United States Armed Forces

For alternate versions of the United States Armed Forces, see the United States Armed Forces' Organization Hub

"What happened to you?"
"I joined the Army."

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States of America. They consist of the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force and the United States Coast Guard.

History[]

World War II[]

Strategic Scientific Reserve[]

"General Patton has said that wars are fought with weapons but are won by men. Our goal is to create the greatest army in history."

―Chester Phillips^[src]

When the USA entered World War II in 1941, the US Armed Forces had to fight on two fronts in Europe and North Africa, and in the Pacific. To improve their chances to win the war, the Strategic Scientific Reserve, the Allied secret science agency, began to work on Project Rebirth, which resulted in the creation of Captain America.

In 1943, on the battlefields of Europe, the US Army had to face many advanced and deadly weapons developed by HYDRA led by Johann Schmidt.^[2]

James Barnes' Orders[]

"You get your orders?"
"The 107th. Sergeant James Barnes, shipping out for England first thing tomorrow."
"I should be going."

―Steve Rogers and James Barnes^[src]

The 107th Infantry Regiment was ordered to be shipped out for England to aid the other regiments in taking Italy. Serving on the front lines of World War II, was Roger's best friend, Bucky Barnes and his unit, which included Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones. The 107th were ambushed by the Wehrmacht troops at Azzano on the Italian Front, taking heavy casualties until another German unit then appeared and used an extremely powerful tank which proceeded to easily kill the remaining Nazis who fled. However, the tank turns on the 107th and inflict even more devastating casualties with Barnes and his unit being captured by HYDRA. Only 34 of the soldiers from the regiment were only able to make it back behind friendly lines.^[2]

Liberation of Allied Prisoners of War[]

"Are you planning a rescue mission?"
"Yeah, it's called winning the war."

―Steve Rogers and Chester Phillips^[src]

In October 1943, Barnes and the other Allied POWs, including Jacques Dernier and James Montgomery Falsworth, were imprisoned in HYDRA Base Camp C3 and being used as human laborers for the organizations war machine including parts of the Valkyrie. When Barnes became too weak to continue, he was taken to serve as a test subject for Arnim Zola's super soldier experiments and received Zola's recreated version of the Super Soldier Serum. Fortunately, Captain America arrives just in time to liberate the prisoners and escape after destroying the factory. The freed prisoners battled HYDRA forces, seizing many weapons and vehicles to clear their way out. The officer in charge, Johann Schmidt observed the ensuing chaos on the security monitors and activated an alarm signal in the whole facility, before realizing that Captain America also infiltrated the base. In order to avoid the facility being captured, Schmidt activate the self-destruct sequence.

Rogers eventually found Barnes in a laboratory, where a map showing other HYDRA facilities was displayed. Rogers memorized the map and began searching an exit with Barnes just before the self-destruct mechanisms started to explode. As the two tried to find a way out, they came across Schmidt and Zola, where Schmidt taunted Rogers about their no longer human nature after being subjected to Abraham Erskine's Super Soldier Serum.^[2]

Battle of Finow[]

"You designed a poison gas, Howard?"
"No! Well, not intentionally. The army wanted something that would keep soldiers awake for days at a time, but it failed. Caused symptoms similar to sleep deprivation, anger, hallucinations, psychosis."

―Peggy Carter and Howard Stark^[src]

In 1944, on the order of John McGinnis, a US Army Air Forces plane flew over the Soviet positions around the German town of Finow, releasing the gas called the Midnight Oil in hopes of helping the Soviets crush the German resistance. However, the gas turned the Soviet soldiers into raving beasts, and most of them killed each other. That incident later became known as the Battle of Finow.^[3]

Captain America's Leadership[]

"You were meant for more than this, you know."
"For the longest time, I dreamed about coming overseas and being on the front lines. Serving my country."

―Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers^[src]

Cap-WWII-D-Day — Captain America leads US troops on D-Day

On June 6 of that year, members of the US 1st Infantry, along with Captain America and forces from the British Armed Forces (including a Canadian division), stormed the beaches of Normandy on the coast of Nazi-occupied France. The American units secured Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, while the British/Canadians secured Gold Beach, Juno Beach, and Sword Beach. Veterans from the landings on Omaha Beach would later reminisce with Captain America, who served on Utah Beach, during a party at Avengers Tower.

Once the beachhead at Normandy was established, American units penetrated deep into Europe, fighting against the Nazis and HYDRA alongside Captain America in battles such as the Battle of the Bulge, eventually advancing all the way into Germany.^[2]

Capture of Arnim Zola[]

In early 1945, the Strategic Scientific Reserve had managed to crack HYDRA's encryption codes and, coupled with other intelligence, allowed the SSR to confirm Arnim Zola's presence on board a Schnellzug EB912 traveling through the Central Eastern Alps along the Danube River. The Howling Commandos, led by Captain America, were tasked with the capture of Zola. Having calculated where the armored train would be, the commandos set up a zip-line from the cliff to the mountainside on which the tracks ran, allowing them to travel safely over a deep valley. One by one, Captain America, Bucky Barnes, and Gabe Jones slid over the valley and landed on top of the train as it passed by, with the other Howling Commandos stayed behind, acting as overwatch for the now-in-progress mission.

During the operation, swarms of HYDRA guards began pouring out of the pilot and into the middle cars of the train. Barnes and Rogers engaged them in a tense firefight, trading shots from behind cover. Unfortunately, the duo was separated by mechanical doors as their enemies emerged. Rogers managed to kill his one assailant; a soldier wielding HYDRA Cannons, and used it to blast open the first of the doors, allowing him to manually open the second, but another HYDRA soldier attacked Rogers and Barnes. Barnes was unable to kill his enemy, who fired another pulse of energy. This blast sent Barnes flying out of the train, plummeting into the icy river in the valley below to his "death". However, Jones successfully infiltrated the pilot cart and arrested Zola.^[2]

Attack on HYDRA Headquarters[]

The US Army attacks HYDRA's last fortress

"HYDRA's last base is here, in the Alps, five hundred feet below the surface."
"So, what are we supposed to do? I mean, it's not like we can just knock on the front door."

―Chester Phillips and Jim Morita^[src]

Thanks to Captain America, the Howling Commandos, the 107th Infantry Regiment, and the Strategic Scientific Reserve, HYDRA was destroyed in 1945, and the US Armed Forces, along with their allies, triumphantly defeated every member of the Axis Powers, winning the war.^[2]

Attack on HYDRA Research Facility[]

"These assets are now under the protection of the Strategic Scientific Reserve. They'll be relocated and hidden out of sight indefinitely. As will you."
"Cut off one head, two more shall grow in its place."
"Then I guess we'll keep cutting them off."

―Peggy Carter and Werner Reinhardt^[src]

Months after Captain America's supposedly death during the Attack on HYDRA Headquarters, SSR Agent Peggy Carter leads the Howling Commandos and elements of the Army Rangers to attack HYDRA Research Facility Number 4 where former HYDRA commanding operative, Werner Reinhardt was evacuating all of the numerous mysterious artifacts that HYDRA collected over the years. Reinhardt and his men were arrested, but Reinhardt warned Carter that if one of HYDRA's heads was cut off, two more would grow in its place. Carter promised to keep cutting them off.

Under Carter's orders, the SSR troops collected and tagged all the artifacts including a Kree corpse.^[4]

Cold War[]

Investigating Zero Matter[]

Darkforce-Creation — Inter-dimensional portal sucks in the Army

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States of America became engaged in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. In cooperation with the Army, Isodyne Energy tested an Atomic Bomb. The explosion created a mysterious anomaly that sucked everything close to it, including a military team that was witnessing the event and all their supplies and vehicles. When the portal vanished, the only thing left behind was a cluster of what became known as Zero Matter.^[5]

Theft of Howard Stark's Weapons[]

At that time, Howard Stark was involved in developing weapons for the United States Armed Forces. In the early days of the new period of tension, the Leviathan and the SSR began operating in the United States, stealing many of Stark's most dangerous inventions. While federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies investigated Stark, members of the 107th Infantry Regiment and Howling Commandos, along with Peggy Carter and Jack Thompson, were dispatched to investigate the source of an intercepted Leviathan transmission. They were first deployed into Communist Poland, before making their way through Soviet Lithuania into Belarus at Ashmyany. They encountered resistance from both the students of the academy, and from Red Army troops attached to the facility.^[6]

Korean War and Cuban Missile Crisis[]

Cuban crisis — US Navy destroyers sailing around Cuba

As the Cold War progressed, the Armed Forces found themselves active in various other theaters across the world. In the 1950s, it was involved in the Korean War, while in 1962, the US Navy blockaded the island of Cuba in response to the Soviet placement of missiles there.^[7]

Vietnam War[]

Through the 1960s and 1970s, the United States Armed Forces were also engaged in the Vietnam War, where major figureheads of the modern day, such as Thaddeus Ross,^[8] and Whalen, who was flown to work by Bonnie Thompson, would gain much of their experience.^[9] Unbeknownst to the Armed Forces was the fact that the former Nazi deep science and intelligence agency, HYDRA, had infiltrated the American intelligence agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D. The organization had inadvertently provided the Armed Forces with false, half-true, or misleading intelligence as a result of its infiltration, and as such had manipulated the many major events in which the military had been involved.^[7]

Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau[]

Carol Danvers and Maria Rambeau were accepted into the Air Force Academy, where they met and became best friends, along with Tom Bianchi, Garrett Pierre, and Erik Del Orbe. Danvers and Rambeau were determined to become the first female fighter pilots in the Air Force, so they trained hard, despite attempts by their commander, Jenks, to discourage them. They took private piloting lessons from Bonnie and Jack Thompson and tried out for the Flying Falcons, an elite team, but were not accepted. Bonnie and Jack encouraged them to find a new goal, and they were approached by Whalen, who offered them the opportunity to become test pilots once they graduated from the academy.^[9]

As test pilots, Danvers and Rambeau worked with Wendy Lawson, who was operating as part of Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. in hopes of finding a home from the Skrulls. However, the Kree attacked the test, causing Danvers to crash land. Lawson was killed and Danvers blew up her test engine to prevent the Kree from getting it,^[10] killing herself in the process. Yon-Rogg resurrected her^[11] and recruited her for Starforce while Rambeau stayed on Earth.^[10]

21st Century[]

The Hulk Incident[]

GeneralRoss-FlashbackScene — Thaddeus Ross orders Bruce Banner's arrest

"You're aware that we've got an Infantry Weapons Development program. Well, in WWII, they initiated a subprogram for Bio-Tech Force Enhancement."
"Yeah, Super-Soldier."

―Thaddeus Ross and Emil Blonsky^[src]

After World War II, the US Army continued to work on the Super Soldier Serum, trying to recreate the formula developed by Abraham Erskine. The project was led by general Thaddeus Ross, who employed Dr. Bruce Banner to recreate the serum. However, in an accident involving gamma radiation, Banner was transformed into Hulk.^[8]

Kidnapping of Tony Stark[]

Jericho Missile (activation) — James Rhodes and William Gabriel at a demo

Over the years after World War II, the US armed forces have undergone drastic changes in their military equipment and weapons thanks to Stark Industries who provides the latest and most advanced technology it can offer.^[12] Stark Industries demonstrated an Accelerated Wave Explosion device to the United States Air Force, gaining the interest of a general.^[13]

Rhodey Rescue Tony-IM — James Rhodes finds and rescues Tony Stark

During the Global War on Terrorism, the US Armed Forces invaded Afghanistan. In 2009, the CEO of Stark Industries Tony Stark came to Afghanistan to demonstrate the Jericho missile to the U.S. and Afghan military officers. After the demonstration, he was kidnapped by the terrorist group known as the Ten Rings. The military searched for him for some time, until he was found alone in the desert.^[12]

Battle of Gulmira[]

IronManMkIIIVsRaptor-IM — Two fighter jets shooting at Iron Man

"This isn't a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?"
"It's not a piece of equipment, I'm in it! It's a suit! It's ME!"

―James Rhodes and Tony Stark^[src]

Sometime later, an unidentified flying object was spotted by the Air Force in the province of Kunar. The two F-22 Raptors tried to shoot it down by order of Major Julius Allen, but the object, actually a man in an armored suit, accidentally damaged one of the planes. The man saved the pilot from the damaged plane, and Lieutenant-Colonel James Rhodes later told to the reporters at the press-conference that the plane crashed during the training exercise. It was later revealed that the man inside the suit was Tony Stark himself, who became publicly known as Iron Man.^[12]

Duel of Los Angeles[]

Rhodey-JustATrainingExercise — James Rhodes preventing a military strike

"Scramble the jets!"
"Not necessary people, just a training exercise."

―CAOC Analyst and James Rhodes^[src]

A few months later, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury sent a team of U.S. Navy SEALs to board a ship controlled by the Ten Rings in the port of Aden. However, Iron Man suddenly appeared and attacked the terrorists. Though the Seals were outnumbered by the terrorists, Iron Man had no problems with killing all the terrorists and saving the Seals.^[14]

Armors and Tribunals[]

NewRhodey-FirstScene-Congress — James Rhodes and Tony Stark at the tribunal

"As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests. I did, however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities."

―James Rhodes to Stern^[src]

Several months after Tony Stark revealed to the world that he was Iron Man, Senator Stern and other members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee directed the United States Marshals Service to serve Stark a subpoena, requiring him to attend a hearing in Washington, D.C.

Don Cheadle James Rhodey Rhodes Sam Rockwell Justin Hammer Iron Man 2 Pic — James Rhodes making arguments for Iron Man

The purpose for this hearing was to discuss whether or not the Armed Forces had the right to forcibly deprive Stark of his suits, and reverse-engineer them for their own use. One of the witnesses called before the Committee was Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes of the U.S. Air Force. Despite Stern's attempt to lead Rhodes into speaking negatively about Stark, Rhodes ended up speaking in Stark's favor.^[15]

Military's War Machine[]

James Rhodes (Iron Man Armor Mark II) — James Rhodes brings armor to the military

"Hammer, I want to know what you're gonna do for us."
"What am I going to do for you? Well, the first thing I'm gonna do for you is I'm gonna upgrade your software. And then second..."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about firepower."

―James Rhodes and Justin Hammer^[src]

Later, when Tony Stark got drunk at his birthday party, James Rhodes commandeered the Mark II Iron Man armor to stop Stark, who was putting his party guests at risk. After an indecisive brawl, Rhodes flew to Edwards Air Force Base where the Mark II was upgraded into the "JRXL-1000 Variable Threat Response Battle Suit".^[15]

Bruce Banner Manhunt[]

Ambush in Porto Verde[]

"This is the target and the location. Snatch and grab, live capture. You'll have your dart clips and suppression ordnance, but live fire is for backup only. We got local out there, but we want it tight and quiet."

―Kathleen Sparr to Emil Blonsky^[src]

Following Bruce Banner's transformation into Hulk, General Thaddeus Ross was given command of a special unit assembled to hunt the green giant. The Army followed Banner to Porto Verde, Brazil, but Banner escaped after a fierce fight.^[8]

Emil Blonsky's Upgrades[]

General Ross has permission to allow Blonsky to be volunteered as an experimental test subject for the Army's imperfect version of the Super Soldier Serum in order to capture Banner.

Unknown to Ross, however, what Blonsky truly desired was to gain Hulk's powers to have the power of life and death for himself. General Ross explained that he would receive a small dose of a replicated variant of the Super Soldier Serum, originally created by Doctor Abraham Erskine for Project Rebirth and, if anything went wrong, he would be pulled from the mission. Blonsky received the injections, including an extremely painful injection into his bone marrow, coming out with his strength, speed, and agility heightened to remarkable levels.^[8]

Battle at Culver University[]

Ross-TIH — Thaddeus Ross watches the Hulk escaping

"Alpha team, let him have all of it."

―Thaddeus Ross^[src]

Back in the United States of America, General Thaddeus Ross had ordered the injection of one of his men, Captain Emil Blonsky, with an experimental version of the Super Soldier Serum. Shortly after, Ross and his forces, super-powered Blonsky included, attacked Bruce Banner at Culver University, but failed once again.^[8]

Duel of Harlem[]

Helicopter vs Abomination — Thaddeus Ross' helicopter shoot Abomination

"Use that thing, soldier. Give him some help!"
"Which one?"
"Help the green one, damn it! Which one do you think? Cut the other one in half!"

―Thaddeus Ross and Soldier^[src]

Shortly after, Emil Blonsky managed to recover very quickly from the wounds suffered in the battle with the Hulk, because of the Super Soldier Serum. General Thaddeus Ross managed to track Bruce Banner's accomplice Samuel Sterns and had his lab taken in custody by the Army. Ross later managed to capture bot Banner and his own daughter Elizabeth Ross.

However, unknown to Ross, Blonsky went to Sterns' lab and forced him to inject him with Banner's DNA, which transformed him into a Hulk-like monster, Abomination. For stopping Blonsky, Ross reluctantly accepted Banner's help and had Hulk fight Abomination. At the end of the battle, Ross took Blonsky in custody, while Banner disappeared once again.^[8]

Chitauri Invasion[]

Army vs Chitauri — The United States Army battles the Chitauri

"Now, I was here in 2012 when the sky tore up and the Chitauri rained down on us."

―Glenn Talbot^[src]

In 2012, the United States Army was sent to defend New York City from the Chitauri during the Battle of New York. The New York National Guard aided the Avengers in repelling the invasion with little initial success before the attackers were ultimately defeated by the Avengers.^[16]

The Mandarin's Threat[]

"Thirty-nine hours ago the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait was attacked. I... I... I did that. A quaint military church filled with wives and children, of course. The soldiers were out on maneuver, the braves were away. President Ellis, you continue to resist my attempts to educate you, sir. And now, you've missed me again. You know who I am, you don't know where I am, and you'll never see me coming."

―Mandarin^[src]

In 2013, a series of bombings occurred around the United States of America, some of which occurred in military bases. A man calling himself the Mandarin began appearing in video broadcasts, claiming responsibility for those terrorist attacks. The Pentagon immediately ordered the massive hunt for the Mandarin and his Ten Rings organization, but the terrorists proved to be undetectable.

Colonel James Rhodes's War Machine Armor was repainted and rebranded the Iron Patriot, but even Rhodes could not find the phantom terrorist. As it later turned out, the "bombings" were actually the results of failed experiments with Extremis, which were being conducted by the scientist Aldrich Killian, who intended to kill President Matthew Ellis and take over the United States.

When Killian's right-hand man Eric Savin commandeered the Iron Patriot Armor from Rhodes, it was easy for him to infiltrate Air Force One so he could kidnap President Matthew Ellis. A few high ranking officers on board the plane tried to stop him, but he easily defeated them.^[17]

End of S.H.I.E.L.D.[]

Black Widow's Confessions[]

Department of Defense — Defense Department meet Natasha Romanoff

"On behalf of the United States Armed Forces, I order you to stand down!"

―Glenn Talbot to Coulson's Team^[src]

When HYDRA took over Project Insight, they planned to use S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarriers to eliminate many officers of the United States Armed Forces. With Arnim Zola's algorithm, they predicted that all those officers would pose a threat to HYDRA's plans in the future. However, HYDRA's infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. was exposed through the efforts of Steve Rogers, HYDRA's oldest enemy.

After the destruction of Project Insight and the disbandment of S.H.I.E.L.D., Natasha Romanoff was called to appear before a Senate subcommittee to explain the reasons for revealing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets to the world. When General S. Scudder of the U.S. Army proclaimed that she should be in prison because of her previous crimes, she replied that people like her make the world a dangerous place, but they also make it safer.^[7]

Attack on Providence[]

NP 130 Talbot — Glenn Talbot inside of the Providence base

"You just sold me out and led the U.S. military straight to Fury's secret base."
"No, Phil. You led us straight to Fury's secret base as part of the deal we made."
"You can't be serious."

―Phil Coulson and Maria Hill^[src]

With the existence of HYDRA exposed to the world, both HYDRA and the United States Armed Forces started a race to get their hands on as much of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bases and equipment as they could. Colonel Glenn Talbot of the U.S. Air Force contacted the Hub, demanding to speak to whoever was in charge, and found Phil Coulson. As Coulson attempted to assure him that the situation was under control, Talbot insisted that he would arrive with Peacekeepers.^[18] Later, after being informed by Maria Hill about the location of the Providence, the United States Army detachment commanded by Talbot led a raid on the base.^[19]

Buying the Deathloks[]

Quinn general admiral — Jacobs and Jolnes negotiate with Ian Quinn

"Are you proposing to sell us this super-soldier of yours?"
"God, no! I’m proposing to sell you a thousand of them, better, stronger, faster."

―Jacobs and Ian Quinn^[src]

Representatives from the United States Armed Forces met with Ian Quinn who offered them one thousand Deathlok Soldiers to help in the war on terror since, as he explained, S.H.I.E.L.D. was now defunct and HYDRA grew unpredictably fast.^[20]

A few days later, a group of high ranking officers led by General Jacobs and Admiral Jolnes visited the Cybertek Manufacturing Facility in New Mexico. During the tour, gunfire was heard and Quinn told them that it was a drill. When John Garrett, Deathlok, and Grant Ward entered, Garrett and General Jacobs began to argue and Garrett killed him with his own rib. Later, alerted by Antoine Triplett, the U.S. Marines led a raid on the facility. The battle ended with a complete victory for the U.S. forces.^[21]

Glenn Talbot's Crusade[]

Glenn-Talbot-Phil-Coulson-Meeting-Creel — Glenn Talbot meeting with Phil Coulson

"I got to say I respect you. You managed to evade us for an entire winter."
"And I respect you for making it so damn hard. I'm exhausted."
"I'll bet."

―Glenn Talbot and Phil Coulson^[src]

Glenn Talbot received a promotion to Brigadier General for infiltrating Providence and became the Armed Forces' television representative, doing interviews with George Stephanopoulos. In his interview, he bragged about ending both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D.; when in reality, all he caused was for both to hide. Both organizations learned from him that he was in charge of a storage facility that housed S.H.I.E.L.D. paraphernalia. HYDRA operative Carl Creel used that information to obtain the Obelisk; Phil Coulson used it to send a team to get a Quinjet.^[4]

Talbot had soldiers drop Lance Hunter in a field when he was captured during the Quinjet mission. Talbot put Hunter in a helicopter and told him that he had a senator who wanted Coulson arrested. Hunter knew he was in the helicopter as an intimidation factor, but he was more concerned about the death of his friend Isabelle Hartley and agreed to help Talbot for two million dollars and a proper burial for her. Talbot gave him two days.

At the appointed time, Talbot met Coulson with his troops. Coulson gave Talbot Carl Creel and asked him not to allow him to escape again. Before he could capture Coulson, Talbot was surprised when the Bus came out of cloak with its guns aimed. Coulson then left in a cloaked Quinjet.^[22]

After Coulson returned from a mission in Miami, he called Talbot to let him know that HYDRA had an agent who impersonated him there. Talbot was concerned with trying to trace the call.^[23]

Massacre at the Wedding Party[]

At the wedding of Navy officer Pete Leitner, HYDRA performed an experiment attempting to duplicate the powers of the Obelisk. The wait staff would only allow the guests, some of whom were Naval officers, to only drink laced champagne. Few of the officers died; most were hospitalized, to the disappointment of Daniel Whitehall. Dr. Lingenfelter, HYDRA Laboratories top scientist, hoped to appease Whitehall by saying that those who died were enemies of HYDRA. The Navy put the area on lockdown and Phil Coulson's Navy contact was unable to give S.H.I.E.L.D. access to investigate. ^[24]

Attack on the United Nations[]

FH 332 Prisoners — Glenn Talbot captures the HYDRA agents

A few days after the supposed S.H.I.E.L.D. attack at the United Nations Headquarters, Talbot led a group of troops to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House in Bruges, Belgium. Once there, Melinda May and her team handed over the custody of the captured HYDRA team led by Marcus Scarlotti to Talbot and his men. At the same time, another military unit managed to capture another HYDRA member Julien Beckers at the Belgian border. Before he departed, Talbot gave his condolences to Melinda May for losing six agents, unofficially ending the Armed Force's hunt for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.^[25]

Search for the City[]

Cole did quarterly inspections of Kaena Point Air Force Base in Oahu, Hawaii and the base had a new relay commander named Darren. S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Coulson used this knowledge to cause an Electromagnetic Pulse to blackout the base. Then his agents infiltrated a satellite relaying station in Laura Creek, Australia that was backup for Kaena Point and easier to get inside. Leo Fitz placed a transceiver there which Skye used to hack twenty-six satellites, ultimately finding their query, a city that matched the Words of Creation.^[26]

Kidnapping of Sunil Bakshi[]

Talbot-FemaleStaff-LineUp — Glenn Talbot gathers his female staffers

"There is a mole on our base, this mole infiltrated security by posing as my wife and could be anyone in this room right now. Make no mistake, this is an enemy combatant, one not to be taken lightly. But rest assured I will find this perpetrator, because if there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a spy in my house."

―Glenn Talbot^[src]

In order to get access into Glenn Talbot's Air Force Facility without proper security clearance, Agent 33 had disguised herself as Carla Talbot, claiming to have forgotten her ID card. As soon as she entered, she disguised herself as Major Meredith Tredwyck, and entered the control room, where she disabled the cameras in the facility. At the gate, Grant Ward caught Senior Airman Campbell off guard, and quickly killed him to get access into the base.

However, Talbot realized the ruse from Agent 33's deception and locks down the entire base, assembling the base's female personnel in the control room to questioned them. He asked Captain Anderson if he was correct in saying his son went to school with her daughter. Anderson, who did not have a daughter, told him that he was incorrect. He asked Lieutenant Olsney when the last time he got her name right was and she said never. Talbot came to Major Tredwyck, the last person in the line-up, and expected her to be "the winner". In attempt to remove the mask, Talbot grabbed Tredwyck's face and started to pull it. After a few seconds Tredwyck asked him to stop and Talbot, now realizing she was not the infiltrator, apologized to her. Since Talbot figured out none of the women was Agent 33, they were allowed to leave.

Meanwhile, Agent 33 killed Staff Sergeant Brookton to disguise herself as a man and met up with Ward at the gate. The couple headed to Sunil Bakshi's cell. Bakshi was relieved to see her, believing she was still loyal to Daniel Whitehall and HYDRA. He soon realized she was not, and attempted to trigger her brainwashing, but Agent 33 knocked him unconscious and got Bakshi out of the facility with Ward. The real Carla arrived and met Talbot in the hall. Talbot pulled his sidearm and ordered her on the ground until he realized it was his wife.^[27]

Cerberus Squad[]

Briefed by Agent Orange[]

"You were all handpicked 'cause you're the best at what you do. Interunit rivalry has no place here. Berets, Delta, SEALs, Force Recon, I don't give a shit. This is who we are now. This is Operation Cerberus... and you are my dogs of war."

―Ray Schoonover to the Cerberus Squad^[src]

During the fall of the Taliban government, multiple terrorist organizations would emerge to challenge the coalition-led government in Kabul, leading to the longest war in American history. CIA Agent William Rawlins joined forces with Major Ray Schoonover to create covert military operation, known as Operation Cerberus in order to eliminate terrorists in Afghanistan. Rawlins and Schoonover recruited a group of soldiers from the various elite teams and founded Cerberus Squad who were stationed in Kandahar.^[28]

Assassination of Ahmad Zubair[]

WRawlinsTorturingAZubair — William Rawlins interrogates Ahmad Zubair

"What's he saying?"
"Nothing useful."
"We sure he's even got anything?"
"Are you questioning my intelligence, soldier?"

―Gunner Henderson and William Rawlins^[src]

However, none of them knew, that operation was not illegal and unsanctioned by United States Congress. For several months, the squad eliminated multiple terrorist groups. One of their targets was Ahmad Zubair of the Afghan National Police, who learned about operation during his investigation. Zubair was kidnapped by the squad and interrogated by William Rawlins. When he made sure that Zubair was only one who knew about them, he ordered Frank Castle to execute Zubair and bury him outside of the city.^[28]

Ambush in Kandahar[]

The Punisher Marine Days — Frank Castle runs into terrorists' territory

"I'm going through that building. Clear a path for an evac."
"You out of your mind?"
"What do you wanna do? You wanna die here? Like a rat in a jar? It's about time I had a fair fight."

―Frank Castle and Billy Russo^[src]

As operation progressed, Afghan terrorists and insurgent groups caught onto the squad's tactics and feed false information about the high-ranked terrorist leader. Rawlins received information and planned an attack on the compound without air support. Mission turned out to the ambush, several soldiers were killed or injured, like Schoonover who lost his arm. The rest of the squad were saved by Castle who eliminated all hostiles and cleared a path to the evacuation point by himself.

Following the failure of the squad, Rawlins shut down the operation. Survived soldiers were demobilized and returned to United States of America. Schoonover later was promoted in rank to Colonel despite the failure of the mission.^[28]

Stationed in Sokovia[]

Escape from Sokovian Prison[]

Bloody Mess in Sokovia — Mary Walker is eventually found by US military

""A bloody mess" is how the sergeant major described the carnage at the camp. And Mary Walker's fingerprints were on the knives."

―Mary Walker to Joy Meachum^[src]

Special Operations unit were sent to Sokovia for a mission. While they were stationed, they were attacked by Sokovian Armed Forces, who killed several soldiers and captured survivors, including Sergeant Mary Walker. They were incarcerated into the Sokovian prison and the rest of them was executed. 22 months later, Walker managed to escape by massacring all Sokovian soldiers on her way. She was found by a group of US soldiers who returned her to the United States.^[29]

War on HYDRA[]

Destruction of HYDRA[]

318 Talbot 2 — Glenn Talbot prepares and destroy HYDRA

"The head has been cut. I repeat, the head has been cut. HYDRA has been eliminated."

―Glenn Talbot^[src]

In the wake of Gideon Malick giving up vital intel to Phil Coulson, havin becoming disillusioned about Hive and his motivations, Glenn Talbot was able to launch a full-scale assault against HYDRA. The United States Air Force were called upon to aid the Advanced Threat Containment Unit. The military campaign was successful and lead to the capture of seventeen HYDRA bases and hideouts around the world, as well as any equipment they could confiscate from the bases.

Talbot arrests Fischer — Glenn Talbot arrives to arrest General Fischer

Though many HYDRA operatives were killed or incarcerated, several others had escaped the assault and continued to operate, albeit in smaller isolated cells.^[30] Talbot also learnt that General Fischer was a HYDRA sleeper agent, and led a team of soldiers to arrest him, finding him speaking with General Hale. Once Hale was out of danger, Fischer took a Cyanide Pill and committed suicide, while Talbot reassured Hale that they would not be seeing HYDRA again following this attack against them. However, Talbot was unaware that Hale was also secretly a HYDRA sleeper agent.^[31]

Cerberus Concealment Conspiracy[]

Infiltration into Fort Bryon[]

MBennett-MilitaryPhotograph — Morty Bennett commands Fort Bryon

"Don't move any closer."
"I know. I know you got your duty. Kid, I'm not your enemy here."
"Stop!"
"I don't wanna have to kill you. Now, look, I'm gonna go that way. You do what you gotta do."

―Soldier and Punisher^[src]

Morty Bennett who was in charge of the Fort Bryon, was targeted by the Punisher and Micro, in order to expose the Operation Cerberus. Arriving at the facility, Castle managed to infiltrate inside, avoiding all soldiers patrolling the area. While Lieberman watched over the area through his Drone, Castle attacked Bennett threating to kill him. Lieberman then started to hacking Bennett's phone, however, Castle was ambushed by Anvil unit, led by Billy Russo.

Crosshairs pic — Morty Bennett is attacked by the Punisher

Castle managed to take down all hostiles and escaped from Bennett's apartment. The whole facility raised the alarm, searching the perimeter for an intruder. Castle avoided the soldiers, searching him and went through the underground tunnel. However, the soldier halted Castle, holding him at the gunpoint. Castle refused to surrender and shot the soldier in the shoulder, knowing that he will survive, and left the facility.

RussoAndBennett — Morty Bennett getting killed by Billy Russo

As soon as Castle escaped, Russo helped Bennett to cover the incident at the facility and then escorted him to CIA Safe House. Understanding that Bennett was Castle's current target, Rawlins ordered Russo to hide Bennett at the disclose location. However, he secretly ordered Russo to execute Bennett what Russo also had committed.^[32]