake escapes from captivity and destroys the Hind D. - Snake kills Sniper Wolf and Vulcan Raven. - Snake reaches Metal Gear REX. Liquid adds the Foxdie vaccine to his list of White House demands. Liquid plans to ally with Gurlukovich and fortify Shadow Moses. - Naomi is held prisoner by one of Ames' agents. She secretly contacts Snake and tells him about Foxdie. - Snake mistakenly activates Metal Gear's activation code. Liquid takes control of Metal Gear REX - Snake, assisted by Gray Fox, destroys Metal Gear REX. Gray Fox is killed. - Jim Houseman has Colonel Campbell arrested and decides to cover up the facts by bombing Shadow Moses Island. - Richard Ames has Jim Houseman arrested and places the blame for the whole incident on him. Ames gives Nastasha a disc containing info on Foxdie as insurance for her safety. - Colonel Campbell is released. - Snake and Liquid battle atop the destroyed REX. Snake rescues Meryl and they escape from the base. Otacon escapes as well. - Liquid follows Snake and Meryl out, but is killed by Foxdie. - Snake, Meryl, and Otacon leave Shadow Moses Island. - Ocelot keeps Meryl under surveillance. - George Sears (Solidus) succeeds in getting data on Metal Gear REX and the warhead, but the Patriots are unhappy that the public is now aware of the existence of REX and the Genome Army. - Jim Houseman is killed. - Richard Ames disappears again. - The surviving members of the Next-Generation Commando Unit are removed to the Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire. - Naomi Hunter is formally taken into custody but is broken out by Solid Snake. - Nastasha Romanenko writes "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses." It becomes a non-fiction bestseller. - The Patriots remove George Sears (Solidus) from the Presidential Office. James Johnson is selected to be the 44th President. Plans for Arsenal Gear are begun through the Navy. - Emma hears about Otacon on Shadow Moses and joins the NSA. - Ocelot "helps" Solidus go into hiding until Arsenal Gear is completed. Then Solidus plans to steal it and declare war on the Patriots. - FOXHOUND is disbanded. 200X - Ocelot has Liquid's arm grafted on in place of his own missing arm. - Ocelot sells the blueprints for Metal Gear on the black market. - Snake and Otacon form the anti-Metal Gear organization, "Philanthropy." Snake becomes a hero in the public eye. The Patriots don't like this. - Marine Commander Scott Dolph initiates and heads the Metal Gear RAY project in opposition to the Navy's Arsenal Gear project. - The Patriots' develop a plan that will get rid of Solid Snake's fame, get them Arsenal Gear and RAY, kill off Solidus, take control of all available information through an AI called GW, and fully prepare GW to handle any situation that it's presented with through a huge recreation of the Shadow Moses incident. 2007 - (April) The Patriots send Rose to spy on Raiden and learn all about him, but she ends up falling in love with him. - The Patriots send Otacon an anonymous tip about Metal Gear RAY to lure him and Snake to its testing site. - Solid Snake infiltrates the U.S.S. Discovery on the Hudson River in search of Metal Gear RAY. - Ocelot, Olga, Sergei Gurlukovich, and his men take over the tanker with plans to steal Metal Gear RAY, sell it, and rebuild Mother Russia. - Snake battles Olga and knocks her out. - Snake reaches Metal Gear, takes pictures, and transmits them to Otacon. - Ocelot betrays the takeover group and kills Gurlukovich and Marine Commander Dolph. He then steals Metal Gear RAY and sinks the tanker. - The Patriots immediately send a fully loaded oil tanker to the same location and sink it as a cover-up. - The Patriots have Snake blamed for the destruction of the tanker. - Otacon and Snake acquire Liquid's body and set it up to look like Snake was killed on the tanker. - The Big Shell is built, disguised as an oil cleanup facility, for the
          construction of Arsenal Gear and staging of the S3 plan.
     - Emma Emmerich is moved from the NSA to the Arsenal project.  She designs
          GW and the GW virus as a failsafe.
     - The Patriots alter the virus so that it will eliminate their members'
          personal info from GW.
     - The Patriots have Metal Gear RAY redesigned to be a mass-produced backup
          unit for Arsenal Gear.
     - Olga and her men join forces with an illegal Russian organization that
          turns out to be a subordinate organization of the Patriots.
     - Olga gives birth, but the Patriots take her baby from her. She is forced
          to cooperate with the Patriots in exchange for her child's life.
2008 - The Patriots arrest Colonel Jackson, who later dies in prison, and set
          up Dead Cell to be blamed for a bunch of civil disturbances.
     - Fortune's mother commits suicide and Fortune has a miscarriage.
     - Dead Cell decides to get revenge on the Patriots.
     - James Johnson is elected to a second term as President.  He plans to
          steal Arsenal Gear in order to bargain his way into the Patriots'
          ranks.
2009 - Liquid uses Ocelot to leak information about Arsenal Gear to Otacon.
          Liquid plans to find the Patriots through Ocelot and kill them off. 
     - The Patriots recruit Raiden through GW (under the guise of FOXHOUND) and
          order Olga to assist him in any way possible.
     - A Presidential inspection tour is held to check the progress of Arsenal
          Gear.  The Patriots are aware of Johnson's plan and send Richard Ames
          to keep an eye on him.
     - (April) Solidus, Ocelot, Dead Cell, Olga, and her men take over the Big
          Shell.  Ames, Johnson, and Emma are taken as hostages.  Explosives
          are set up around the Big Shell.  Solidus intends to steal Arsenal
          Gear, filter the Patriots' names out of GW, and kill them off.
     - Solidus uses Ocelot to suggest to Fortune and Vamp that they steal
          Arsenal Gear themselves, so that they draw the Patriots' attacks
          while Solidus secretly kills the Patriots off.
     - Seal Team 10 begins conducting an operation to rescue the President.
          Peter Stillman and Otacon are brought in with them.
     - Snake infiltrates the Big Shell and disguises himself as a Navy Seal.
     - Raiden infiltrates the Big Shell with orders from FOXHOUND (GW) to
          safeguard the hostages and disable the terrorists.
     - Rose is chosen to be the mission analyst.
     - Seal Team 10 is wiped out by Vamp and Fortune.
     - Snake meets Raiden and takes on the name Iroquois Pliskin.
     - Raiden meets Peter Stillman.
     - Raiden is contacted by Olga under the guise of Mr. X.
     - A C4 explodes, killing Stillman and damaging Strut H.  Snake and Raiden
          defuse the remaining C4.
     - Raiden battles Fortune but can't kill her.
     - Raiden battles and kills Fatman.  Snake and Otacon learn all about
          Arsenal Gear.
     - Raiden meets up with Mr. X (Olga) and is told to find Ames.
     - Raiden meets Ames, but Ames' pacemaker is shut down to replicate the
          Foxdie deaths at Shadow Moses.
     - Raiden meets Solidus, but he jumps into a Harrier 2 with Vamp.  Raiden
          destroys the Harrier 2.  Solidus and Vamp survive, but Solidus loses
          his left eye.
     - Raiden meets the President.  The President gives him the disc containing
          the altered GW virus.
     - Ocelot kills the President to replicate the Foxdie deaths at Shadow
          Moses.
     - Raiden battles Vamp.  Final check procedure for Arsenal Gear is
          completed.
     - Raiden rescues Emma.
     - Olga confronts Snake and learns that Ocelot was the one that killed her
          father.
     - Vamp stabs Emma.  Snake takes Emma to the computer room to load the
          virus before it's too late.
     - Emma dies and the virus is blocked, leaving it downloaded at only 90%.
     - Otacon rescues all the hostages with the Kamov chopper.  Olga and Snake
          capture Raiden in order to sneak onto Arsenal Gear.
     - Once aboard Arsenal, Olga releases Raiden.  The virus begins affecting
          GW.
     - Raiden learns that Rose is pregnant and meets back up with Snake.  They
          battle their way through Arsenal Gear.
     - Fortune confronts and captures Snake.  Raiden fights all the Metal Gear
          RAYs, but is soon worn out.  Olga comes to help and is killed by
          Solidus.
     - Ocelot retrieves GW from Arsenal Gear.
     - Ocelot reveals that he has been working for the Patriots.  He kills
          Fortune and prepares to kill the others, but Liquid takes control of
          Ocelot.  Liquid sets Arsenal to crash into the mainland and escapes
          in Metal Gear RAY.  Snake dives off of Arsenal and puts a transmitter
          on Liquid's RAY.
     - Arsenal Gear plows through Manhattan and stops at Federal Hall, knocking
          Raiden and Solidus onto its roof. They battle to the death.  Solidus
          is killed.
     - Snake and Otacon find the names of the Patriots on the GW virus. They
          realize that the Patriots have already been dead for about 100 years.
200X - Due to faults in the cloning process, Snake's cells begin deteriorating
          at a rapid rate.
2014 - EVENTS OF METAL GEAR SOLID 4: GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS...


|-5-| Special Thanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GameFAQs - For hosting this FAQ.
Hideo Kojima - For creating a game series with such a fascinating storyline.
Wikipedia - For helping me check up on historical events.
Reese's Puffs - For giving me the energy to work on this right now.
All the people who e-mailed me about the changes to Gray Fox's background.
All GameFAQs message board users that gave me input.
Joe Davis - For correction on Stillman's death.
Mr_Havo, Rizardo Lawless, and bseball6291 - For correction on Elisa's
prediction at the end of Portable Ops.
Brian McCormick - For spelling correction in introduction paragraph.
reggiefive0 - For clearing up Raiden's history for me.


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