Zombies by Joseph McCullough

will probably remain so indefinitely. Still, it is well known that Bureau agents continued their work outside of the United States, traveling all through North, South, and Central America, and played a major part in the US interventions in Haiti. During World War II, the agents participated in many activities of the Shadow Theater. Today, Bureau 9 continues its work as a joint project of the FBI and CIA. Their main targets remain necromancers and bokors, but their activities also cover other zombie threats. Unlike the old days, however, when a serious threat arises they turn over operations to the military.
THE CONTAINMENT TEAMS
    While the zombie problem remained mostly necromantic in nature, governments deemed it best to have small organizations such as Bureau 9 deal with the threat and only call out the military in extreme circumstances. But with the rise of atomic zombies after World War II, a new solution became necessary. No longer could zombie situations be resolved with one well-placed bullet. Only boots on the ground could lay down enough firepower to stop a full outbreak.
    The Vatican City was the first country to officially establish anti-zombie forces in 1955, and many countries still send observers to see these specialist members of the Swiss Guard in action. However, these teams have limited reach and are only rarely deployed. The real advent of the military zombie hunters came in 1963 with the NATO “Containment Ordinance.” This small reorganization of military forces established specialist “Containment Teams” that could deploy quickly to suppress any zombie outbreak. These teams were multinational forces, with members drawn from all NATO countries. Containment team members received special training in combating zombies (all varieties) and specialist gear (see next chapter). While NATO still maintains a number of containment teams that can be deployed by helicopter or airlift, almost all of the member nations have now established similar organizations within their own militaries.
    In the United States, the “Nightmen” of the 34th Specialist Regiment are based at Fort Bragg. The regiment boasts nearly 1,500 troops, including specialist support staff, and a dedicated flight of Black Hawk helicopters. The United Kingdom recruits most of its zombie hunters from the ranks of the Royal Marine Commandos, placing them in a unit known as Division 77, “The Dirge.”

    Some smaller countries employ special anti-zombie police units.
    MERCENARY ORGANIZATIONS
    With the vast increase in the zombie threat over the past two decades, a number of private military companies have seen an opening in the market. Call them “private zombie contractors” or “undead disposal specialists,” they are essentially mercenaries who specialize in fighting zombies. Like standard mercenaries, the different groups vary greatly in both ability and reliability. Some of these so-called organizations are little more than “wannabe” zombie hunters with a couple of hunting rifles and an armored pickup truck. Others are multinational corporations who employ numerous former containment team soldiers and supply them with the latest military hardware. Since most First World nations support their own containment teams, mercenaries are most active in less-developed countries, with South America, Africa, and parts of Asia being their main stomping grounds.
    To date the most successful and widely recognized of these organizations is Command: The Blue Marble (C:TBM). Originally established in South Africa in 1997, the group now supports bases in 19 different countries around the world. Under the leadership of Aloysius Wu, C:TBM has expanded its operations to cover nearly all forms of undead and other so-called “monsters,” but battling zombie outbreaks remains their primary market. The group has a sterling reputation and an extremely high success rate, both of which are reflected in their