The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Operation Group (MACV-SOG for short, or just SOG) is a highly classified, multi-area special operations unit of the United States military that conducted operations before and during the Vietnam War. It is one of the playable factions in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The SOG makes its first appearance in a mission named after it. According to the interrogator of Alex Mason, Mason was chosen before the mission to support Frank Woods’ team. During the mission, however, Mason (assisted by Jason Hudson) is more likely to give orders when the SOG’s base is attacked by the Vietnamese. They decide to rely on the help of the Marines and defend the base, which they successfully do.

The team travels to Hue City, where they are tasked with freeing a Russian defector from a SOG building. Mason and Woods get help with this from Joseph Bowman, who has joined the squad. Although the defector is killed, Mason is able to collect his dossier, after which the team fights their way through the city to escape by boat.

Later, Mason and Woods’ helicopter is shot down by some Viet Cong. After escaping from the crash site, killing several Viet Cong by the river, they sneak into an enemy village and secretly kill some guards to meet up with Bowman and other men. Woods and Mason separate, causing Mason to plant explosives underwater while Woods works on land. After reuniting with Bowman and other members of the SOG, Woods and Mason detonate the explosives and clear the enemy village. The team discovers a rat tunnel and Mason and Swift are sent in to smoke it out. Swift is killed in the process, but Mason successfully cleans out the tunnel and escapes.

The SOG works with the American military to wipe out enemy cities, in the process the special forces unit issues supporting fire from boats. They then search for a crashed Soviet plane that they believe was carrying Nova-6. Realizing that the gas may have dissipated during the crash, they have to fend off a Soviet attack, but the team is captured anyway.

The squad is taken to a hidden cave in Laos and forced to play Russian roulette. Bowman refuses, whereupon he is murdered. Mason and Woods then work on an escape plan, which they are even able to carry out. They steal an enemy gunship and wreak havoc on many enemy villages. After landing, Mason and Woods rescue prisoners of war from Lev Kravchenko’s facility. In the end, the squad is even able to fight their way to Kravchenko himself, which ends in his apparent death.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, Joseph Bowman serves as the announcer of the SOG. They fight exclusively against the NVA on the maps Jungle, Hanoi and Cracked.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

The SOG symbol seen on Harper’s vest is only a placeholder because it has been confirmed that the SOG disbanded after the Vietnam War. Harper and David Mason are actually members of the United States Navy Special Warfare Development Group.

Known Members

Black Ops

• Alex Mason
• Frank Woods
• Jason Hudson
• Joseph Bowman
• Swift
• Johnson

Black Ops (DS)

• Patterson
• Thomas Hayes
• Michael Shaw
• Ruiz

Black Ops II

• Mike Harper (Easter Egg)

Weapons

• M1911
• M202 rocket launcher
• Python
• M60
• M14
• Grenade Launcher
• Stakeout
• KS-23
• WA2000
• M72 LAW
• AK-47
• Flamethrower
• M203
• Masterkey
• Dragunov

Info

• A document signed by former US President John F. Kennedy concerning the SOG was found on the website GKNOVA6, which was used to promote Black Ops.
• In the beta version, there was a different announcer with a deeper voice.
• The SOG and NVA are the only factions in multiplayer that do not appear on any DLC maps.
• According to Hudson, all members of the SOG except Mason died in Vietnam.

Call of Duty

The Call of Duty series has existed since 2003 and in addition to various spin-offs, including for the handheld systems Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, 14 major titles of the series have now been released. Ever since the first part of the series, great emphasis has been placed on the online multiplayer mode in addition to the single-player campaign, which is also reflected in the development of the shooter series. Since the first Call of Duty, World at     War, which was developed exclusively by Treyarch, each part also included cooperative challenges that you could play together with friends. The latest installment, Call of Duty: World War II, also features an extended multiplayer mode that puts you and your friends in the combat zones and famous battles of World War II. Using the divisions, you’ll be able to choose between the deadly sniper and the brute armored division and support your comrades in battle. In addition, World War II also has a zombie mode “Nazi Zombies”, as in its predecessor Call of Duty: Black Ops. Face the monsters of the Third Reich and win glory and honor.