Diamond Dogs

Diamond Dogs was a private military company led by Venom Snake around the 1980s. It was created as a result of the devastation of the Militaires Sans Frontières as well as the attack on Mother Base. The name stems from the group's profession as "dogs of war," who were willing to carry out unsavory jobs for clients, while at the same time maintaining pride in their work. Owing to their name, they also carried diamonds into battle, some converted from the cremated ashes of their fallen comrades, and collected raw diamonds for the funding of their Mother Base. Besides engaging in combat and various mercenary jobs, the Diamond Dogs also retrieved various animals, making them notable to various conservation specialists.

The Diamond Dogs' practice of carrying diamonds into battle began after an outbreak of parasites occurred, which resulted in Venom Snake being forced to kill a large number of his comrades. After the incident, the cremated bodies' ashes were turned into diamonds.

At some point the Diamond Dogs had decided to follow the world's example of disarming their own nukes. Their first attempt at disarming a nuke had the nuclear material rupture, also irradiating several men in 100 rads and had to be hospitalized as a result, although they had nonetheless contained the leak and presumably put it in cold storage. Eventually, they needed to grow stronger to ensure nukes were eliminated, requiring development of several armored vehicles, with Ocelot noting the irony that they had to expand the war effort to eliminate nukes. Eventually, they had successfully rid the world of every single nuclear weapon, although they still had to disarm nukes that were produced afterwards, with a lot of difficulty.

Personnel

 * Venom Snake (commander)
 * Benedict "Kazuhira" Miller (founder/executive officer; leader of the Base Development Unit )
 * Revolver "Shalashaska" Ocelot (interrogator/weapons trainer; leader of the Intel Unit )
 * DD (attack dog)
 * Diamond Horse (steed)
 * D-Walker (robotic assistant)
 * Code Talker (parasitologist)
 * Troops (including survivors of the MSF Mother Base attack)
 * Pequod (helicopter pilot)
 * Enemy defectors
 * Rescued POWs
 * Malak
 * The Viscount

Some of the recruited personnel were taken from the Soviet forces in Afghanistan during Big Boss's attempt to rescue Kazuhira Miller, as well as former Mujahideen members, former Private Forces members, former XOF members and some British POWs that were rescued. At least one was a Soviet soldier operating as a mole for the CIA.

Quiet was known to operate alongside Venom Snake.

Huey Emmerich was not actually a formal member of Diamond Dogs due to his role in the disaster on MSF, but he was kept on Mother Base nonetheless due to both his having intel on XOF's plans and because Diamond Dogs needed his R&D scientist/bipedal weapon developer abilities with his suggested Battle Gear concept. Huey was eventually exiled from Diamond Dogs and Mother Base altogether for his role in the parasite outbreak.

Base of operations
Similar to its predecessor, Diamond Dogs also had an offshore plant called Mother Base. By the time Big Boss awakened from his coma, the base had been nearing completion, with Ocelot assisting in the finishing touches while Big Boss was off rescuing Miller in Afghanistan. They contained both square struts and hexagonal struts, and were also colored orange. Eventually, it grew to a gargantuan enough size to not only mandate driving across the base, but even create various Forward Operating Bases. Their FOBs were located on territories that had been purchased beforehand, including eastward of the Hawaiian Islands, the North Pacific Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, among others. However, this development also led to the FOBs becoming a target for competitors who wish to raid Diamond Dogs of their supplies and manpower.

Aside from Mother Base, it also had an Aerial Command Center, which was situated within a helicopter.

Unit divisions
Like its predecessor, Diamond Dogs had various unit divisions, four of which were retained from its reformation from MSF, plus a new sixth unit. The Intel Team from MSF was further split up into two separate divisions: The Intel Unit dealt with any intelligence and enemy movements in areas the Diamond Dogs were currently infiltrating, and the Support Unit sent packages containing requested items by any Diamond Dogs operatives during a mission. They also had a Base Development Unit for building and further improving Mother Base and a Security Team for guarding the base and its various FOBs from intruders.


 * Combat Unit
 * Security Team
 * R&D Team
 * Base Development Unit
 * Support Unit
 * Security Unit
 * Medical Unit
 * Intel Unit

Training regimen
The soldiers underwent various training regimens on Mother Base, overseen by both Ocelot and Big Boss. In addition, the shooting range was moved outdoors.

Although technically not training, sometimes very serious brawls occur on the base, which even result in potential deaths.

Recruitment policy
Like MSF before it, the Diamond Dogs recruited personnel either by abducting enemy soldiers or rescuing POWs via Fulton Recovery using modified choppers. Fulton Recovery required good weather conditions, otherwise the recovery balloon would be knocked off-course and the would-be recruit would likely die. If the Fulton system was unavailable, personnel could be carried directly to a nearby chopper.

Uniform
The standard Diamond Dogs uniform consisted of:
 * Balaclava  (note: only a few of the standard infantry wear this as part of the uniform)
 * Head set  (note: only the standard infantry wear this as part of the uniform)
 * Utility SPIE (Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction) Harness
 * Tactical Plate Carrier Vest (Vietnam Era Chickenplate)
 * US LC-2 Individual Equipment Belt w/ QR (Quick-Release) Buckle Hello
 * US M1956 Universal Ammo Pouch
 * US 1-Quart Plastic Canteen w/ LC-1 Canteen Cover
 * US M1967 Nylon Field Pack (Butt Pack)
 * Bianchi M12 Universal Holster w/ Drop Leg Extender
 * Jungle boots
 * Jungle fatigues  (olive drab fatigues customized with knee braces on the right side and brassards with the Diamond Dogs insignia on them. Snake however wears Tiger Stripes patterned fatigues with 1 black knee brace on his right knee and black paracord tied on his left leg.)
 * Memorial Diamonds formed from the ashes of fallen comrades to serve as inspiration
 * African and Afghan raw diamonds to fund Mother Base.

In addition, there were several Diamond Dogs soldiers accompanying Ocelot who instead donned black uniforms and red berets  with the Diamond Dogs logo (though some wore thermal goggles instead), and wore a different type of balaclava. They bore some resemblance to the Ocelot Unit.

Weaponry
Diamond Dogs utilized a wide variety of weaponry, including various technologies from the Western and Eastern Blocs. They came in three main categories: Primary, secondary and support. Their weapons could also be customized with various parts. In some cases, even the bathroom acted as an armory.

Close-range weapons

 * Combat Knife
 * Bionic Arm (Snake)
 * Stun Arm (Snake)
 * Rocket Arm (Snake)
 * Blast Arm (Snake)
 * Hand of Jehuty (Snake)

Handguns

 * Wu Silent Pistol
 * AM D114 Pistol
 * Uragan-5 Revolver
 * Uragan-5 Long Barrel Revolver (Ocelot)
 * Burkov
 * Geist P3
 * Windurger series 333 revolver (WU S333)
 * WU S324 LB
 * Zorn-KP

Shotguns

 * S1000 Shotgun
 * S1000 Air-S

Assault rifles

 * AM MRS-4 Rifle
 * AM MRS-4 Rifle (SL)
 * AM MRS-4 Rilfe M3
 * AM Rifle Type 69
 * AM-69 AAS Rifle
 * G44
 * PG-76
 * SVG-76
 * SVG-76U
 * UN-ARC
 * UN-ARC-NL
 * ZE'EV
 * Unidentified assault rifle
 * Secret Weapon

Submachine guns

 * Riot SMG
 * Sz.-336 SMG
 * Macht 37
 * Macht 37K

Machine Guns

 * ALM 48
 * UNAAM

Sniper rifles

 * Bambetov Sniper Rifle
 * M2000 Sniper D
 * M2000-NL
 * Unidentified sniper rifle

Grenade Launcher

 * Isando RGL-220

Missiles

 * CGM 25
 * FB MR R-Launcher
 * GROM-II
 * Unidentified missile launcher

Shield

 * Personal Ballistic Shield
 * Olive
 * White
 * Silver
 * Gold

Throwing weapons

 * Decoy
 * Hand grenade
 * Flare grenade
 * Smoke grenade
 * Stun grenade
 * Magazine
 * Threat grenade

Placeable Weapons

 * C4
 * Capture cage
 * M21 D-Mine

Emplaced weaponry
Emplaced weaponry could be procured via Fulton recovery.
 * Anti-aircraft guns
 * Mortars

The Diamond Dogs would later have access to a nuclear arsenal.

Barrel

 * SVG type barrel
 * MRS type barrel
 * MRS type R-barrel
 * MRS type SR-barrel
 * MRS type LR-barrel
 * ARC type S-barrel
 * ARC type SR-barrel
 * ARC type FS-barrel
 * ARC type F2-barrel
 * Bambetov barrel

Magazine

 * 5.56 MAG x30

Stock

 * MRS type stock

Muzzle

 * MRS type muzzle

Muzzle Accessory

 * Sup. GP-W (R2)

Optics 1

 * Dot Sight II

Underbarrel

 * M-foregrip
 * F-foregrip
 * FAKEL UDB: GL
 * DGL UDBL GL

Equipment
The Diamond Dogs also possessed various equipment. They came in two categories: Items and Tools.

Items

 * Cardboard box
 * Desert
 * Night vision goggles
 * Thermal goggles
 * Int-Scope
 * Stealth Camouflage PP
 * Phantom Cigars
 * Pentazemin
 * Noctocyanin

Tools

 * iDroid
 * Walkman
 * Fulton Device
 * Medical Spray
 * Storage containers/resources
 * Common metals
 * Parachute
 * Diamonds
 * Raw Diamonds (L)
 * Raw Diamonds (S)
 * Memorial Diamonds

Storage containers could be procured via Fulton recovery.

Fauna

 * Goats
 * Horse
 * Diamond Horse
 * Sheep
 * Wolf
 * DD

Various animals could be procured via Fulton recovery.

Vehicles and aircraft

 * Mil Mi-24
 * Motorcycle (at least one)
 * Jeeps
 * ZaAZ-S84/4W
 * APE T-41LV
 * Trucks
 * Zi-GRA 6T
 * BOAR-53 CT
 * Infantry fighting vehicles and Armored personnel carriers
 * STOUT IFV-SC
 * ZHUK BR-3
 * ZHUK RS-Z0
 * STOUT IFV-FS
 * Tanks
 * TT77 NOSOROG
 * M84A MAGLOADER
 * Military helicopters
 * HP-48 KROKODIL
 * UTH-66 Blackfoot
 * Modified whaling vessel/transport (one)
 * Heiwa Maru

Several of these vehicles could be procured via Fulton recovery. In addition, Mother Base also had some jeeps present to allow for travel between struts.

By late 1984, Diamond Dogs had expanded its vehicular armament to include 12 non-combat vehicles, 32 armored vehicles, 24 tanks, and 25 Walker Gears to better ensure they disarmed all nukes as the world saw fit. Ocelot would later note the irony behind this.

Security systems

 * Gun cameras
 * Surveillance cameras
 * Unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle sentry
 * Infrared sensors
 * Antitheft device
 * Mines
 * Decoys
 * Various emplaced weapons

Logo
The Diamond Dogs logo depicted a cut diamond, with a black Rhodesian Ridgeback hound's head snarling in profile. A yellow banner underneath featured the name of the organization.

Behind the scenes
The Diamond Dogs first appeared in the form of an emblem on Big Boss's uniform, in a "classified" artwork unveiled online by Kojima Productions. The artwork was used to promote the recruitment of engineers to help develop the next canonical game in the Metal Gear series, which was later revealed to be Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The artwork in question depicts Big Boss accompanied by a dog, presumably either a foxhound or a Rhodesian Ridgeback. Due to the angle of the artwork, only the word "Dogs" is legible, on the right side of Big Boss's uniform. However, Hideo Kojima tweeted a full image of the logo, revealing the entire name.

During the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary segment of Konami's pre-E3 show, the Diamond Dogs image popped up, implying that it would have some ties to the 25th Anniversary.

On January 30, 2013, Kojima tweeted that he had an iPhone case that bore the logo of Diamond Dogs. He also stated in the same tweet that it wasn't for sale. Later, he stated that he started using it as his actual case.

Towards the end of the GDC 2013 trailer for The Phantom Pain, as well as a voice (implied to be Miller's) mentioning that they had found their "new home," Diamond Dogs were hinted at being a replacement for the MSF. Kojima later confirmed some of the details in an interview.

Aside from the aforementioned meanings behind the name "Diamond Dogs," it is also a reference to the David Bowie album of the same name, whose work has previously been referenced in other games in the series. It might also be a reference to blood diamonds, which are diamonds that are mined and sold in countries during major conflicts, usually within Africa. Both potential origins of the name were acknowledged by Kojima, who commented that some of these suggestions indeed touched on the meanings behind it. On a side note, Bowie's song of the same name was a cover that summarized George Orwell's book 1984, which was also an inspiration for the plot of the game.

In the E3 Green Band trailer ending, Miller and Big Boss arrived at a base (implied to be owned by Diamond Dogs) that strongly resembled Mother Base. Whether this was meant to imply that Mother Base survived the attack by XOF or simply that they utilized a similar design choice for the base has yet to be revealed. In addition, the E3 2014 trailer showed the base to have a similar design to Mother Base.

Toward the end of the E3 2014 trailer for The Phantom Pain, Venom Snake is seen killng several Diamond Dog soldiers, who seem to show little or no resistance or awareness to his actions. The trailer does not explain why Venom Snake killed his own men. The game revealed that the reason was the men were infected with a parasite which had no cure.

A Diamond Dogs T-shirt is being sold at EB Games, GameStop, and GameMania, as well as the Spanish game provider GAME.

One of the bonus Mother Base staff members, Canine, has a Diamond Dogs tattoo on either their right or left cheek, depending on whether the soldier unlocked was female or male.