Diamond Dogs



The Diamond Dogs was a mercenary unit led by Big Boss 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, some converted from the cremated ashes of those who perished in battle, so they would be edged on their knives, being taken to battle,  some are raw African or Afghan diamonds, which acted as currency for gaining weaponry and other materiel for their forces,  some from blood diamonds and most of their payment is in diamonds.

Personnel

 * Punished/Venom Snake/Big Boss (founder/commander)
 * Kazuhira Miller (sub-commander)
 * Ocelot (interrogation specialist and weapons trainer)
 * Huey Emmerich (R&D scientist/bipedal weapon developer)
 * Troops (mostly survivors of the MSF Mother Base ambush)
 * Enemy defectors
 * Rescued POWs

Some of the recruited personnel were taken from the Soviet forces in Afghanistan during Big Boss's attempt to rescue Kazuhira Miller.

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.

Unit divisions
Just like its predecessor, it also had various unit divisions, four of which were retained from its reformation from MSF, plus a sixth, new unit with unknown objectives. 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. The Mess Hall Team, meanwhile, is absent from Diamond Dogs.


 * Combat Unit
 * R&D Team
 * Support Unit
 * Medical Unit
 * Intel Unit
 * Intel Unit

Training regimen
The soldiers do various training regimens on Mother Base, sometimes they escalate into full-on brawls where the soldiers even use knives. In addition, the shooting range was moved to outdoors.

Recruitment policy
Like MSF before it, the Diamond Dogs is able to recruit personnel either by abducting enemy soldiers or rescuing POWs via Fulton Recovery via modified choppers. However, unlike with MSF, recruiting requires some payment via raw diamonds, and recruitments require good weather conditions, as otherwise the balloon will be knocked off-course and the would-be recruit will likely die. In addition to Fulton recoveries, recruitments can also happen directly on the battlefield by carrying them over to a nearby chopper, which is also necessary for rescues of members who are incapable of using the Fulton system.

Uniform
The standard Diamond Dogs uniform.
 * Two-eyed 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 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.)
 * Jungle boots
 * Memorial Diamonds made of cremated remains of soldiers who fell into battle to act as a "shining light."
 * African and Afghan raw (most African ones are blood diamonds) diamonds to fund Mother Base.

Weaponry
Diamond Dogs utilized a wide variety of weaponry, including various United States and Russian technologies, and those from the Western and Eastern Blocs, as well as antiquated weapons dating back to World War II. Most of them surviving resources from the destruction of MSF. They came in three main categories: Primary, secondary and support.

Close-range Weapons

 * Combat Knife

Handguns

 * Wu Silent Pistol
 * AM D114 Pistol
 * Uragan-5 Pistol
 * Single Action Army (Ocelot)

Shotguns

 * S1000 Shotgun

Assault rifles

 * AM MRS-4 Rifle
 * AM MRS-4 Rifle (SL)
 * AM Rifle Type 69
 * AM-69 AAS Rifle
 * SVG-76
 * Unnamed assault rifle
 * Secret Weapon

Submachine Guns

 * Sz.-336 SMG

Sniper Rifles

 * M2000 Sniper D
 * Unnamed sniper rifle

Missiles

 * FB MR R-Launcher
 * Unnamed missile launcher

Throwing Weapons

 * Hand grenade
 * Flare grenade
 * Smoke grenade
 * Magazine

Placeable Weapons

 * C4
 * M21 D-Mine

Implaced weaponry

 * Anti-aircraft guns

The implaced weaponry can be procured via Fulton recovery

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


 * Night vision goggles
 * Binoculars
 * iDroid
 * Cardboard boxes
 * Phantom Cigars
 * Medical Spray
 * Fulton Recovery System
 * Storage containers/resources
 * Common metals
 * Parachute
 * Diamonds
 * Raw Diamonds (L)
 * Raw Diamonds (S)
 * Walkman

The storage containers can be procured via Fulton recovery.

Fauna

 * Sheep

The sheep can be procured via Fulton recovery.

Vehicles and Aircrafts

 * Mil Mi-24
 * Motorcycle (at least one)
 * Unidentified H-60 "-Hawk" -type helicopter
 * Jeep
 * Armored personnel carrier
 * Unnamed unmanned aerial vehicle sentry.

Several of these vehicles can be procured via Fulton recovery.

Behind the scenes
The Diamond Dogs first appeared in the form of an emblem on Big Boss's uniform, in an "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.

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.