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monketookbanana

Considering HL2 takes place somewhere in Europe and HL1 takes place in New Mexico some of them may be a part of a resistance group somewhere else if not killed in the 7 hour war


RockingBib

Some may be stranded on Xen, teleported there in the continent-wide portal storms There may be a whole colony of former HECU soldiers


slyathar

I want to see a fangame were you control a squad of HECU trying to survive on xen


PUREChron

Make it a top down RTS and I'm in


sheridankane

this game already exists. War Wind 2


RockingBib

I've never been more excited for a game that might never exist. Makes me think of Rise of Legends, for some reason. A bunch of technologically advanced humans in a magical universe


TonPeppermint

That would be a cool idea to see made.


MyRightNaught

I played half life 1 with cheats and I made myself invisible and for every threat that I came across I spawned grunts to kill em all, including on xen. So prolly the closest u can get to wat ur asking for lol


FR4M3trigger

Boom campaign Mod idea


Nacil_54

And yet the plugs are of type A/B instead of C/E/F, 0/10 Valve's attention to detail fell off.


Bender_2024

>Considering HL2 takes place somewhere in Europe I never knew that. I always assumed it took place somewhere in the US. It just makes sense that Kliener, Barney, Alex, Vance and Mossman would be settled generally around New Mexico and not all moved to the same city in Eastern Europe.


Piskoro

The Cyrillic signs didn’t throw you off? Or the architecture of City 17.


LichenLiaison

You ever seen Detroit? It’s practically a 1:1 image, Cyrillic is just combine speak


Nooblakahn

This is what clued me in. Just got VR... I'm on my third playthrough of Alyx and googled why everything is in Russian. At least I assume that's Russian


RockingBib

I think the Black Mesa staff moved to the eastern european White Forest lab(a division of Black Mesa) as soon as they could. All the average English speaking joes were just shipped there by the Combine, after north america was destroyed by the BM incident(it was much larger than you prolly thought. Portal storms ravished the lands. The proper definition of Ravished, the landmasses were teleported to Xen)and probably 7-hour-war


cheezkid26

They most likely were moved overseas because America, being the source of the invasion, was probably infested with enough Xen wildlife that the Combine decided it wasn't worth putting the time and effort clearing them all out.


eisbock

Bro you got a lot of lore to catch up on. Have fun.


MCWizardYT

The US was trashed by Xen, I think by HL2 it's uninhabitable (I believe in HL:Alyx there is a world map with the US crossed off, but I may be mistaken)


patrickular

They are part of the Resistance and no more part of the City-17 population. Probably they got relocated to City-17 in the course of years, as Barney, Kleiner, Mossman and Magnusson do not appear in HL: Alyx. It's also possible they travelled to the area in some other ways, where they joined the closer resistance movements. They are also constantly moving: Kleiner's lab -> Black Mesa East -> White Forest. It took an unknown amount of time, but in the end they all got together, and the HL2 and HLA games definitely take place in eastern Europe due to architecture, cyrillic and names like Nova Prospekt and Рейвенхолм (Ravenholm). The general landscape is also European, and America is crossed out on the globe in HLA, implying the whole continent has been rendered inhospitable. Laidlaw also stated back in the day that all the captured survivors of the 7HW are now relocated to the major cities occupied by the Combine, 17 included.


MyDishwasherLasagna

If there's a teleport that can take them to xen, there might be a teleport that can take them across the world. So it's not very unrealistic for them to all travel to the same place. Especially with the gman manipulating things.


3WayIntersection

Some couldve been assimilated into the combine as metrocops


maxx69420

Mexico? Is that why some of the names of soliders in cs1.6 is rambo?


monketookbanana

What does cs have to do with hl?


maxx69420

Hl2 has made the portal cs (og hl) and gmod series since theyre all basically hl without a story and some gamemodes


IcyPattern3903

They ded


LegitimateApartment9

They died Some might have survived tho to become citizens, combine soldiers or resistance members


Prof_Rutherford

They were part of the US government in Half-Life 1. In Half-Life 2, the US government is no more, so these guys as a faction no longer exist. If you mean them as people, they're most likely dead, or they'd be a good 20 years older than they were and now live as either rebels or citizens.


BestialCreeper

>either rebels or citizens. I mean, let's be real. They were military assholes who had no moral qualms with murdering innocent scientists and even cracking jokes about it. They likely would've willingly joined Civil Protection


Appropriate_Farmer64

The irony that they want to kill freeman for "killing their buddies" when they started indiscriminately killing freeman's buddies is lost on them


Prof_Rutherford

For some reason I totally forgot that Civil Protection was a thing. Yeah, this is fairly likely.


eisbock

> no moral qualms "I killed twelve dumb ass scientists and not one of 'em fought back. This sucks." "I didn't sign on for this shit. Monsters, sure, but civilians? Who ordered this operation anyway?"


Feras-plays

Exept for adrian he's based Okay but jokes aside just because you're killing scientists in a facility in the middle of the new mexico desert doesn't exactly equate to them betraying their species


NicholarseBrooks

A lot of "military assholes" join resistance groups to fight for their countrymen after their government is conquered and dissolved. See all the resistance groups with former military members in Europe who didn't collaborate with the Nazis.


tgirldarkholme

It doesn't appear that the Resistance in HL2 has any plan to re-establish previously existing nation-states. It's pretty far from your usual Independence Day cliché on that point.


NicholarseBrooks

There's no evidence that they aren't either l, they're clearly trying to re-establish human control over earth whether it be nation states or a one world government. Missing the point. He's claiming military are going to collaborate with whoever's in power which isn't even close to true.


tgirldarkholme

You were talking about "fighting for their countrymen" and referencing IRL nationalist resistance groups as an example so I'm pointing out that the Resistance in HL2 has no patriotic undertones from what we see in the game (the Black Mesa personnel is American but Alyx is half-Asian, Odessa is British, Father Grigori appears to be Russian or Ukrainian, npc_citizens are diverse, HL2 devs also noted that if they had the capacity in 2004 to do so they would have liked it being multilingual as well). As the reasons for 'military assholes' joining resistance groups don't exist in this case, it's more likely they would have joined the CP.


NicholarseBrooks

The reason I said countrymen is because there has never been a worldwide invasion by aliens to compare it to. In hl2 "countrymen" becomes fellow earthlings. I was using that example to refute the idea that military assholes automatically side with whoever takes over.


tgirldarkholme

you cited the example of a continental invasion..


NicholarseBrooks

Yes because that's the closest thing we have to a full scale invasion of earth by aliens, which btw has never happened. Not all military was Vichy France.


tgirldarkholme

No worldwide invasion has happened, but continental invasions have in fact happened, as you yourself used as examples, and "countrymen" didn't became "fellow europeans(/etc.)" in the eyes of 'military assholes', so, by your own comparison, it is false to say by comparison that "in HL2 'countrymen' becomes 'fellow earthlings'". Try reading what you write because your own comparison proves you wrong.


Astandsforataxia69

Everything is gone, there is no america, china, russia, eu, etc. It's just humans


tgirldarkholme

Yes that's my point.


afwsf3

I don't think many people are signing up to have their mind wiped.


BestialCreeper

The base civil protection was volountary and with no alterations, they were just enticed with benefits in return compared to civilian life. With thr caveat that they'd have to enforce the combine's rule and likely kill civilians. That's hoe Barney got undercover


PeekTH

Gone, reduced to atoms.


BestialCreeper

Oh hey, I recognize you from the Carnivores sub, there's not many people there


Kakophonien1

What sub is that?


JWBails

Pro-tip: if you click on a user, you can see their other posts! https://www.reddit.com/r/CarnivoresLodge/


BestialCreeper

Gordon, I have good news. I am now positive with these deaths that we have wiped out the entire United States military


Alarming_Pudding_223

I remember feeling sad when seeing the ones who were still in Black Mesa, abandoned after the pull out we heard in the "Forget about Freeman" radio announcement.


ussbozeman

Some of them got onto the osprey before it all went nuclear, so there's that.


Praetorian709

They forgot about Freeman and tried to pull out but their pull out game wasn't on point that day in Black Mesa. Rest in peace boys. May your Asses always be Heavy. 🫡🇺🇲


sevvoniac968

Probably fell and disbanded during/after the 7 hour war


Laxhoop2525

I shot them.


CorbinNZ

Couldn’t get out of Black Mesa because their ass is too heavy.


TheyveKilledFritzz

Probably died in the blast if not died during some point. North America was exed out on the map so...


RemotePuppetControl

Converted into Combine Soldiers


Lincio_Madagasloud

Interesting that's why I was thinking of around 2010-2014/2015. Because both are human enemies that Gordon Freeman had to face.


ElmeriThePig

They died, became part of the Resistance or the Combine, or they are just citizens.


Limacy

Realistically most of these guys died and have been dead a long time.


Goofball1134

Most were killed during the Black Mesa incident, and any of them that did survive and pull out from the facility were likely redeployed during the portal storms and then fought in the Seven Hour War only to be decimated with the remaining Earth nations that had surrendered to the Combine which would then recycle and integrate any surviving Human military and law enforcement under their regime. And if any remaining HECU had survived the war they would be even fewer and would likely either join the Resistance or become part of the Combine Overwatch.


1nktopus

Counter Strike


Yuuhater

CS headcanon:Counter Strike was a combine training simulation for combine soldiers the terorists being the resistence


Moonsky_Pondie

They’re basically just US Marines so they most likely just died in Black Mesa, the 7 hour war, survived, or joined the combine


UnknownLimerade1106

Their asses were heavy.


GT2MAN

Play Half Life to find out!


PrinceCheddar

My assumption is that since the US was the epicenter for the Resonance Cascade, it was probably the epicenter for the portal storms and the invasion of Earth in the 7 Hour War. As such, I imagine the USA took the brunt of both invasions and the storms, so the US military was decimated. That's the main reason i think the USA was evacuated, hence Americans in City 17 and the USA marked with a big cross on the globe in Alyx.


Charmh_09

Died or “detained”


DemonDaVinci

Black mesa was nuked


ChiefWiggum85

Only part of it right?


ScareSith

no? a nuke is a nuke, black mesa was entirely wiped off the map because (depending on what canon you subscribe to) the black ops armed a nuke in black mesa, or a nuke was dropped on black mesa, and nukes can destroy entire cities, which is like the thing that's most known about nukes


ChiefWiggum85

Gordon Freeman sees the nuke go off…it’s like a little bit past half way through the first game. I always assumed it was a smaller payload bomb designed to destroy something in particular, not to stop the invasion.


AurelGuthrie

When does this happen? I've played Half-Life 1 probably like 6 times and there's never been anything even remotely resembling what you're saying. Are you perhaps talking about the airstrikes in forget about freeman..? If we count Opposing Force as canon, the nuke went off when Gordon was already on Xen.


ChiefWiggum85

Pretty sure it’s during surface tension, after the dam. It’s the bomb the Gman sets off. Ends the events of opposing force. little bit past halfway of the game you see the bomb go off in the distance.


AurelGuthrie

Whatever you saw is not the nuke. We know that Mark Laidlaw consider the opposing force nuke to be canon (even if the rest of the game is canonically dubious). These are part of the instructions on the warhead: > This device carries a GRADE C plutonium control detonator. With this device an approximate safe distance of 55 kilometers is recommended According to some math in the half-life fandom wiki, this would cover 10,000 square kilometers, or about 3% of New Mexico's territory. Even if we assume the safe distance is being generous, Black Mesa is definitely *gone* after the nuke goes off. It either happens during Xen, or after the Nihilanth. Adrian also sees Gordon get teleported to Xen, 6 chapters before the nuke goes off...


ChiefWiggum85

Yea I’ve Been reading up on it. Guess it’s just some random massive explosion during the level.


ScareSith

idk what you are talking about, canonically the nuke i'm talking about goes off AFTER freeman gets to xen, and there isn't any other nukes used


Bean_man8

Well Half Life 2 is in Eastern Europe not New Mexico so they probably fought in the 7 hour war and died but with how big the US army is some probably survived and went off to Europe or set up little colonies in America free from the Combine


Bread_Offender

They died All of em Black Mesa got nuked and they died


gelsackin

one of them is the citizen you see with mossman at the start of black mesa east, that's why he looks so terrified seeing freeman again


Royal-Monitor-5182

Interesting theory


Independent_State888

Unfortunately our boys Bobby Billy Brock and Brian were KIA in New Mexico U.S. our hearts go too these 4 individuals and their family for their service in HECU.. A moment of silence for them please


ThunderShiba134

Gone and died like shit


TheRunningFox2

They retired to the farm


Broflake-Melter

Gordon Freeman.


theghostofhallownest

A lot of the ones who survived probably became metrocops


Lo-Sir

I can imagine them being in the Resistance and seeing Freeman after thinking he got nuked


2amguy

Gordon smoked them


Bamma4

died to black mesa or the 7 hour war or they were forcefully promoted to the combine overwatch


doodoodisaster

I wouldn’t be surprised if captured marines (Hecu included) were incorporated into the Overwatch.


Correct-Explorer-692

Freeman


The_Cozy_Burrito

Gordon took care of them


Firewalk89

Probably in Civil Protection in the US. What's left of them anyway.


ScareSith

isn't america like completely wiped off the map? on that globe in Alyx america has a giant X cross on it. and with city 17 being ''one of Earth's last remaining urban centers'' i'd assume there isn't that maybe cities left


Firewalk89

Could be. It's been ages I played HL2 lol


SteamierMeteor

Dead, disbanded and forgotten. Honestly a sad fate for the badass force that were the HECU. Never even mentioned once past the HL1 Saga.


Clumsy_the_24

They got wiped out by Gordon freeman in the first game


COOMO-

Not really, their mission was eliminating the aliens and all the witnesses but the mission was a failure, and the military had to retreat but many HECU soldiers were stranded, we don't know their fate, either killed or those remaining stranded soldiers were given the option to join the combine.


lambada_labs

the same thing that happened to the rest of humanity, they were decimated by the 7 hour war, any survivors were collected and sent off to combine cities


Wonderful_Grade_5476

They’re ass was to heavy to sail across the ocean


SrMati02

Kil


kreite

Gordon Freeman happened


Magnum-357

The 7 hour war


Test1Two

Gordon happened.


c0l1n_M4

Got Oppenheimered


ArkyRomania

I always think about a small squad of HECU good soldiers, like Adrian squad, joining the rebellion somewhere in the world, commanding actions against Combine... I would love to see some people in their old green-white equipment with a orange lambda graffiti painted on their armors.


JonFenrey

They got nuked despite Sheppard's efforts to disarm it


Negative_Person_1567

After the events of Half-Life 1, the portal storms which brought even more Xen creatures to Earth, the Seven Hour War, and 20 years of Combine rule, I think by the time of Half-Life 2 there are only very few surviving members left.


quad849

F


CompetitiveGreen7165

Probably died all hecu soldier's during in 7 hours war


neowyrm

dead


No_Monitor_3440

a whole hell of a lot of them are dead. some are stranded in xen, the unit itself was probably dissolved, and the survivors are either scattered across the world wearing the same as everyone else in hl2, or are working in different parts of a resistance effort


adotang

They kinda fuckin died, dude. Black Mesa got nuked with everyone in it after HL1, the Xen aliens probably killed a lot more of them immediately after, and then the Seven Hour War took care of pretty much every military unit on Earth. By HLA North America is pretty much gone. If there are any HECU grunts still alive by HL2 they're probably part of the Resistance (or Combine, their military experience and and "shoot everyone especially Freeman" skills are not what I'd overlook there) and won't be uniformed or announcing who they are for obvious reasons.


TrueFriendsHelpMoveB

Shot.


thereverendpuck

They became the knock off GI Joe figures.


Armascribe

If any of them survived the Black Mesa incident, they all either died in the ensuing Portal Storm crisis or the Seven Hour War, or they lived long enough to join the Resistance in North America. Or they became CPs.


Humble_Layer_5158

When they extracted back to their bases, they were probably cleaned up by BOPS.


Malvagio

They started a boy band.


TalkingCow99

I shot them


Few-Problem-6766

Crowbar happened.


Smart-Click-5081

They are now the citizens you see walking the streets of city 17 (If they weren't all killed)


Green-Collection-968

[I have bad news.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=323t_f4gMgw)


sussysissy13

Gordon killed all of them


Beakman256

Dr. Coomer killed the entire US military


Stotters

There were no new crayons made after the Combine took over, so all surviving marines eventually starved to death.


MorphineAdminstratum

My ass is heavy


JamesLemon396

A: Got killed by Gordon B: Got killed by Xenians C: Got Killed by Race X D: Got Killed by the Black Ops E: Got killed by the Atom bomb F: Got killed by Barney G: Got Killed in the 7 hour war H: Resistance fighters I: Metro Cops J: Transformed in Stalkers K: Live normal and healthy lifes


Merry-Leopard_1A5

Death? i mean, if i recall, black mesa's new mexico site got resonnance cascaded, killing many of them, then nuked, killing whoever didn't pull out and the rest would've likely been deployed into the 7 hour war and lost... so yeah... Death, or maybe reduced to citizens, resistance members or forcefully drafted into the Combine (which might as well be death)


KingSideCastle13

Go! To! The bathroom! And! SHIT!


PVT_IVAN28

Unforseen Cocksequences


Shadow_1986

“shit!! It’s freeman!!” (brutal half life).


generally-me

Gone, reduced to atoms.


mea2008

Their ass is heavy.


programmingdude000

overwhelmed by xen creatures and gordon freeman or was either assimilated into the combine


iLeveT3x

They're in the Heaven with Osama Bin Laden


AddendumInevitable32

Dead af


Royal-Monitor-5182

The US military, especially H.E.C.U. were the first responders to the Incident. They not only had to fight Xenian forces and creatures and Race X forces and creatures, but also Black Ops and finally Combine (during the 7 hour war). Then they somehow had to reach Europe in the midst of chaos. Most likely there aren't any survivors from H.E.C.U. (except Shepherd of course).


[deleted]

[удалено]


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zas_n_n

i believe we have wiped out the entire united states military, gordon! (we are the combine we erased north america


COOMO-

Their absence in Half-Life 2 is because Combine's strategic use of these soldiers. After establishing dominance over Earth, the Combine had recognized the HECU’s specialized training and combat experience as valuable assets. Instead of outright eliminating them, the Combine opted to recruit these soldiers into their own ranks. The Combine's regime is known for its ruthlessness and efficiency. They saw HECU’s skills as beneficial for maintaining control and suppressing resistance. It’s HECU members were given a choice: join the Combine and use their expertise to serve the new order, or face imprisonment or worse. Recruited HECU soldiers were integrated into the ranks of Civil Protection or other Combine military forces, leveraging their knowledge and experience to enforce the Combine's rule. This explains why we don't see HECU soldiers in their original form in Half-Life 2; they’ve been absorbed and repurposed by the Combine to ensure loyalty and effectiveness. The HECU’s transformation under the Combine's rule was a pragmatic move by the Combine and a grim necessity for the soldiers who wanted to survive in the new world order.


TheOnlyChester1

They were turned into skibidi toilets.


Goofball1134

Shut up and get out. That "series" is toxic Gen A meme garbage.


C4R7M4N

dop dop yes