{{Article|hl1|featured}}
{{Affiliation infobox
|image=FileHecu marines.png|250px
|image2=
|name=Hazardous Environment Combat Unit
|type=Special Forces
|founding=
|constitution=
|headofstate=
|headofgov=
|commander=
|defacto=
|executive=
|legislative=
|judicial=
|types=
|affiliation=WikipediaUnited States Marine Corps|United States Marine Corps
|capital=Santego Military Base, WikipediaArizona|Arizona
|motto=
|weapons=See CategoryHECU weapons|HECU weapons
|equipment=See CategoryHECU technology|HECU technology
|vehicles=See CategoryHECU transportation|HECU transportation
|gender=
|era=Black Mesa Incident
|formed=
|established=
|fragmented=
|reorganized=
|dissolved=
|restored=
|health =
|iweapons =
|designer=Chuck Jones Ted Backman''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar'' (Half-Life_2_Raising_the_Bar proof), page 275 Steve Bond{{IA|19980111062524/http//valvesoftware.com/people.htm|Biography|Valve's official website (January 11, 1998)}} Kelly BaileyHalf-Life SDK|''Half-Life'' SDK Stephen Bahl
|voice=Kelly Bailey Harry S. Robins Michael Shapiro Jon St. John Brice Armstrong
|model=
|entity=*''Half-Life''
monster_human_grunt
monster_grunt_repel
*''Opposing Force''
monster_human_grunt_ally
monster_human_medic_ally
monster_human_torch_ally
|hidep=yes
|hides=
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}}
{{Quote|I killed twelve dumbass scientists and not one of 'em fought back. This sucks.|HECU Marine|Half-Life|FileHg sucks.ogg}}
The '''Hazardous Environment Combat Unit''' ('''HECU'''), often referred to simply as the military, Marines, soldiers, or grunts, is a WikipediaUnited States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command|United States Marine Corps special forces unit featured prominently in ''Half-Life'' and Half-Life expansions (disambiguation)|its expansions.
==Overview==
The HECU Marines are sent in to clean up the Black Mesa Research Facility following the Black Mesa incident|incident, their mission being to eliminate anyone with knowledge of the research project and the extraterrestrial life involved.http//gamefront.com/files/20242965 ''Half-Life'' Audio Script They are specially trained at the Santego Military Base to deal with a variety of indoor combat situations, particularly those involving dangerous environments and unconventional hostiles. Apart from combat roles, they make take on specialized capacities such as becoming HECU Medic|Medics or HECU Engineer|Engineers. They are initially described as working in cooperation with the Black Mesa Security Force in case of emergency circumstances,''Half-Life Blue Shift'' instruction manual a role that changes during the progression of their mission.
They wear urban camouflage WikipediaBattle Dress Uniform|battle dress uniforms and a Powered Combat Vest, are armed with Submachine Gun (Half-Life)|Submachine Guns or Shotgun (Half-Life)|Shotguns, and may carry Fragmentation Grenade (Half-Life)|grenades to flush out their targets. They work in squads and keep in communication by way of HECU Radio|radios. In the Half-Life (PlayStation 2 port)|PlayStation 2 port of ''Half-Life'', they can throw grenades back at enemies either by picking them up or kicking them. They can also kick their opponents in close combat. In areas that they have heavily fortified, they make use of Laser Tripmines, Sentry Guns, and a variety of CategoryHECU weapons|manned turrets and weapon emplacements. Outdoors, they are backed in the air by AH-64 Apache|Apaches and Osprey Heliplane|Ospreys while CategoryHECU transportation|tanks provide support on the ground.
==Appearances==
===''Half-Life''===
The HECU Marines are first mentioned in the chapter ''Office Complex''. The survivors originally believe that the military has arrived to rescue them. Soldiers are first encountered in the chapter ''"We've Got Hostiles"'' where their true intentions are revealed, continuing forth as standard enemies for the rest of the game until ''Lambda Core''. They round up all human personnel and kill them or bring them topside for questioning. They begin securing key areas and take over the Black Mesa Announcement System|announcement system, using it for communication. A full scale battle against the Xen aliens commences.
Gordon Freeman becomes one of their primary targets after becoming responsible for many of their casualties. They don't appear to be informed about the origins of the Resonance Cascade or the aliens as some are heard wondering what caused the disaster, suspecting Gordon of being a possible saboteur and thus responsible for the entire incident. They abort the launch of a Black Mesa satellite|satellite delivery rocket which is soon overturned by Gordon himself. Eventually, the invading alien forces overwhelm the soldiers, leading them to evacuate and begin air strikes on the facility.
===''Half-Life Uplink''===
During his run to the satellite array and the later return trip, Gordon makes his way through an HECU camp in the shipping yards which consists of multiple weapon emplacements, Marines in towers, a command tent, and a pit dug for burning Vortigaunt corpses.
===''Half-Life Opposing Force''===
FileOp4 install2.png|Staged screenshot of Marines fighting aliens and Black Ops in the area following the dam.|right|thumb|200px
In ''Opposing Force'', the player takes control of one of the soldiers, Corporal Adrian Shephard. Adrian becomes separated from his unit early in the game and wakes up to learn that the Marines are now pulling out. However, the remaining military squads soon find themselves under fire from deadly Black Ops agents, a second clean up crew sent in by the government to cover up the HECU's failed containment by destroying the facility and eliminating everything they find within, including the soldiers who were left behind.
Adrian's diary entries reveal more information about the operation. In Timeline of the Half-Life and Portal universe|March 200-, two months before the incident, the The G-Man|G-Man visits the Santego Military Base several times to observe the training recruits. In the same month, the Marines began specialized indoor combat training in preparation for a mission at Black Mesa, a nearby facility said to be used by scientists for new research. They were told to be ready in case if "it" happens tomorrow, but were not informed what "it" might be.''Half-Life Opposing Force'' instruction manual
===''Half-Life Blue Shift''===
In ''Blue Shift'', the HECU is initially glimpsed in the chapter ''Duty Calls'' dumping dead bodies of Black Mesa security guards into a drainage canal. They are first prominently encountered in the chapter ''Captive Freight'' where they have taken over the Freight Yard|Freight Warehouses. Here, Barney Calhoun comes across a Harold|wounded scientist who was attacked by the Marines. Before dying, he tells Barney to find Rosenberg|Dr. Rosenberg to assist him in his plan to escape from the facility.
The player must go through the Freight Yard where the military has captured numerous scientists and imprisoned them in shipping containers, eventually discovering and rescuing Rosenberg from one. The subsequent chapters lead into the underground Section A-17 Prototype Labs where soldiers continue battling against Xen forces, combating with Barney as he follows through with Rosenberg's plan. The Marines later attempt one last effort to thwart the Black Mesa personnel from escaping through a Teleportation|teleporter but fail.
===''Half-Life Decay''===
In ''Decay'', the players, Gina Cross and Colette Green, escort Rosenberg shortly after the incident to reach the surface and contact the military for help. After this event, the players return back to Richard Keller|Dr. Keller to assist him in halting the disaster. In the next mission, ''Resonance'', the military can be witnessed arriving en masse by air.
Marines are first encountered proper in the following mission ''Domestic Violence'' where they are seen executing security personnel in the Level 3 Dormitories. The players later face heavy resistance at the military-controlled Black Mesa Air Control buildings where they must enter the clearance codes to allow the launch of the delivery rocket performed by Gordon in ''Half-Life''. Their final appearance is in ''Crossfire'' fighting aliens in the sewers beneath Gamma Labs.
The HECU is also encountered in the bonus mission, ''Xen Attacks'', in an underground parking area confronting the Vortigaunt drones X-8973 and R-4913.
==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
FileBMRF helipad Osprey.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Marines being deployed by an Osprey.
{{See also|List of Hazardous Environment Combat Unit models}}
The Marines have a variety of appearances ranging from unique head models to distinct gear. The selected model often reflects the soldier's squad role and weapon choice. Chuck Jones designed the original models,''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar'' while Stephen Bahl designed the new classes and variations for ''Opposing Force'' as well as all of the Half-Life High Definition Pack|High Definition models.http//valvetime.net/threads/marc-laidlaw-vault.114535/page-5 Stephen Bahl as quoted on ''Marc Laidlaw Vault'' on ValveTime.net{{IA|20001006034131/http//gearboxsoftware.com/talent.html|Stephen Bahl's biography|Gearbox's official website (October 6, 2000)}} In the Censored versions of Half-Life|censored German version of ''Half-Life'', Robot Grunt|Robot Grunts replace the default soldiers. A default bronze-colored Robot Grunt is also used in the multiplayer mode for all versions of the game.
The Marines are voiced by various actors in ''Half-Life'' and its expansion packs. Kelly Bailey is the voice actor of the original combat radio chatter.Marc Laidlaw on ReferencesMarc_Laidlaw_emails#On the HECU radio chatter voice actor|the HECU radio chatter voice actor (October 15, 2015)Harry S. Robins and Mike Shapiro voiced them in several scripted scenes, including the Marines dumping dead bodies in the canals in ''Blue Shift''. Robins reprises his role as the Commander|commander giving orders over the radio for '' Opposing Force''. Jon St. John is the voice of the Marines and the Santego Military Base Instructors in ''Opposing Force''. He also voiced a soldier in the Level 3 Dormitories in ''Decay''. Brice Armstrong recorded lines for the Marines who capture Gordon Freeman in ''Decay'', but these went unused after Cut missions from Half-Life Decay mission was cut from the game.
The Half-Life SDK|''Half-Life'' SDK contains a number of cut remnants of the HECU. Originally, the force was to feature a powerful minigun-wielding, cigar-smoking soldier nicknamed the Human Sergeant.''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar'' The player was also intended to be able to partially decapitate soldiers with head shots, leaving behind only their lower jaw and tongue. The List of Hazardous Environment Combat Unit models|blown up head variation can be found in the source model files.
In the Half-Life Alpha|''Half-Life'' Alpha, the Marines are first seen in the chapter ''Office Complex (chapter)|The Office Warrens''. They can strafe left or right to avoid the gunfire or when reloading. They use Assault Rifles that resemble WikipediaM4 carbine|M4s with grenade launchers. Launched grenades explode based on a timer rather than on impact. In ''Half-Life Day One'', the only soldier variations present are the gas mask and beret head types, and they do not use the Shotgun. This feature was most likely disabled for this release as soldiers with Shotguns do not appear early in the game.
===Artificial intelligence===
The Marines' WikipediaArtificial intelligence|artificial intelligence was handled by Steve Bond. Their behavior is based on a system comprised of schedules and tasks. A schedule is a list of tasks and conditions, while a task is the actual action that is carried out. For example, "GruntVictoryDance" is a schedule performed by a Marine when the character kills the player. The character must move and check the player's dead body. This will only happen if certain game world conditions are met, such as character specific requirements. In this case, the schedule can only be performed by a squad leader or a lone soldier separate from a squad.
The Marines have the ability to work together in squads consisting of up to four members, including a squad leader. In a squad, they are capable of immediately sharing information with each other, such as the enemy's current location, as relayed through the squad leader. The squad is erased when the leader dies, leaving the remaining soldiers to act independent from one another. Marines are also coded to treat Alien Grunts as arch-nemeses. If an Alien Grunt is visible, they will choose to prioritize it as a target over everything else.
The ''Opposing Force'' soldiers are still coded to fight Black Mesa personnel. This can be seen in the chapter ''Missing in Action''.{{abbr3|i|Map of2a3.}} The Marines shoot at the scientist hiding under the floor when they see him. The Marine artificial intelligence was used as the basis to create the Black Ops assassins and Shock Troopers in ''Opposing Force'', the terrorists in ''WikipediaCounter-Strike Condition Zero|Counter-Strike Condition Zero Deleted Scenes'', and the Combine Soldiers in ''Half-Life 2''.
==Trivia==
The ''Opposing Force'' instruction manual is written as a soldier's handbook. It includes transcriptions of WikipediaMurphy's law|Murphy's law and the WikipediaGeneral Orders for Sentries|General Orders of All Sentinels.
==Gallery==
===Models===
{{See also|List of Hazardous Environment Combat Unit models}}
FileHgrunt hl group.png|''Half-Life'' models.
FileHgrunt hlof group01.png|''Opposing Force'' models.
FileHgrunt hlof group02.png|Medic and Engineer models from ''Opposing Force''.
FileRobot grunt01.png|The Robot Grunt.
===''Half-Life'' Alpha===
FileAlpha c1a2a 03.jpg|In ''Office Complex|The Office Warrens''.
FileAlpha c1a2a 04.jpg|Ditto.
FileAlpha c1a3 06.jpg|In ''The Security Complex''.
FileAlpha c1a3c 01.jpg|Ditto.
FileAlpha c2a4a 05.jpg|In ''Alien Research Lab''.
FileAlpha c2a4b 04.jpg|Ditto.
FileAlpha c2a4c 02.jpg|Ditto.
FileAlpha c2a4c 05.jpg|Ditto.
===Pre-release===
FileSurface tension plan.jpg|Cabal for a military camp.
FilePanther eye red promotional.jpg|Marketing shot.
FileHL page 2 and 3.jpg|Promotional poster.
FileAlpha grunt.jpg|Early model.
FileShowcase map 2.jpg|Ditto, in showcase map.
FileAlpha grunt close-up.jpg|Ditto, close-up.
FileEarly HECU AI.jpg|Demonstration of Marine AI.{{efn|This mode can be activated using impulse 200 command from the console in ''Half-Life'' Alpha. The lines show the possible attack locations for the Marine using their rifle and grenades}}
FileHwguy in-game.jpg|Human Sergeant and Marines.
FileHECU scientist beatup.jpg|Staged screenshot of Marines detaining a scientist.
FileHECU in beatup map.jpg|Staged screenshot with a security guard in the back.
File0009-beatup.JPG|Staged screenshot.
FileHECU early sc2.jpg|Marines with rifles.
FileMarine early smg.jpg|Marines with SMGs.
FileBootcamp boring2.jpg|The cut military camp, repurposed as Boot Camp (multiplayer map)|a multiplayer map in the final game.
FileHLPF 22.png|Ditto.
FileGrunts gagged2.jpg|Ditto.
FileGrunts gagged3.jpg|Ditto.
FileBootcamp yellowish.jpg|Ditto.
===''Half-Life'' and its expansions===
FileC1a3a soldiers.jpg|In ''"We've Got Hostiles"''.
FileC1a3b surface.jpg|The surface.
FileC2a2g gun.jpg|Gun Emplacement.
FileC2a5f apc.jpg|A M2A3 Bradley|Bradley deploying Marines.
FileOpposing Force intro.jpg|An Osprey transporting Marines.
FileOf1a6 commander.jpg|The commander.
FileWe Are Pulling Out4.jpg|Marine interrogating a scientist.
FileOf2a200450.jpg|Dying Marine next to a destroyed truck.
FileOpfor engineerwounded.jpg|A Medic heals a wounded engineer.
FileOf2a5 engineer.jpg|An Engineer using his blow torch to open a sealed door.
FileDead HECU pit worm.jpg|Dead Marines.
FileHarold hecu cornered.jpg|Marines cornering a scientist.
FileBa power1 torch02.jpg|Marines charging in.
FileGRAF001.png|Graffiti.
FileGRAF002.png|Ditto.
FileGRAF003.png|Ditto.
FileGRAF004.png|Ditto.
FileGRAF005.png|Ditto.
==List of appearances==
===Main games===
*''Half-Life''
*''Half-Life Opposing Force'' {{1stID}}
*''Half-Life Blue Shift''
*''Half-Life Decay''
===Other===
*''Half-Life Day One'' {{Nc}}
*''Half-Life Uplink'' {{Nc}}
*''Half-Life 2 Raising the Bar''
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Quotecat|Hazardous Environment Combat Unit}}
{{Imagecat|HECU images}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Factions}}
{{HECU}}
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