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Prime universe
(Capcom's primary storyline)
Umbrella Security Service logo

The Umbrella Security Service (abbreviated "U.S.S.") was a security force under the control of Umbrella HQ. It was one of several paramilitary organisations used by the company, including the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, the Undertaker Unit and the Intelligence Division. The U.S.S was an expansive organisation, with branches specially trained and equipped for different situations, ranging from guarding Umbrella facilities to covert operations. It was dissolved in 2003, after Umbrella declared bankruptcy.

History[]

RE0 not Marcus flashback scene 4

The U.S.S. developed as a need for adequate protection of facilities containing classified biotechnology for the US military. Facilities such as the Arklay Laboratory consisted of small garrisons which would protect them from intruders. A further use of the U.S.S. was that of covert operations, with agents answering directly to Umbrella HQ being ordered out to kill or detain threats to the company. The first known use of U.S.S. for this method was in 1988 when Dr. James Marcus was assassinated by two guards on the orders of Umbrella CEO Dr. Lord Spencer.[1] In 1993, the U.S.S. college was moved to Rockfort Island, under the command of Lord Ashford. Along with a new military training centre, a concentration camp was built for the guarding of Umbrella's enemies.

Raccoon City[]

The U.S.S. performed a number of functions during the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident. When a t-Virus strain spread across the Arklay Laboratory as an airborne pathogen, the local garrison was ordered to fortify the complex per quarantine procedure. Access to the subway system was cut off following the evacuation of important bio-weapons research, and personnel on the watchtower began shooting Umbrella USA employees trying to escape the complex. These guards were, however, infected and their ability to control the situation ended within a few short weeks. When it was determined the remaining guards could no longer protect the facility, the Raccoon Disaster Contingency Committee planned out a mission to destroy the facility.[2]

In July 1998, an attempt by Umbrella USA and the Intelligence Division to re-open the abandoned management training school also failed. The 1st Investigation Unit, a force consisting of U.S.S. personnel and maintenance staff, was attacked by mutant leeches and many were killed or infected. The leeches attacked other facilities in the area, including NEST and a water treatment plant, infecting more guards. When the 2nd Investigation Unit, consisting of management staff, was attacked on the train ride to the training school, a two-man covert operations unit, "Delta Team", was sent in to investigate. The two were also themselves attacked and infected by the leeches. By the morning of 24 July, all personnel attacked by the leeches were killed, as biohazard containment procedures took force and destroyed the training school and water treatment plant. The following morning, any surviving guards at the Arklay Laboratory were themselves killed when that complex was also destroyed.

In September, U.S.S. personnel in Raccoon City were caught up in an intense power struggle over the completed G-Virus, when Umbrella's Intelligence Division received word that NEST's chief researcher, Dr. William Birkin, was planning to hand the virus over to the US military. What became of NEST's local U.S.S. garrison is uncertain, but Umbrella HQ was forced to send in a squad armed for covert operations into the city. Operation: NESTWRECKER carefully planned out an infiltration of the city's sewers to gain covert passage to NEST on 22 September, rather than dropping via its surface façade of a factory in the Arklay Mountains. Though Alpha Team was successful in recovering the G-Virus, Birkin infected himself and became a violent mutant. When rendezvousing with their backup team at the sewers, Birkin caught up and massacred the squad, leaving the mission leader, HUNK, as the sole confirmed survivor. He was able to escape the city on the early hours of 30 September with another sample of G-Virus.

As the city fell to a t-Virus outbreak brought on by contaminated drinking water, U.S.S. guards at other facilities in the city were devoured or infected, leaving no Umbrella facility defended. Against orders, Captain Rodriguez's 2nd Squad recovered the experimental Nyx B.O.W. from the Circular River dockyards and prepared it for evacuation from a Chinook. Rodriguez was officially stripped of authority and declared an enemy combatant,[3] but succeeded in escaping the city despite attempts by the U.B.C.S. to stop him.

Meanwhile, other U.S.S. units and teams from outside were deployed to the city to assist with quarantine and recovery operations, albeit without proper briefing about the state of the city or the t-Virus' nature. This included Unit 6, whose primary orders were to assist in evacuating Umbrella executives and US government officials only. The unit arrived at a U.S.S. checkpoint set up at one of the entryways into Raccoon City, where other U.S.S. operators were struggling to hold back a crowd of desperate civilians attempting to escape the city. After letting a fleeing Umbrella executive through, the unit chief ordered his men to open fire on the civilians. The unit then went into the city, where they were set upon by hordes of zombies who killed the chief, forcing the remainder of the unit to seek refuge in a butchery. However, all of the remaining operators had been bitten and infected, except for Dylan Blake and JJ, who argued over orders from HQ to terminate all infected, including their own teammates. When the other operators became zombies, JJ was infected himself while putting them down and subsequently beaten to death before zombification by Blake, who was evacuated from the city afterwards.[4]

Rockfort Island[]

Though the U.S.S. lost considerable numbers in Raccoon City, their operations continued. After receiving a tip-off from the Intelligence Division that H.C.F. had spies on Rockfort Island, Lord Ashford had the T-078 transported to the island. HUNK was placed in charge of the transport mission, but would later file a complaint as not only was cargo transport an improper use of the U.S.S. but that he and his team were not allowed to know the nature of the cargo, creating a safety risk.

In mid-December, Claire Redfield was detained by Paris Laboratory's garrison after infiltrating the premises, causing the deaths of at least two guards while pursued by an MH-6 helicopter. 3rd Squad leader Rodrigo Juan Raval, who personally captured Redfield, took her to Rockfort Island as a new concentration camp inmate. Soon after arrival, H.C.F. made their attack on the island, dropping bombs on the island from transport planes. Their spies then sabotaged the military training center's lab, releasing the t-Virus into the surrounding area in an airborne form. The U.S.S., already at a disadvantage, was now at its own throat, and lost control of all facilities on the island.[notes 1] A general evacuation took place, with infected survivors fleeing in transport planes while H.C.F. agents searched for island for valuable research data. Raval himself, wounded in the fighting, released Redfield from captivity, and was killed the following day by Gulp Worm, an escaped B.O.W. created for U.S.S. training purposes.

Known members[]

1st U.S.S. Squad (Operation NESTWRECKER)
  • HUNK - Alpha Team leader and possible 1st Squad leader. Nicknamed "Grim Reaper".
  • J. Martinez - Codename "Ghost". Shot Dr. Birkin during the armed confrontation. Killed by the mutated Birkin.
  • A. Kirkpatrick - Indirectly infected with the t-Virus by the mutated Birkin, zombified and subsequently killed by survivors.
1st U.S.S. Squad (Backup team)
  • Nighthawk - Evac Chopper Pilot
  • Miguel - Injured by Birkin and later died.
  • GOBLIN 6 - Injured by Birkin and left for dead in the sewers by HUNK.
  • Derek - Injured by Birkin and died.
  • Luke - Injured by Birkin and died.
2nd U.S.S. Squad (NYX Retrieval)
  • Captain Rodriguez - Squad leader. Defected from Umbrella, survived the Raccoon City Destruction Incident.
  • Conrad - Status unknown

Delta Team

Unit 6

  • U.S.S. Chief - Unit leader. Killed during the Raccoon City Destruction Incident.
  • Dylan Blake - Survived the Raccoon City Destruction Incident.
  • JJ - Infected during the Raccoon City Destruction Incident and killed by Dylan before zombification.
  • Carl - Infected during the Raccoon City Destruction Incident, zombified, and subsequently put down by JJ.

Investigation Units

Uniforms and equipment[]

The Umbrella Security Service was versatile in its uniforms and equipment, with security personnel provided with what was deemed essential to their mission.

Guard duty[]

U.S.S. personnel on guard duty typically wore military-style fatigue. The guards stationed at the Arklay Laboratory ("Secret Security Patrol Team") appear to have worn normal clothing, blending in with the other staff. Security posted in the Rockford Island palace and military training facility wore police-type uniforms, while the guards in the concentration camp wore the trainee woodland camouflage fatigues. Guards at Umbrella Europe's Paris Laboratory wore dark blue uniforms with matching caps and a black belt, and were armed with AK-47s.

Claire Redfield encountered guards when raiding the Paris Medical Lab in December 1998. The security force was heavily armed and used a helicopter as a gunship to try and take her down. They suffered from many casualties during their stunts (and Claire's quick thinking). It was here that Rodrigo Juan Raval, the leader of the 3rd Security unit captured Claire and sent her to a concentration camp on Rockfort Island. However, the Security and staff on Rockfort Island were wiped out when H.C.F. bombed the facility and released the t-Virus.

Covert operations[]

The standard uniform for U.S.S. agents on covert operations were black or dark grey clothes, with an armored vest covering the chest and a helmet. Some operators also wore black balaclavas, ballistic goggles and Umbrella Corporation patches on their vests and shoulder sleeves. Gas masks were also worn in the event of exposure to gas canisters. During the Raccoon City Destruction Incident, some U.S.S. agents chose to remove their helmets and gas masks. The U.S.S. agents assigned to Operation: NESTWRECKER were armed with submachine guns (MP5 or Steyr TMP), C-4 plastic explosive, and infra-red scopes for customised firearms.[5] Another U.S.S. agent died in the Spencer Memorial Hospital with a Magnum pistol. U.S.S. operators tasked with crowd control were equipped with ballistic shields and utilized wheeled pedestrian barriers to cordon off areas.

Gallery[]



Sources[]

notes
  1. Exerpt from BIOHAZARD CODE: Veronica kaitaishinsho, page 64:
    "T-ウイルスに感染した結果、 脳細胞が壊死し代謝機能に異変をきたして、 生ける屍と化したもの。人としての理性はすでになく、 ただ飢餓感にのみ突き動かされ、人肉を求めてさまよう。本作では、 島の刑務所に収監されていた囚人やアンブレラ特殊部隊の訓練生、 島を襲撃した組織の工作員など、 多種多様な人間がT-ウイルスの犠牲となっている。"
references
  1. Capcom. Resident Evil Zero. Nintendo GameCube. Scene: Marcus boss battle (1). Level/area: Water Treatment Plant. Doctor Marcus: Ten years ago, Spencer had me assassinated.
  2. Resident Evil (2002), file: "Fax".
  3. Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004), file: "Written orders".
  4. Resident Evil: Death Island (2023).
  5. Capcom. Resident Evil 2. (Capcom). File: Patrol report.
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