Military

Military personnel patrolling outside of Fort Zancudo.

“

Bunch of glorified Boy Scouts!

”

— Trevor Philips

The United States military is featured in GTA 2, GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA Chinatown Wars, and Grand Theft Auto V. As implied, they are the armed forces of the United States of America, comprising mostly of the army, but also with air and naval bases. The army themselves doesn't appear in Grand Theft Auto IV because it enhances realism; the army would not be sent to arrest one person and because the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of federal military personnel and units of the National Guard under federal authority from acting in a law enforcement capacity within the United States, except where expressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress[1]. The army is replaced somewhat by NOOSE. However, the military reappears in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online, but it is no longer considered as law enforcement officers. The military is also featured in many missions throughout the series, such as Sir, Yes Sir!, Black Project, Green Goo, Up, Up and Away!, Vertical Bird, Robbing Uncle Sam, Over the Top, and Cargobob.

Behavior

Grand Theft Auto 2

The Military in GTA 2 attacking the player on a six star wanted level

After getting a six star wanted level, the military will replace the police. Pedestrians disappear and normal cars become a rare sight. The soldiers in GTA 2 are armed with machine guns and can easily kill Claude Speed and destroy cars. The military uses different vehicles such as Pacifiers, Land Roamers and a Tank. The military has its base in the Residential District but the base is inaccessible. However, there is a small base in the Industrial District in which it can be accessed during the mission Army Base Alert!.

3D Universe

After the player gains six stars in a 3D Universe game, the army will begin to chase the player. On the ground, two military vehicles are used to kill the player; the Barracks OL, which is used for troop transport, and the Rhino tank for pursuit. The soldiers themselves are always well-armed with weapons that will often make short work of the player and most vehicles.

Members of the military behave as a gang in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and its prequel, despite not being an actual gang and will attack the player if spotted on military territory, unless in a Cop uniform. They will also set up roadblocks comprised of the Barracks OL and soldiers armed with M16s in GTA III and MP5s (during a 6-star wanted level), and M4 Carbines in every other 3D Universe game. These aren't as lethal as those of the FBI since there could be two FBI vehicles taking up one road with at least eight agents. But seeing as how the Barracks takes up the space of one road, they can be broken through although the MP5s still pose an extreme threat.

A strange thing is that soldiers in the Fort Baxter Air Base never participate in law enforcement activity; if the player is wearing a police uniform or army fatigues and enters the base with a wanted level; only the law enforcement officers that enter from outside the base will try to kill the player.

HD Universe

In Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, after gaining six stars, the Rhino and occasionally on-foot infantry will appear. Soldiers are armed with AK-47s at all times. While encountering an occupied Rhino, the player cannot hijack the occupied Rhino. However, there are two ways the Rhino will react depending if the player is on foot or in a vehicle. If the player is in a vehicle, the Rhino will immediately fire at the player's vehicle, setting it aflame (but not blowing it up, allowing the player to bail out and save his or her life). However, if the player is on foot, the Rhino will reluctantly fire, giving the player ample time to escape. The very slow speed of the Rhino makes it easy for the player to outrun it on foot. The Rhino will eventually fire at the player if the player stays in range on foot for too long. A direct hit usually kills the player unless the player has full health and full armour, but will reduce the health to roughly 25% and armour to 0%. The same goes for the Destroyer when the player enters the water.

In GTA V, the military will be present in Fort Zancudo outside of missions. If the player loiters around one of the gates entering the base, a guard will approach the protagonist and demand he leaves the area. If the player stays still, the guard will raise his assault rifle and demand once more that the player leaves. If the player still doesn't comply, the guard will open fire. If the player enters the base, the alarm will sound and soldiers will fire at the player on foot. In cars or trucks, they will continually ram the player if he/she is in a vehicle, or get out and shoot. If there's a NPC Rhino, the driver will use the main cannon to shoot the player, regardless of whether or not they're on foot or in a vehicle. Their behaviour makes them much more dangerous than previous military personnel in earlier games.

Military bases

• Fort Baxter Air Base in Vice City Mainland, Vice City.
• United States National Guard Depot in Ocean Docks, Los Santos, San Andreas.
• Easter Basin Naval Station in San Fierro, San Andreas.
• Area 69 in Bone County, San Andreas.
• K.A.C.C. Military Aviation Fuel Depot in Las Venturas, San Andreas.
• Fort Zancudo near Mount Josiah, San Andreas

Military vehicles

Controllable

• Barracks OL
• Barracks Semi
• Buzzard
• Cargobob
• Cargo Plane
• Crusader
• Destroyer
• Flatbed
• Hunter
• Hydra
• Jetpack (prototype experiment, stolen by Carl Johnson in 1992)
• Kalahari (French military only, civilian model available for purchase)
• Land Roamer, (Armed)
• Mesa Grande
• P-996 LAZER
• Pacifier
• Patriot
• Rhino
• Tank
• Tiger Tank (possibly an ex-German tank from World War 2)
• Titan

Not Controllable

• USS Numnutz Submarine
• LHD-069 Amphibious Aircraft Carrier
• T-34 Tank (formerly used by Soviet military)

Soldiers

• Victor Vance
• Niko Bellic (Serbian military)
• Trevor Philips (Royal Canadian Air Force)
• Alan McClean
• Mr. Lopez
• Jerry Martinez
• Don Percival
• Phil Cassidy
• Michael Klebitz
• Fifteen Man Squad (Serbian military)
• Darko Brevic (Serbian military)
• Florian Cravic (Serbian military)
• Colonel Fuhrberger
• Sergeant Peppah
• Colonel Cortez (Central American military)
• Jack Howitzer
• Cletus Ewing
• Nolan
• Clark

Clothing

Throughout the series, the military has been dressed in traditional woodland camouflage pattern. In GTA III, they are shown as wearing simply a green outfit with a hat. Troops stationed at Fort Baxter Air Base wear M81 Woodland uniforms that was standard-issue during the 1980s. The same seems to carry over into GTA San Andreas, although an urban camouflage pair of trousers can be purchased in Binco, soldiers are never seen wearing them. In Vice City Stories, the outfit seems to resemble an M81 Woodland Pattern, aside from that worn by Corproal Victor Vance, who instead wears a beige shirt with the camo trousers. In GTA V, there are two different types of uniforms. The infantrymen wear a uniform that closely resembles the Universal Camouflage Pattern, modern U.S. Army standard issue uniform. The Air Force pilots wear a green suit, similar to in real life.

Dead Air Force pilot.

So far, the outfits are not purchasable in any available store, although trousers of such can be bought in GTA San Andreas, which come in Woodland and Urban patterns. While the Army Fatigues can be re-unlocked in Vice City Stories, they do not resemble what the other soldiers wear, making Vic Vance stand out.

Trivia

• In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the soldiers at the Fort Baxter Air Base are considered to be part of the Streetwannabe's gang, and the cops will pursue them as they do with Street Criminals and gangs. Soldiers will not fight back If they are attacked by fist or a melee weapon, but will kill off all the cops they are attacking them If the cops pull out their pistols and shoot at them. This also happens with any Law Enforcement members in Vice City, except the Army who pursues the player at a six-star wanted level, although this kind of Army will also attack the Soldiers who appear at Fort Baxter.
• Victor Vance is the only protagonist who has served in the U.S. military. However, Niko Bellic has served in the Serbian military.
• In the GTA III Era the Rhino tank (which chases the player at six stars) does not fire its main cannon. However, in Grand Theft Auto II, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Grand Theft Auto V the Rhino is programmed to use its turret to full effect, blasting the player into oblivion.
• The Army soldiers are very dangerous. An example of this can be easily told when the player does the mini gun Rampage to kill all the nearby gang members. If a group of army men see one of the gang members they will instead open fire on sight leaving no time for the specific gang to retaliate back.
• The Military are not in Grand Theft Auto IV. This is believed to be because Rockstar planned on making GTA IV realistic unlike San Andreas' over the top style. Although the Military reappeared in Grand Theft Auto V, they are not used as Law Enforcement or sent after the player for crimes except in the mission "The Paleto Score" in which at some point the army will show up with soldiers and tanks to fight the player. This is possibly a nod to when they showed up at 6 stars.
• The main Military Bases are as follows: Fort Baxter Air Base (GTA Vice City), Easter Basin/Area 69 (GTA San Andreas), and Fort Zancudo (GTA V).
• Throughout the games, so far there are no military officers armed with a sniper rifle.
• Despite the Army having a helicopter attack in the 3D Universe games, so far no Soldiers use them, except for scripted circumstances.
• In GTA Online missions, various enemy gangs and Merryweather mercenaries will use the same dialogue lines as the soldiers from single player.

Gallery

Top down games

A Tank in GTA 1. An ICBM in GTA London, 1969. An Armed Land Roamer in GTA 2. A regular Land Roamer in GTA 2. A Pacifier in GTA 2. A Tank in GTA2. A Barracks OL in GTA Advance. A Tank in GTA Advance. A Rhino in GTA Chinatown Wars. A Destroyer in GTA Chinatown Wars.

GTA III

A solider in GTA III. A Rhino in GTA III. A Barracks OL in GTA III.

GTA Vice City

Military soldiers in GTA Vice City. A Patriot in GTA Vice City. A Barracks OL in GTA Vice City. A Hunter in GTA Vice City. Fort Baxter Air Base in GTA Vice City. A Rhino in GTA Vice City

GTA San Andreas

Military soldier in GTA San Andreas. Cargobob-GTASA-side.jpg A Cargobob in GTA San Andreas. A Hunter in GTA San Andreas. A Hydra in GTA San Andreas. A Launch in GTA San Andreas. A Patriot in GTA San Andreas. A Barracks in GTA San Andreas. A Military Mesa without a roof in GTA San Andreas. A Military Mesa with a roof in GTA San Andreas. The LHD-069 in GTA San Andreas. The USS Numnutz in GTA San Andreas. A Rhino in GTA San Andreas. The Easter Basin Naval Station in GTA San Andreas. K.A.C.C. Military Fuels in GTA San Andreas. Area69.jpg Area 69 in GTA San Andreas.

GTA Vice City Stories

A Patriot in GTA Vice City Stories. A Military Mesa in GTA Vice City Stories. A Hunter in GTA Vice City Stories. The Military only appearing at Fort Baxter in GTA Vice City Stories. A Barracks OL in GTA Vice City Stories.

GTA V Military

US Military Soldier Rhino tank Military Crusader P 996 Lazer Jet A Barracks truck in GTA V A Buzzard Attack Helicopter in GTA V A Titan cargo plane in GTA V Fort Zancudo satellite image from GTA V A Cargobob in GTA V The Barracks Semi Crusader with a Soldier in Action at Fort Zancudo Fearless Rhino Crusader Decals US Army Soldier aiming at the Target