Jim Houseman

Jim Houseman is the United States Secretary of Defense and serves as the mission controller during the Shadow Moses Incident via AWACS.

He orchestrated the Shadow Moses Operation for the true purpose of obtaining the optical disk with the Metal Gear REX data, although he also has a seemingly genuine concern for his friend, Donald Anderson, who was taken hostage during the incident. When Snake destroys REX, he puts Colonel Campbell under arrest and orders a nuclear strike over the disposal facility to cover up the incident, which would've destroyed the entire island and everyone in it, including Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. However, the proposed nuclear strike never occurs, as Houseman is forcefully relieved from his duties by Richard Ames under orders from The Patriots, who were against the strike. Instead, Campbell was exonerated from the charges as full blame was laid on Houseman for the incident.

After the Shadow Moses incident, Houseman reportedly suffered from an apparent nervous breakdown and died from a self-inflicted gunshot. However, it is implied in Nastasha Romanenko's book, In the Shadow of Shadow Moses, that his death might had actually been an assassination covered up as suicide due to his refusal for taking the fall.