Studies and Observation Group

"And if you succeed, you will do so... without recognition. Because you. Do not. Exist."

- Singleplayer Trailer

The Studies and Observation Group (SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War.

The Studies and Observations Group was a joint unconventional warfare task force created on 24 January 1964 by the Joint Chiefs of Staff as a subsidiary command of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). The unit conducted strategic reconnaissance missions in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam), Laos, and Cambodia; carried out the capture of enemy prisoners, rescued downed pilots, and conducted rescue operations to retrieve prisoners of war throughout Southeast Asia; and conducted clandestine agent team activities and psychological operations.

It was mainly composed of personnel from the United States Army Special Forces, the United States Navy SEALs, the U.S. Army Rangers, United States Air Force Combat Controllers, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division, and elements of the United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance units.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops creator, Treyarch, consulted former SOG member Major John Plaster  (US Army-Ret.), who shared his stories and experiences from the Vietnam War. These "special" soldiers were apparently so privileged that they could request anything, from unusual or expensive equipment to immediate and integral support from any U.S. regular unit. Many of the SOG operatives in Vietnam and Laos use Tigerstripe combat uniforms.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the SOG announcer is rapper Ice Cube, who also voices Bowman in singleplayer. . The MACV-SOG combat the North Vietnamese Army in Cracked, Hanoi, and Jungle.

Trivia

 * A document, signed by former president John F. Kennedy, involving the SOG was found through transmissions of a Call of Duty: Black Ops teaser site, GKNOVA6.
 * For certain maps in multiplayer, Bowman, voiced by Ice Cube, will be the announcer for the SOG. This marks the fourth time a celebrity will be a multiplayer announcer in the Call of Duty Franchise. (The other three being Gary Oldman, Keifer Sutherland, and 50 Cent)