Special Tactics and Rescue Service

S.T.A.R.S. logo

The Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.), also referred to non-canonically as the "Special Tactics and Rescue Squad" in the novelizations and movies, is a fictional law-enforcing task force that appears in Capcom's Resident Evil survival horror franchise. The unit serves as a fictional equivalent to a real life FBI SWAT Team or a HRT (Hostage Rescue Team). The five main characters in the original Resident Evil (Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers, and Albert Wesker) were all members of S.T.A.R.S.

Only eleven of the unit's thirteen members appeared in the original game. Edward Dewey, Bravo Team's pilot, was only mentioned in the game's instruction manual, but not actually featured in the game. For a long time it was assumed that the disembodied hand found by Joseph in the game's introductory cutscene belonged to Edward, but a few retroactive changes were made in order to include the character for a small role in the prequel Resident Evil 0 (in the Resident Evil remake, the dead pilot is now identified as Kevin Dooley The Bravo Co-Pilot.

In Resident Evil 2 (starring Chris Redfield’s sister Claire and Raccoon Police Department (R.P.D.) rookie officer Leon S. Kennedy), all of the S.T.A.R.S. operatives from the original game (excluding Rebecca), can be seen in a photograph located in the S.T.A.R.S. office on the second floor of the R.P.D. They were pictured along with two previously unseen members. It is generally accepted that these two are simply early versions of Kevin Dooley and Edward Dewey from Resident Evil 0.

History

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Members of S.T.A.R.S. Raccoon City branch prior to the mansion incident (Rebecca not shown)

A special unit of the R.P.D., S.T.A.R.S. was founded in 1996 in order to combat the increasing rate of terrorism and cult-related crimes. The Raccoon City team was formed as part of Mayor Michael Warrens' "A Bright 21st Century for Raccoon" campaign funded by the Umbrella Corporation. It is comprised mainly of thirteen members with two teams; Alpha Team (led by Albert Wesker) and Bravo Team (led by Enrico Marini). Two years after its formation, S.T.A.R.S. was deployed by the police to investigate a series of brutal cannibalistic homicides, which had taken place in the Arklay Mountains on the outskirts of the city. The Bravo Team was sent in on July 23, 1998 to investigate these incidents.

However, contact with Bravo Team was lost and on the following day, Alpha Team was dispatched to follow-up on Bravo Team's mission. Their probe of the area led to an isolated mansion (actually the Arklay Research Facility), where various mutated creatures (including the mansion's residents) had been transformed into undead creatures as a result of a viral outbreak. Moreover, the members of Alpha Team also found the remains of some of their Bravo Team compatriots, while finding others on the brink of death (with the exception of Rebecca Chambers, who managed to escape with the Alpha Team).

It was revealed that the experiments in the mansion were conducted by the international Umbrella Corporation and that the S.T.A.R.S. team's leader, Albert Wesker, was a double agent working for Umbrella, who had orchestrated the deaths of his subordinates in order to collect test battle data for Umbrella's B.O.W. research.

The team managed to thwart Wesker's plot by destroying the T-002 Tyrant prototype. Only Alpha Team members Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton and Brad Vickers (Alpha Team's helicopter pilot, who initially left the team stranded in the first place, but later regained his composure and airlifted the survivors), along with Bravo Team survivor Rebecca Chambers, managed to escape the mansion alive.

After their return to civilization, S.T.A.R.S. requested a full-scale investigation of Umbrella's activities. However, many found their outlandish story too unbelievable to be possible and the Chief of Police, Brian Irons (who was secretly on Umbrella's payroll) disbanded the team officially, replacing the unit with the R.P.D.’s newly-established Select Police Force (S.P.F.) unit to serve as the city's armed response unit and as an equal to SWAT. Both Kevin Ryman and promising new recruit, Leon S. Kennedy, were members of this team. The surviving members of S.T.A.R.S. banded together and participated in anti-Umbrella operations around the globe with the exception of Brad Vickers, who refused to participate in their investigations and was killed when the outbreak ultimately reached Raccoon City.

Members

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Official Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. Badge

S.T.A.R.S. is comprised of two different teams, Alpha and Bravo, for a total of 13 members. Each team is organized based on the tactical squad formation, with five field operatives and a helicopter pilot. The operatives are assigned to one of the following positions: Mission Leader (field commander of the team), Pointman (field scouting and reconnaissance), Backup Man (provides assistance to the Pointman), Omni Man (in charge of vehicle and weapon maintenance), and Rear Security (in charge of establishing contact between the headquarters and the helicopter, as well as treating injured teammates).

There is a member of both teams assigned to one of those positions, with an additional Rear Security operative in both teams in charge of piloting the helicopter. Due to the fact that almost every member of the Bravo Team was killed (except for Rebecca Chambers), while almost every member of the Alpha Team survived (except for Joseph Frost), it can be assumed that the more experienced members of the S.T.A.R.S. unit were all part of the Alpha team, the primary S.T.A.R.S unit, and as such the Bravo Team was composed of the less experienced members.

The only true casualty of Alpha Team, Joseph Frost, was until recently a member of Bravo Team, promoted only weeks before the Arklay Mansion incident. It should be taken into account, however, that Bravo Team had been involved in the situation for a full 24 hours before the arrival of the Alpha Team, and many of them were killed under special circumstances, and that several of the Bravo Team's operatives were only less experienced in combat operations.

Alpha Team

• Albert Wesker - Mission Leader (deceased)

• Chris Redfield - Pointman, Marksman

• Barry Burton - Backup Man, Weapons Specialist

• Joseph Frost - Omni Man, Vehicle Specialist (deceased)

• Jill Valentine - Rear Security, B&A Specialist

• Brad Vickers - Rear Security, Pilot (deceased)

Bravo Team

• Enrico Marini - Mission Leader (deceased)

• Kenneth Sullivan - Pointman, Field Scout (deceased)

• Richard Aiken - Backup Man, Communications (deceased)

• Forest Speyer - Omni Man, Vehicle Specialist (deceased)

• Edward Dewey - Rear Security, Pilot (deceased)

• Rebecca Chambers - Rear Security, Medic

• Kevin Dooley - Co-Pilot who substituted pilot for Bravo Team during the Arklay incident. (deceased)

Equipment

• Armament - The standard sidearm of the unit is a customized version of the M92F known as the M92FS S.T.A.R.S. Special or Samurai Edge. It was designed by Joe Kendo, brother of the Kendo Gun Shop's owner, Robert Kendo (close friend of Barry Burton). A standard-issue model was distributed among the members of S.T.A.R.S., including further specialized versions for Chris, Jill and Wesker. Barry's model was modified to fire the .40 S&W round with burst fire capability instead of the standard 9mm Parabellum round.

Other weapons used by S.T.A.R.S. members included Barry's custom .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda or .357 Colt Python, Forest's Milkor MGL Mk.1 grenade launcher, Edward's rifle, and two customized Remington M870 Tactical shotguns wielded by both Richard Aiken and Joseph Frost. Chris and Jill also carried their personal survival knives during the "Mansion Incident". The S.T.A.R.S. photo also shown members with various assault weapons including Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns and Steyr AUG assault rifles. These weapons were not used during actual gameplay, possibly due to the fact that search-and-rescue operations rarely require the use of assault weapons, if any weaponry whatsoever. Also, the inclusion of assault rifles and submachine guns would have lowered the intensity and ominously dark atmosphere of the game dramatically.

• Uniform - Each member of the unit wears an undershirt with the S.T.A.R.S. emblem over the left sleeve and a Kevlar tactical vest suited for each operative's personal skills and specialty. For example, Chris' vest was equipped a with sheath for his combat knife, while Rebecca's vest prominently displayed a red cross on the back, the international symbol of a medical assistance officer. Each member is allowed to choose their color for his/her uniform. A much more official and practical prototype S.T.A.R.S. uniform was also designed consisting of olive drab fatigues and a black tactical vest with the S.T.A.R.S. logo emblazoned across the back, but this outfit was never formally adopted due to the (Raccoon City) teams' demise. Instead, Chris wore the only known prototype on his mission to rescue his sister, Claire, during the Rockfort Island incident.

• Transportation - There were two UH-1-model helicopters assigned to the S.T.A.R.S. unit, with one allocated to each team. Brad Vickers was assigned as Alpha Team's pilot, with Edward Dewey assigned as Bravo Team's pilot. One of the R.P.D.'s pilots, Kevin Dooley, had been called in on several occasions to contribute support to both Alpha and Bravo as the situation required. The S.T.A.R.S. photo (with an Aérospatiale/Eurocopter AS350B police helicopter in the background) also suggests that R.P.D. patrol helicopters may be used for S.T.A.R.S. operations when needed.

• CCD Camcorder - Kenneth and Joseph each had camcorders mounted on their shoulders to record combat data on DV Tapes. Tactically, these devices are used by scouts to record and transmit reconnaissance data and strategic information to the team's command unit, although both of the S.T.A.R.S. field officers were also involved in the situation at the time, and Wesker most certainly would not have wished the information be made known to those outside of his sphere of influence.

• Walkie-talkie- This item is only used in the cutscenes, but it plays a major role.

In other media

The Resident Evil novelizations by S.D. Perry give a slightly different historical background regarding the unit's creation. S.T.A.R.S. is portrayed as a much larger and older organization (having been founded in 1968 in New York), as opposed to the unit's creation in 1996 by Raccoon City's leading political influence, Mayor Michael Warren, in the canon storyline. The Raccoon City branch (in Pennsylvania) is merely one of several S.T.A.R.S. units established within the United States, with another branch established in Exeter, Maine, as seen in the original novels; Caliban Cove and Underworld.

The movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse also featured only one canon S.T.A.R.S. member, Jill Valentine, and several other members written specifically for the film, of which most prominent is Peyton Wells. The S.T.A.R.S. unit was also much larger in the movie, with at least 30 officers armed with various assault weapons ranging from the typical Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine gun, to other weapons rarely seen in U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare sniper rifle and an M60 machine gun. Within the continuity of the films, the S.T.A.R.S. participated in the street battle, prior to the their near-total annihilation at the hands of Nemesis.

It should be noted however that S.T.A.R.S may infact have been a much larger organization as The members of both Bravo and Alpha Teams are described as being part of the Raccoon City Branch of S.T.A.R.S in a manual for the Playstation One version of the Original.

Tokyo Marui, a popular airsoft manufacturer in Japan, created a replica of the S.T.A.R.S. "Samurai Edge" pistol based on its original design model, the Beretta 92FS.

Original characters from S.D. Perry's novels

• John Andrews - A man with "muscles on his muscles". Formerly a communications expert and field scout for the S.T.A.R.S. Exeter branch. Survived the Caliban Cove incident along with Rebecca Chambers and David Trapp. Joins the Utah operation with Rebecca, David, Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield

• Karen Driver - A "Tall, lanky woman in her early thirties, with short blond hair and a serious, business-like demeanor." Known to be a very organized, almost obsessive compulsive person. She is infected with the T-Virus after touching a spot of dried blood and then scratching her eye. She carries a grenade with her for good luck, although live explosives were not to be taken on the mission. She dies at Caliban Cove, but her good luck charm assists her friends some time after her death.

• Steve Lopez - Somewhat of a male counterpart to Rebecca Chambers in Caliban Cove. He is a computer genius, but also a very good marksman. A young Hispanic-American man with dark features, including naturally dark skin. Rebecca is attracted to him, but unfortunately witnesses his death at Caliban Cove.

• David Trapp - 30 years old, from the S.T.A.R.S. Exeter branch in Maine. He works hard to obtain information required by the team. David is articulate but finds it difficult to converse with unfamiliar individuals. He traveled to Caliban Cove, with Bravo Team survivor, Rebecca Chambers, and a small team. After escaping the ordeal alive, he subsequently conducted a mission in Utah where he, John Andrews, and Rebecca were joined by Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield.

• Jay Shannon - The captain of the S.T.A.R.S. unit's Oklahoma City branch. He was trained with both Barry Burton and David Trapp. Shannon was sent to Raccoon City, alongside other officers to eliminate the surviving members of the Arklay Mountain outbreak. He was shot and killed by David Trapp during the assault on Barry's residence.

S.T.A.R.S Charlie Team

The upcoming comic book Resident Evil: Fire and Ice features a STARS Division called Charlie Team. Not much else is known about this team as of yet.

Preceded By	Position	Succeeded By
SWAT	SWAT team	S.P.F

Preceded By	Position	Succeeded By
S.P.F.	SWAT team	none

Template:STARS members