XOF

XOF was originally a covert support unit for its CIA counterpart FOX during the 1960s but later secretly became Cipher's elite black ops unit from the 1970s to 1984. During this time, they were led by a heavily scarred assassin known by the codename of "Skull Face." The group's logo utilized an inverted image of the fox that was used by the (then defunct) FOX Unit. Missions of higher priority were assigned to their special forces team called the Parasite Unit.

First missions - Operation Snake Eater
XOF was first created by Major Zero as an unconventional support unit to its CIA counterpart, FOX, where members would secretly provide tactical support and field Intel to FOX Operatives during missions. Its overall purpose was to ensure the survival of FOX operatives in order for the the unit to become a success by any means necessary. Zero appointed his XO, Skull Face, to be the commander of the elite black ops group. The existence of the unit was highly classified to the point where even The Boss herself was unaware of its existence. The unit was first deployed during the Virtuous Mission in the 1960's, where members of the unit provided field Intel for both Naked Snake and the Boss that was relayed through Zero, including the whereabouts of Dr. Sokolov.

After the Virtuous Mission, Zero had Skull Face himself deployed in secret during Operation Snake Eater, where he was to follow, assist, and clean up after Naked Snake during the operation. Skull Face also relayed field intel to Zero that would assist Naked Snake in his mission, including the whereabouts of certain mission objectives he was required to fulfill. He was even ordered to continue the mission himself if Naked Snake were to be killed by the Boss, his ruthless combat skills and lack of empathy giving him an edge in combating the Boss, if it had ultimately come to that.

XOF Trojan Horse Operation
During 1975, a few months after the Peace Walker Incident, XOF were involved in the imprisonment of the former child soldier Chico at Camp Omega, prompting a rescue effort from Big Boss of the Militaires Sans Frontières. They had also detained the Cipher agent Paz Ortega Andrade, after a Belizean fisherman recovered her from sea, having held her for interrogation on behalf of her former employers. During their operations at the naval prison facility, the XOF were frequently stationed at the admin building. After XOF's commander, Skull Face, visited Chico at Camp Omega, and told him to, "Give my regards to your Boss, when you get home," anticipating the arrival of Big Boss at Camp Omega, the group commenced their "Trojan Horse" operation; an assault on the MSF's Mother Base, under the guise of a UN nuclear inspection, though Big Boss, Kazuhira Miller, Huey Emmerich, and one MSF soldier were able to escape. Around the time they departed for their "Trojan Horse" operation, the soldiers proceeded to remove their XOF patches and disposed of them to the wind, although nine managed to remain on the base (one landing among Big Boss's gear around the time he was scaling the cliff). The Marines also witnessed this, although they believed them to be leaves. While undergoing their activities, XOF claimed to be a CIA-based unit. However, an undercover agent uncovered and likewise relayed to Big Boss that XOF was not actually aligned with the CIA at all. The Marines stationed at the base had no idea who XOF were but did have some suspicions about them.

Hospital Raid
In 1984, a detachment of the XOF was deployed into Cyprus for a search and destroy mission after learning the whereabouts of Big Boss. Their primary objective was to eliminate Big Boss by any means necessary, while their secondary objective was to eliminate all traces that they were there. Among the elite operatives involved in the operation was an XOF assassin, who would later be known as Quiet. In addition, the psychic Tretij Rebenok, and the demonic apparition of Colonel Volgin, now going by the code name "Man on Fire" arrived at the hospital shortly after XOF. Quiet was tasked with eliminating the boss upon locating him in the hospital, but was thwarted by interference from another patient in the ward. The bulk of the XOF's forces were tasked with eliminating all the hospitals patients and work personnel, along with burning all the hospital records and patient files so that none of their victims could be identified. The appearance of Rebenok and the Man on Fire created complications for XOF, with the latter destroying a large amount of XOF's vehicles and troops in his wake, and ultimately resulting in helping facilitate Big Boss's escape from XOF during the chaos. While they failed their primary objective in eliminating Big Boss, the XOF suceeded in eliminating all traces of their involvement in the operation. After learning of the The Man on Fire and Rebenok in this incident, Skull Face used his rage to direct Rebenok and in doing so gained control over the child himself and The Man on Fire.

Operations in Afghanistan
XOF continued to operate as Skull Face's personal strike-force, furthering his grand scheme of "ethnic liberation" through various covert operations. Eventually XOF was tasked with taking over and guarding the secret Soviet research station OKB Zero, while Skull Face began his final preparations for unleashing the English strain of the vocal cord parasite. However, Venom Snake managed to evade the extensive XOF presence at the facility and make contact with Skull Face. XOF's mission was almost complete until The Third Child, acting under a new affinity, activated Metal Gear Sahelanthropus against Skull Face and his forces. In the ensuing chaos, with two XOF troops having to drag Skull Face to safety due to his being too shocked at the existence of someone with a higher lust for revenge against Snake than even himself or the Man on Fire to even attempt to evacuate the premises by himself, XOF received heavy causalities and lost their commander Skull Face.

Kingdom of the Flies
Although their losses in Afghanistan were severe, the XOF, presumably under new leadership, were later redeployed into Central Africa after receiving Intel that ST-84 was in the possession of Liquid Snake, then known as Eli, and his band of child soldiers. Their mission was to eliminate Liquid and his forces and to retrieve Sahelthropus so that it could be under their control once more. Knowing the area was infested with the English strain parasite, the XOF wore hazmat suits to prevent themselfs from getting infected. After locating Eli and his soldiers, an XOF marksman attempted to snipe Eli while he was in ST-84's cockpit, only for Mantis stop the marksman's bullet at the last minute, saving Eli. A full blown firefight ensued, with XOF pulling out after initially being overwhelmed by the Metal Gear. While Snake and the combined forces of Diamond Dogs fought against Eli's onslaught, the XOF began to hunt and gun down all of Liquid's soldiers, making sure there were no witnesses. After Snake defeated Eli, the remaining XOF forces moved back in to eliminate Eli and to take back the scattered remains of Sahelthropus, only to be gunned down by Snake.

Despite suffering heavy losses at the hands of Big Boss's Diamond Dogs, the XOF continued to perform black operations around the world on behalf of Cipher during the 1980's. Despite the fact that Skull Face was dead, their orders continued to arrive though the same channel as always.

Equipment and functions
During the events of 1975 and 1984, regular XOF soldiers wore:
 * Grey drab flight suits.
 * Olive drab combat boots.
 * Chest harness.
 * SPIE harness.
 * Ammo pouches
 * Butt packs.
 * Balaclava.
 * Ballistic helmet with a designation number painted on.
 * Eye protection goggles.
 * Headsets for communication.
 * Black brassard on the left arm with patches of their group's insignia, which they disposed of when about to infiltrate an area. The patches and logo for XOF is a color inversion of the FOX logo.Xof unit.png

They also wore white helmets with a blue stripe on them during the former.

During the Hospital raid in 1984, the XOF also wore yellow-tinted visors, predominantly black body armor, as well as oxygen tanks.

These soldiers were armed with the following weapons:


 * AM D114 Pistol
 * AM Rifle Type 69
 * Sz.-336 SMG
 * UN-ARC
 * FB MR R-Launcher
 * Hand grenade
 * Smoke grenade
 * Stun grenade

They also had access to aircraft and vehicles, such as modified Blackhawks with retractable gears and refueling booms, APCs, and jeeps.

XOF was also seen to possess a Metal Gear called Sahelanthropus, named ST-84 and located at OKB-Zero.

Behind the scenes
XOF first appeared in the PAX Prime 2012 demo for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (at the time simply titled as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes). In both the VGA 2012 trailer for The Phantom Pain, and the GDC 2013 trailer for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, there are soldiers shown attacking a hospital that utilize similar uniforms and equipment to XOF, although it was unclear at that time if they are the same group. The game confirmed they were indeed XOF soldiers.

In the demo shown at the Kojima Productions Los Angeles studio live opening, the XOF members, when disposing of their XOF badges, also released a FOX badge, with the player later finding it after interrogating a soldier about it. It was later confirmed that the XOF patches were indeed collectible in-game, and that collecting them all will unlock the extra op missions "Déjà Vu" and "Jamais Vu." In Jamais Vu, Raiden is offered payment in the form of XOF patches in exchange for having him wipe out the Body-Snatchers that took over the Cuban base, implying that XOF had been wiped out in this storyline.

Collecting the XOF badges was referenced on the 12 Days of Metal Gear promotional event on the official Metal Gear Solid Facebook page leading up to the release of Ground Zeroes on Steam, acting as the equivalent of the lyric of "9 Ladies Dancing" from the namesake song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."