The U.B.C.S. logo
The Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (U.B.C.S.) is a special forces unit owned by the Umbrella Corporation, specializing in rescue operations during biohazard outbreaks. It was founded by former Soviet Colonel Sergei Vladimir. Although the U.B.C.S. has been very successful in every operation but one, the unit suffers a high mortality rate due to the hazardous nature of their missions. Thus, the U.B.C.S. is comprised almost exclusively of convicted war criminals and mercenaries from around the world who joined the U.B.C.S. as an alternative to capital punishment for any crimes they may have been caught committing. The unit consists of almost 120 operatives, divided between four platoons (with two or three squads per platoon).
Involvement in the Raccoon City incident
The U.B.C.S. was deployed to Raccoon City during the T-Virus outbreak on September 28, 1998 under the guise of reinforcing the Raccoon Police Department (R.P.D.) Although seemingly there to help halt the spread of the T-Virus infection and evacuate any survivors from the worst affected areas (Umbrella employees were to take priority, and members were encouraged to use regular civilians as decoys or human shields if their situation became dire), the Umbrella Corporation's true motives involved using the unit as cannon fodder for their Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.), (particularly the Nemesis and Hunter models), as well as any other irregular creatures that resulted from infection during the outbreak. Because of this, almost all of the unit's members were killed before they could effectively even begin their mission. Carlos Oliveira was the only confirmed survivor during the outbreak although it is rumored that Nicholai Ginovaef, one of the "supervisors" (see below), and several other U.B.C.S. regulars that caught wind of "Mission Code: XX" (the bombing of Raccoon City to end the threat of further infection), also escaped the city alive.
Gear
Clothing
Due to their involvement in tactical, hazardous, and combat operations, U.B.C.S. operatives wear and use military grade tactical gear. Operatives are seen wearing black combat boots, beige-colored fatigue pants, a green fatigue shirt, and a black South African Assault Vest with the U.B.C.S. logo printed on the back. Only squad leaders and commanders are seen to use the U.B.C.S. green beret.
Weapons
Weapons utilized by the group include a variety of heavy and light small arms such as 9mm pistols, assault rifles and SMG's including the SIG Sauer SP2009, the Colt Defense M4 assault rifle, the Heckler & Koch MP5 sub-machine gun, the Beretta 92FS, the SIG Pro SP2009, the Franchi SPAS-12 combat shotgun, the Heckler & Koch PSG-1 precision sniper rifle, the Magnum Research Desert Eagle pistol, the M67 fragmentation hand grenade, and the experimental mine thrower. For heavy conflict, each platoon was also equipped with several AT-4 anti-tank rocket launchers. Carlos also carries an STI Eagle 6.0 during the Mercenaries Minigame in Resident Evil 3.
Additionally, the movie Biohazard 4D Executer showed that the U.B.C.S. also has either a Benelli or a Remington shotgun in service. The unit has also apparently Humvees in service, with Klaus' unit using a Humvee outfitted with an M2 heavy machine gun mounted at the vehicle's rear.
Supervisors
Supervisors (or observers) were special operatives within the U.B.C.S. whose purpose was to gather combat data from B.O.W.'s and the various other infected creatures wandering Raccoon City whilst maintaining a clandestine profile within the U.B.C.S. ranks. They were also tasked with gathering samples and destroying all evidence of the Umbrella Corporation's involvement in the research and production of the T-Virus. To better coordinate their efforts, supervisors were acquainted with each other prior to the beginning of the operation. Due to the traitorous nature of this occupation, Umbrella selected only the most heinous of war criminals to serve as supervisors, specifically those displaying anti-social and sociopathic tendencies, as well those displaying absolutely no regard for their fellow members. Nicholai Ginovaef and Tyrell Patrick were merely two of several supervisors within Raccoon City conducting "Operation: Bravo-16" (the code used throughout the mission by supervisors regarding their true objectives). Supervisors were naturally given preferential treatment over regular mercenaries, as they were provided with means of communications to contact their superiors, were implanted with higher-quality vaccines and were provided with instructions on how to reach certain extraction points. Almost every supervisor participating in "Operation: Bravo-16" was killed during the course of the mission. This was, for the most part, due to the cunning handiwork of the particularly ruthless operative, Nicholai Ginovaef. Intent on hoarding all research and combat data for himself, Nicholai systematically murdered his comrades before stealing the information they had gathered and successfully escaping Raccoon City. Even with the complete annihilation of the supervisor unit, "Bravo-16" was deemed a resounding success, due to the massive amount of combat data Umbrella had garnered from the incident.
Known U.B.C.S. personnel
Umbrella sent in between 150 and 200 mercenaries to Raccoon City. These are those confirmed
- Platoon Alpha
- Mitch Hirami (Squad A Commander)
- Murphy Seeker (Squad A)
- John Werbowski (Squad B)
- Platoon Bravo
- Tyrell Patrick (Squad A. Supervisor.)
- Platoon Delta
- Mikhail Victor (Commanding Officer.)
- Carlos Oliveira (Squad A.)
- Nicholai Ginovaef (Squad B. Supervisor.)
- Karl (Squad B, Nicholai's unit.)
- Dustin (Squad B, Nicholai's unit.)
- Unknown Platoon
In other media
The countermeasure force appearing in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (the film itself being a loose adaptation of the events that transpired in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3), is the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Force (U.B.C.F.) They are an elite unit, militarily superior to the U.B.C.S. The operatives wear dark urban-colored fatigue pants, black combat boots, a black tactical shirt and a black tactical vest with the U.B.C.F. unit's logo displayed on the back and the operative's surname printed across the top. Their firearms are also varied, from 9mm Berettas to Desert Eagle pistols. The standard assault rifle is the Tavor TAR-21 designed by Israeli Military Industries. Their rifles are also outfitted with a variety of laser aiming modules and tactical illumination devices.
One of the supporting members is Nicholai Ginovaef. In the video game, Nicholai is indeed a U.B.C.S. member, but he is an extremely cunning and cruel individual assigned to Umbrella's elite "supervisor" force. In the film, Nicholai is portrayed as a hero, and is shown displaying open resentment towards Umbrella's actions. Nicholai eventually sacrifices himself to save the lives of Angela Ashford and Jill Valentine. This type of alternate character and plot branching displays just one aspect of why the Resident Evil films cannot be considered canon to the official storyline.
In December 2005 a Resident Evil themed mod Mod for Valve Software's popular "Half Life 2" game was created. Named "UBCS" the mod is aiming to become the most accurate Resident Evil based modification for Half Life 2 ever created. Their official website, and more info on the mod can be found here.
A 20-minute 3D movie called Biohazard 4D Executer narrates the story of another UBCS squad sent into Raccoon City with the mission of rescuing an Umbrella scientist named Dr. Cameron (Some sites state the name as Dr. Chameleon) after she lost contact with her superiors from Umbrella lead by Klaus using a GPS signal to track her last location. The survivors learns the treachery of their mission after realizing that their superiors wanted to use their combat experience against the zombies and other monsters for research and test data doubled with data on the real fate of Dr. Cameron herself. Klaus' team was wiped out after his members were killed by the monsters infected by the T-Virus and by Dr. Cameron, when Klaus discovered that she was the monster that got rid of his team killed before being killed himself.
See also
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