The United States military, commonly referred to as the army, are the remnants of the former United States armed forces that appear in HBO's The Last of Us. They are shown to be more or less amalgamated with FEDRA by 2023, although the QZs still operate under military courts when administering justice.
History[]
Background[]
The United States military were deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War in 1991. Tommy Miller served with the 1st Armored Division��nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—of the U.S. Army, eventually leaving the forces and becoming a recognized combat veteran.[1]
Events of HBO's The Last of Us[]
Early Outbreak[]
US army soldiers and FEDRA officers evacuate a town.
In 2003, the military were deployed by the U.S. government, with the assistance of FEDRA, in response to the chaos erupting from the outbreak of Cordyceps brain infection. In Austin, they were deployed along the river and highway in Travis County to keep all potentially infected people out of uninfected zones. One soldier was guarding the river area when he spotted Joel Miller carrying his daughter Sarah while running from an infected man. He used his rifle to shoot the infected dead, saving their lives, However, he then aimed his rifle at Joel and Sarah, ordering them to stand still. He then radioed his commander, who ordered he shoot them as well. Despite saying he was sorry, he opened fire on them, mortally wounding Sarah. He moved to kill Joel but was shot dead by Joel's brother, Tommy.
On the day after the outbreak occurred, the Army created emergency medical camps within cities they managed to gain control over. Here, they worked to treat people who had been injured or wounded during the chaos that had erupted the day before. Joel found himself in one of these triage units after his failed attempt to commit suicide. These bases did not last, soon collapsing as the military began establishing formal zones of containment in the cities.[2]
Early in the outbreak, FEDRA and the military flooded unaffected towns in the outskirts of the newly established quarantine zones with federal troops and other government personnel. Those still living in these areas were rounded up, being told that they would be transferred to the nearest quarantine zones. However, this was only true for zones that had space. In places where the zones were already full, like in Boston, the military took the civilians from the towns and then shot them, leaving the corpses in large mass graves. This notably occurred in Lincoln on September 30th, 2003, when military troops and FEDRA officers rounded up the populace before executing them on the town's outskirts. Only Bill hid from the military, refusing to go with the soldiers. According to Joel, this occurred across America early in the pandemic, with FEDRA and the military's justification for the mass killings being that "the dead won't get infected".[3]
According to Riley, people committed widespread looting in certain areas, but the Army intervened and put a stop to it. However, this was only in quarantine zones where the military were present, with them not leaving the walls to prevent looting and chaos erupting in the towns or countryside.[4]
Later operations[]
A US Military convoy that was overrun and abandoned during highway clearing operations.
According to Joel, the military would use massive vehicles outfitted with plows to clear abandoned cars from highways to enable tank and military convoys to pass through and establish quarantine zones and face infected. By 2023, these abandoned highways were also littered with Army tanks, Humvees and other military vehicles.[5]
FEDRA soldiers, such as Lee in the Boston QZ, have largely replaced army personnel by 2023.
By 2023, the military had been reduced significantly in size and has largely merged with FEDRA as the only remnants left of the U.S. government. The soldiers of the later post-outbreak era wear riot helmets and blue, police-style uniforms with FEDRA patches, rather than the U.S. army's woodland camouflage pattern that was seen during the initial 2003 outbreak. They are still heavily armed and armored, with most soldiers seen wearing body armor and helmets, and carrying M4 carbines or M16 assault rifles. They make use of helicopters and armored vehicles from before the outbreak and are implied to maintain manufacturing centers in certain quarantine zones, such as a factory in the Atlanta quarantine zone that was mentioned to produce pharmaceutical medications and bullets. These soldiers were charged with creating and running the quarantine zones ("QZs"), keeping the remaining population safe from infection by any means necessary.
As seen in 2023, although now patrolled by FEDRA rather than Army soldiers, martial law remains in effect within the Atlanta and Boston quarantine zones, and sentences are passed down by a military court of justice. A court martial panel is authorized to sentence civilians to death for a variety of crimes. Marlene also describes FEDRA's reign as a military dictatorship.[1]
Known members[]
- Perry (U.S. military; formerly)
- Tommy Miller (U.S. Army; formerly)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 HBO's The Last of Us episode 1: "When You're Lost in the Darkness"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 9: "Look for the Light"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 3: "Long, Long TIme"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 6: "Left Behind"
- ↑ HBO's The Last of Us episode 4: "Please Hold to My Hand"
