Roy Campbell

Colonel Roy Campbell was the original executive officer and the second commanding officer of FOXHOUND. He is one of Solid Snake's closest friends, and uncle of Meryl Silverburgh, although they later discovered that he is actually her biological father.

Early life and career
Roy Campbell served in the United States Marine Corps, namely as one of its truck drivers. However, he left after both his brother and he had fallen in love with a woman. He stepped aside for his brother's sake, and used his joining the Green Berets as an excuse, especially when he wanted to serve his country anyhow.

Roy Campbell went on to serve in the Green Berets and Delta Force. In 1970, Campbell and a squad of Green Berets were dispatched by Fort Bragg to the San Hieronymo Peninsula, Colombia, to investigate a secret Soviet missile base that had been constructed there. However, the rogue CIA FOX unit, which had taken control of the base, anticipated their arrival and ambushed them. Eliminating most of Campbell's squad and taking him prisoner, he was left the sole survivor, though he suffered a broken leg during the skirmish.

Campbell initially attempted to escape from his cell by removing screws that sealed off a ventilation cover underneath the bunk, but he was relocated to a different cell before he had the chance to use it. This left Big Boss, the next prisoner, with an easy escape method. The two joined forces to bring down FOX, who were being commanded by Gene. Campbell's broken leg left him unable to support Big Boss directly during combat operations, outside of driving a stolen enemy truck. Both decided to recruit former Red Army personnel over to their cause, in order to help prevent FOX from launching a nuclear weapon into the Soviet Union. However, Campbell quickly became diagnosed with malaria and a significant part of the mission concerned locating anti-malarial drugs, so as to save not only him, but to prevent the rest of their fledgling group from falling ill.

The resistance group soon discovered the truth behind FOX's revolt and successfully destroyed their secret weapon, which they had dubbed the Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear, along with its test model, Metal Gear RAXA. Shortly after the end of the mission and his return to the United States, Campbell had to spend a long period of time in the hospital, including having to endure an annoying nurse.

Post-San Hieronymo
A year later, Big Boss and Campbell officially set up FOXHOUND. Campbell served as a tactician and executive officer. During this time, Campbell had an affair with the wife of his brother, Matt Campbell, and from this, his daughter Meryl was born. It is unknown whether Matt ever found out that he was not really Meryl's father, but he died before he could watch Meryl become the soldier she is now.

Many years later, David, one of the Les Enfant Terribles children, ended up joining FOXHOUND as a new recruit. Because of his former cooperation with Big Boss, he had some nostalgia for Snake. After Big Boss was discovered to be the leader of Outer Heaven and was defeated by rookie FOXHOUND operative David, now going by the codename of Solid Snake, Campbell was appointed as commander of FOXHOUND and began revising FOXHOUND's methods with his personal touch. He discarded the codename system and adopted the use of high-tech equipment such as radars and spy satellites. By this point, he was also one of the few members of FOXHOUND to remember the unit during Big Boss's command. He also was awarded various titles during the late 1990s.



Campbell brought out former FOXHOUND agent Solid Snake during the Zanzibar Land Disturbance and served as his commanding officer during Operation Intrude F014 in 1999. With his supervision, Snake was able to defeat the forces of Zanzibar Land and retrieve the OILIX formula. He was also the only person besides Solid Snake himself who learned from Big Boss about Solid Snake's familial ties in the aftermath of Big Boss's final battle against Snake.

Post Zanzibar Land
In the following year, Campbell retired as FOXHOUND commander for undisclosed reasons, although it is believed he was unhappy with the direction the unit was taking.

Campbell eventually found out that Meryl was his daughter at least a day before the Shadow Moses Incident.

In 2005, Campbell was called back to action by the United States Government when FOXHOUND, now led by Liquid Snake, took over a nuclear disposal facility and held several people hostages, including Meryl, who was assigned to the disposal facility on the day of the takeover. Campbell once again brought Snake out of retirement to neutralize the new FOXHOUND, although the way he decided to bring Snake out of retirement both confused and annoyed Snake, as he did it in a way that made it seem as though black ops were hired to kill/capture him. However, during the course of the mission, Campbell was forced to keep a lot of secrets from Snake, including the true purpose of his mission and his injection with FOXDIE by Naomi Hunter, in order to ensure the safety of Meryl (the Pentagon had deliberately sent her to Shadow Moses on the same day as a bargaining chip to ensure his cooperation) as well as himself. This resulted in a strain in Snake's friendship with Campbell, especially after Campbell also promised Snake that he brief him on the full situation on Shadow Moses as part of Snake's conditions to joining the mission. Campbell eventually learned from Mei Ling that one of their contacts, "Master Miller", was actually an imposter working for the Sons of Big Boss and was stationed within the base, and that the real Master Miller had died three days before, something he was not aware of due to his Codec link to Master Miller being cut, although he was unable to warn Snake in time before he unwittingly activated Metal Gear REX.

Eventually, Campbell revealed the truth at the end of the mission and tried to call off an air strike directed to the base, but was arrested by Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman. However, while he was imprisoned, he managed to somehow contact President George Sears and tell him about the air strike, thus resulting in Houseman being arrested for going out of line. After Snake defeated Liquid, Campbell was exonerated from charges, as blame was laid on Houseman instead. In case the U.S. Government changed its mind, Campbell held an "insurance policy" of Codec conversations to protect himself, Snake and data analyst Mei Ling from arrest.

After the events of Shadow Moses Incident, Campbell continued with his retirement. He later revealed to Meryl that he was really her father.

In 2009, a man resembling Roy Campbell served as Raiden's commanding officer during the Big Shell Incident led by Solidus Snake. However, this Colonel was later revealed to be an artificial construct created by the Patriots and generated by GW, the supercomputer of Arsenal Gear.

Post-Big Shell
Sometime after the Big Shell Incident, Raiden and Campbell actually physically met, with Campbell taking on a sort of "commanding officer" role in Raiden's life. Campbell and Rosemary devised a plan to protect Raiden and Rose's son. They broke all ties to Raiden, who had disappeared into the Alaskan wilderness, and pretended to marry. Campbell played out his new life to the fullest, not even being able to tell his own daughter Meryl the truth.

In 2014, Campbell, now working for an oversight committee in the United Nations responsible for watchdogging PMC activities, contacted his old friend Solid Snake, along with his partner Hal Emmerich, after he had discovered the whereabouts of the long missing Liquid Ocelot. Not content with the UN and other governments simply ignoring Liquid's attempt to plunge the world into total war, in effect aiding the economy of the 21st Century, Campbell took the matter into his own hands and hired Snake to perform an assassination. Upon reaching the Middle East, Snake met up with Meryl, Campbell's daughter, who revealed to Snake that Campbell had remarried to Rosemary and she was no longer speaking with "that womanizing piece of shit." Campbell was visibly upset when Snake divulged his daughter's opinion of him, but Campbell had to keep the secret that his marriage to Rosemary was a lie up until Raiden was done with his mission in order to protect John. During the events of the mission, he also attended a UN Swap Meet that dealt with ration tasting, to which the deciding votes were that French rations tasted the best, the Italian and Japanese rations weren't too bad either, and America's rations were voted unanimously as the worst rations at the swap meet, to which he told Rosemary "over a hundred times" about it, and later told Snake, heavily hinting at Rosemary's horrible cooking skills.

At the end of the mission, Campbell attended Meryl's wedding to Johnny Sasaki, finally making amends with her after years of deceit and not speaking. He congratulated Meryl for getting married but she ignored him. Campbell began to walk away before Meryl pulled her Desert Eagle from her holster. He then returned to her, putting himself point-blank near the muzzle, and then pulling it to his own neck. She then released the magazine, forcefully telling him, "You're going to walk me down the aisle." Campbell laughed and told Meryl that finally, they had plenty of time to get to know each other. Campbell remarked how beautiful Meryl looked, making both her and Mei Ling, Meryl's bridesmaid, break down in tears. Campbell is last seen seemingly overhearing Otacon's conversation with Sunny in regards to Snake's whereabouts, and quietly thanks Snake for all he has done for him.

Trivia

 * Roy Campbell's frequency is the same as Major Zero's frequency, 140.85.
 * Despite his injuries during the San Hieronymo Incident, there were a few occasions in which he was able to stand up and move around in a limited manner, implying that his leg was broken only to the extent of slowing him down.
 * Roy Campbell implied before Big Boss and his resistance unit arrived at the Harbor that he was tricked by a female into nearly getting himself killed via a trap at least once, and was for this reason why he advised the other soldiers to be extra alert and not deny the possibility that Elisa's prediction might have actually been a trap.
 * In a radio conversation with Solid Snake during the latter's final fight with Big Boss in Zanzibar Land, Campbell told Snake that Big Boss was just "another madman," revealing that he didn't support Big Boss's Outer Heaven philosophy.
 * Roy Campbell was somewhat aware of the Patriots' existence prior to the Shadow Moses Incident, as he began to suspect their involvement in said event during Snake's mission.
 * During Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Meryl told Snake that Campbell was married at least once before.

Behind the scenes
Colonel Roy Campbell (ロイ・キャンベル大佐) first appeared in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. His in-game character portrait was modeled after the likeness of actor Richard Crenna from the Rambo films, in which he played Colonel Trautman.

Campbell has appeared in some form or another in all but two games in the Metal Gear series (the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker). Only his likeness appeared in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, though this turned out to be an elaborate deception.

According to the user's manual for Metal Gear 2, Campbell gained the codename of "Chicken Fox." However, due to his own statement in Metal Gear Solid that Gray Fox was the only FOXHOUND member to have recieved the codename "Fox," it is unknown whether this remains canon.

In the novelization of Metal Gear Solid by Raymond Benson, Campbell admitted to Snake that Meryl was his daughter after both Snake and Meryl made it out alive, presumably because of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which was in development during the time the novelization was written, deciding to make Meryl his biological daughter canon.

Campbell reveals to Snake that Meryl is his biological daughter in two non-canonical events: the Otacon ending of Metal Gear Solid and the stamina kill ending of Snake Tale C in Substance.

Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
In the non-canon game Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Campbell got Snake out of retirement, citing that Galuade, the base belonging to the Gindra Liberation Force, was the same place that Snake partook in Operation Intrude N313. Campbell himself was blackmailed by Steve Gardner into participating in the mission with the threat of exposing his involvment in killing off Black Chamber. His reasons for retiring from FOXHOUND were also elaborated in this game, as he, under misinformation from 'Anonymous' (a.k.a. Steve Gardner), wiped out Black Chamber with the FOXHOUND unit, under the mistaken belief that they were terrorists, and didn't find out until after the fact. It's also hinted that Campbell's favorite drink is malt that is straight up and neat.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
During the Time Paradox continue screen in Metal Gear Solid 3, Campbell's voice can be heard chastizing Snake for killing Ocelot and EVA, as doing so would damage the continuity of the Metal Gear timeline.

Campbell, along with Solid Snake, makes a cameo appearance in the Snake vs. Monkey minigame that is included in Metal Gear Solid 3. The Colonel briefs Snake about his newest mission to catch experimental mechanical monkeys, much to Snake's dismay, who responds angrily that Campbell could have gotten someone else to do the job and frustrated that he had to be brought out during vacation. Campbell then explains that Otacon has connections with the person who is involved with the monkeys and it was Otacon who recommended Snake.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
"A survivor of the Green Beret unit dispatched to the San Hieronymo Peninsula, he was rescued by Big Boss and subsequently joined forces with him. Provides mission support to team members from his truck."

- Character description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus

In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the young Roy Campbell wears camouflage clothes, which exactly resemble the Tiger Stripe camo in Metal Gear Solid 3. If Snake attempts to contact Campbell a few times during a mission, he will sometimes give Snake hints on how to get a girl (under the guise of giving him advice to control and command his troops). If the player controls a recruit, he also talks about how he and his brother were in love with the same woman (which may be Meryl's mother) but insists that she didn't dump him. Some of his calls also have him misinterpreting the soldiers requesting for advice in regards to getting close to the enemy or being ambushed as asking for advice on dating.

Due to Campbell's physical and medical status during the San Hieronymo Takeover, he is the only main character in the original release of Portable Ops who is not playable in the main game. However, players can unlock Campbell in the expansion Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus by completing the Infinity Mission under extreme mode. He comes with an M16A1, and his career is Headhunter, which allows him to detect the enemies abilities. When unlocked, a message will state that Campbell's leg has healed in place of the usual "A new soldier has been recruited" message.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Colonel Campbell is among one of three Metal Gear characters (the others being Mei Ling and Hal "Otacon" Emmerich) who appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and gives Solid Snake advice and detailed background regarding his opponents via Codec (a hidden taunt; one of Snake's many easter eggs).

If Snake's opponent is Luigi, his AI clone takes his place and bombards Luigi with verbal insults rather than providing Snake with relevant and needed information. To this, a sudden role reversal occurs, in which Snake yells out for Campbell to "snap out of it" in the Game Over fashion. Also, as Snake tries to give credit to Luigi's efforts in the field of battle, Campbell rambles the phrase "La-li-lu-le-lo!" repeatedly.

Campbell also appears in the game's E3 trailer in 2006, contacting Snake's Codec and informing him of an invitation to participate in the upcoming Smash Bros. installment, to which Snake simply replies that he is performing a reconnaissance operation, investigating a battle between Kirby, Link, Pikachu and Mario through his trademark box.

If Snake attempts to get information about Falco, although he ends up having to talk to Slippy Toad because the latter hacked into Snake's Codec, it was implied that he was actually intending to call Campbell.

Appearances

 * Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake
 * Metal Gear Solid
 * Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (non-canon appearance in "Snake Tales")
 * Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (non-canon voice cameo)
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
 * Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (non-canon)
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl (non-canon)
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots