Mithril (Full Metal Panic!)

MITHRIL patch as used by most of the series' main characters on their uniforms, though not animated.

Mithril is a fictional anti-terrorist private military company in the light novel, manga and anime series Full Metal Panic!. Many of the main characters within the series are members of this organization, among them include Sousuke Sagara, Melissa Mao, Kurz Weber and Teletha Tessa Testarossa.

Overview

Mithril is a worldwide military (non-governmental) anti-terrorist organization^[1] possessing advanced technologies and weapon systems superior to that of any national armed forces. It was founded around 1992-1993, following the detonation of a nuclear warhead in northern Iraq in the then waning Gulf War. It is named after the fictional metal, Mithril, from The Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien.^[2] The organization's purpose to halt regional conflicts, in addition to securing the Whispered without taking any sides.^[3] As such, it is one of the few organizations aware of the Whispered and Black Technology.

Mithril remains an extremely secretive organization, its existence unknown to all but the most senior of military and political personnel. Its motives, funding, structure, and personnel are all kept secret. Its secrecy is vital for its continued existence, as Mithril is a specialist organization dependent on fast surgical strikes with small numbers. It does not possess the numbers or capacity to withstand a conventional war of numbers.

Organization

Mithril is divided into three divisions, Research, Intelligence, and Tactical, which are overseen by the General Council.^[4] The current chairman of the General Council is Lord Mallory.^[4][5] Additional divisions may exist, but have not been mentioned at this time. The three divisions operate across international borders with the best and brightest available personnel.

The command structure of Mithril is very direct to give soldiers a clear chain of command to their superior officers. At the same time, commanders are given the ability to individually take command of a situation. The high level of trust in individual ability gives each organizational unit a strong level of autonomous decision making.

Research Division

The research division develops advanced Black Technology devices from the knowledge gleaned from the Whispered. There have been a number of Whispered who have taken active part in the Research division as personnel as well. The research division of Mithril is deeply involved with the various cover corporate identities operated by the organization. The organization markets spin off technologies of its research. This revenue is assumed to be part of the funding of the two other divisions. The head of Research is Dr. Painrose.^[4][6]

The research division is shown to have a close working relationship with the combat division of Mithril. There is a personnel exchange program, further fostering this relationship.

Intelligence Division

The intelligence division of Mithril handles the intelligence and counterintelligence duties within the organization. The division is highly independent of the two other divisions, maintaining a higher level of secrecy within the already secretive organization. The division operates an impressive amount of assets, including a number of military satellites, advanced computer equipment and personnel within other organizations. They have been shown using the United States intelligence satellites through morally dubious means. The intelligence division is charged with finding and securing ‘’Whispered’’ as well. The head of Intelligence is General Mayer Amit, formerly from Israel and an ex-Mossad secret agent.^[5] Agents and officers of the division operate under the codename Ogma.

A certain amount of friction between the Combat and Intelligence divisions have been highlighted within the narrative of Full Metal Panic. This friction does not prevent the division from being highly effective in monitoring the hotbeds of regional conflicts.

Tactical Division

The Tactical Division of Mithril is the physical muscle of Mithril, carrying out surgical strikes to halt or help abate regional conflicts. The Tactical division is further divided into five fleets, the North Atlantic Fleet, the South Atlantic Fleet, the Indian Ocean Fleet, the Mediterranean Sea Fleet and the West Pacific Fleet. Within each fleet are battle groups, such as the Pal Horon Battle Group of the North Atlantic Fleet, which operates primarily in the Mediterranean Sea.^[4] The head of the Tactical Division is Admiral Voda, formerly from the United States Navy.^[4]

The Tuatha De Danaan Battle Group is commanded by Captain Teletha Testarossa, from the flagship of the same name, TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan^[7] while using the codename Ansuz.^[8] Commander Richard Mardukas is second-in-command and Lieutenant Commander Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin was military strategist.^[9]

Mithril is a specialist organization unlike most armies, requiring personnel capable of completing sensitive and difficult operations in small teams. These small surgical strike teams are operated by each battle group, under the Special Response Team (SRT)^[1] and Primary Response Team (PRT) units.^[4] They are armed rapid response units deployed around the world, most often within a day or even hours. The SRT are deployed to the most dangerous and risky of situation, ones that the PRT cannot be expected to complete.

Special Response Teams and Primary Response Teams

MITHRIL SRT/PRT operator disguised as a UN Peacekeeper, speaking to Ms. Kagurazaka while guarding the evacuation of Jindai High students/teachers. He is armed with a FN P90.

SRT and PRT operators of the Pacific battle group operate under code names during field operations. These code names are letters from the Runic alphabet. SRT members are designated Urzu (Urzu) while PRT members are designated Kaunan (Kano).^[8][10] These runic letters each carry a symbolic meaning well suited to the units. For example, Urzu means power^[8] while Kaunan means beginning.^[10]

In their need of secrecy, these Mithril soldiers often disguise themselves as armed forces of various nations. In Full Metal Panic, they pose as UN peacekeepers by wearing blue berets and green BDUs fitted with UN insignias.

Under the direct command of Lieutenant Commander Andrei Kalinin, who has the call sign of Perth-1,^[8] the ground combat units of the Tuatha de Danaan battle group are separated into SRT and PRT units. There are six PRT units, each one specializing in a particular type of warfare. They are air assault, amphibious warfare, espionage, assault, communications, and building breaching and assault.^[4] Soldiers rotate within the six teams to learn the methods and skills of each team. The Primary Response Teams form the core fighting force of the Pacific Fleet. Most operations of Mithril are carried out by the PRT. Urzu Three is commander of the Primary Response Teams, and facilitates the communication and teamwork between the SRT and PRT personnel.

The distinction of the SRT from the PRT is the usage of Arm Slaves. Almost all SRT members are Arm Slave pilots in addition to their specialist skills elsewhere. This is largely unheard of, and highlights the unique nature of the SRT. Each specialist of the unit is encouraged in cross training to retain the ability to complete a mission regardless of personnel loss in the field.

While most missions operate the SRT and PRT personnel as discrete units, complex operations have been shown using both SRT and PRT units. In these cases, SRT personnel have been shown to take command of supporting PRT units. The two teams show strong integration, showing the well trained nature of both units.

TDD-1 Response Team Personnel

Enlisted and officer ranks in the PRT and SRT are, like Mithril's officer corps, based upon American and British military ranking systems. They consist of a mix of American and British army and navy ranks.

PRT operators

Character	Nationality	Rank	Codename	First Appearance	Status
Lian Shaobin/Lian Shaopin[11]	Unknown	Private[12]	Unknown	Full Metal Panic	On Patrol[13] (KIA)[14]
Tony		Corporal[15]		Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	KIA[16]
Wu	Chinese[17]	Private	Kaunan 28[18]	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	Active

SRT operators

Character	Nationality	Rank	Codename	First Appearance	Status
Belfangan Clouseau	Canadian	First Lieutenant (Treated as Captain)	Urzu 1	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	Active
Gail McAllen	Australian	Captain	Urzu 1[11][19]	Full Metal Panic	On Patrol (KIA)[20]
Melissa Mao	American/Chinese	Second Lieutenant (Treated as First Lieutenant)	Urzu 2 (Formerly Urzu 6)	Full Metal Panic	Active
Amasart		First Lieutenant	Formerly Urzu 2[21]		Inactive: transferred to Mithril Intelligence Division
Castello	Italian[22]	First Lieutenant[23]	Urzu 3	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	Active
Hummer		First Lieutenant	Urzu 4		Active
Roger Sandraptor	American	Sergeant[23]	Urzu 5	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	Active
Kurz Weber	German	Sergeant (Treated as Master Sergeant)	Urzu 6	Full Metal Panic	Active
Sousuke Sagara	Afghan/Japanese	Sergeant	Urzu 7	Full Metal Panic	Active
Jack Wayne	American	Sergeant	Formerly Urzu 7		Discharged
Spec	American	Corporal[23]/Sergeant[4]	Urzu 8	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid	Deceased
Yang Jun-Kyu	South Korean	Corporal[23]	Urzu 9	Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid[24]	Active
Nguyen Bien Bo	Vietnamese	Corporal	Formerly Urzu 10	Full Metal Panic	Deceased[25]
John Danigan	American	Sergeant	Formerly Urzu 12	Full Metal Panic	Deceased[25]

Equipment

A combined SRT/PRT squad deployed from the TDD-1 led by Yang Jun-Kyu (middle, leaning near door) in a rescue mission at the Cross-Yangtze River tunnel. They are all armed with CornerShot assault weapon systems outfitted with silenced Glock pistols and extended magazines and are wearing assault glasses with a built-in headset that presumably connects to the CornerShot.

In order to conduct their missions, Mithril Response Teams are armed with the finest military equipment that is available to them. Much like Special forces operators of most countries, SRT personnel are given complete freedom in the equipment they choose to arm themselves with. This serves to make each individual member difficult to identify as a part of Mithril based on their equipment. Equipment shown used by Response Teams in the series include the FN P90 submachine gun and an assault rifle/hand gun combination similar to the CornerShot system.^[15]

The cornerstone of the West Pacific Battlegroup, Tuatha de Danaan, is the amphibious assault submarine TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan.^[26] The ship shares its name with a legendary race of people who are feature prominently in Irish mythology.^[3]

The standard complement of Tuatha de Danaan is four FAV-8 Super Harriers, six MH-67 Pave Mare Transport Helicopters, and four RAH-66 Comanches.^[27][28] Additional equipment fielded by Mithril are a turbofan variant of the C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III transports, and MH-60 Pave Hawks. It is notable that many of these weapon systems operated by Mithril include a number of equipment that are from failed or canceled development programs in reality. It is unknown if the addition of Black Technology have made these projects viable or the tastes of the author are particularly strongly reflected within the fictional narrative.

Most notable is the advanced Third Generation Arm Slave, yet unmatched by any military of the world. SRT operatives are issued the M9E Gernsback Arm Slaves for general Arm Slave combat or missions.^[29] Each SRT member customize and personalize the Arm Slave extensively, creating a close relationship with their machines.^[29] The Battlegroup also operates a number of older M6 Bushnell units as secondary and backup units, but do not carry any on the limited space of the TDD-1.

Mithril as an organization has access to low orbit satellites for an encrypted communications network and intelligence gathering, codenamed as Sting.^[10] Illegal and unauthorized access of United States satellite network has been mentioned. It is unknown if Mithril possesses its own orbital assets or only borrows from other nations.

Reception

Anime Jump pokes fun at the existence of Mithril, calling it Megaforce instead.^[30] However, DVDTOWN.com has stated that Mithril's presence in the Full Metal Panic! series gives the show a serious atmosphere to the viewers.^[31]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Full Metal Panic! Terminology". http://full-metal-panic.animeshinobi.com/fmp_terms.html. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
2. ^ "Trivia". Jindai High. http://www.jindai-high.com/extras/trivia/. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Mithril Organization". Jindai High. http://www.jindai-high.com/extras/encyclopedia/mithril/. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 9.
5. ^ ^{a b} Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 18.
6. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 7.
7. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 10.
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 13.
9. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, Page 11.
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Unit Call Signs". Jindai High. http://www.jindai-high.com/extras/encyclopedia/unit-call-signs/. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Gatou, page 18.
12. ^ His rank is confusing, according to what version viewers watch the 1st season of Full Metal Panic!. The translation and the dub states that his rank is Leading Seaman. The Japanese version states his rank as Private before he was assassinated.
13. ^ KIA are considered "on patrol", following the US Navy tradition that submarines and their crew lost on duty are "still on patrol".
14. ^ Assassinated by John Danigan
15. ^ ^{a b} "Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: Act III, Scene 02 + 03 MITHRIL Report". http://www.ea-wannabe.com/dvd/BIBA-5802.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
16. ^ killed by Xia Yu Lan
17. ^ It's unknown whether he is of North or South extraction.
18. ^ Revealed in A Dancing Very Merry Christmas
19. ^ Members of the SRT/PRT who are KIA retain their call signs postmortem.
20. ^ Assassinated by Guen Bien Bo.
21. ^ SRT members who leave the unit relinquish their Urzu call signs.
22. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket, page 14.
23. ^ ^{a b c d} "Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid!: Act 11, Scene 10 + 11 MITHRIL Report". http://www.ea-wannabe.com/dvd/BIBA-5806.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
24. ^ He originally appeared in Hashiru (Running) One Night Stand. In the episode One Night Stand, his presence was removed.
25. ^ ^{a b} Betrayed Mithril and subsequently killed
26. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket 2, Pages 14-15.
27. ^ Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: MITHRIL Report - Tactical Ops Booket 2, Page 16.
28. ^ Gatou, page 92.
29. ^ ^{a b} "M9E Gernsback". Jindai High. http://www.jindai-high.com/characters/machinery/m9e-gernsback/. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
30. ^ Mike Toole (2003-10-16). "Anime Jump's Full Metal Panic! review". Anime Jump!. Archived from the original on 2004-09-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20040905125253/http://www.animejump.com/index.php?module=prodreviews&func=showcontent&id=243. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 
31. ^ Olen Anderson (2004-12-12). "Review: Full Metal Panic!: Mission 06 (DVD)". DVDTOWN.com. http://www.dvdtown.com/review/full-metal-panic-mission-06/dvd/2551. Retrieved 2009-09-07. 

Bibliography

• Gatou, Shoji (2003). Full Metal Panic! The Anime Mission. ADV Films. ISBN 1413900275.