Black Mesa Personnel

"Why do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties?"

- Black Mesa scientist

Black Mesa employs in its facility two main groups of civilian employees: science personnel and security personnel, along with various other inhabitants including administrative personnel, service personnel and occasionally the employees' families. The base also keeps a small military presence.

All facility personnel wear identity badges, and the automated tram announcement at the beginning of Half-Life reminds staff that they must display their badges at all times, as well as that "regular radiation and biohazard screenings are a requirement of continued employment in the Black Mesa Research Facility. Missing a scheduled urinalysis or radiation check-up is grounds for immediate termination." Ironically, this is stated as the tram passes over an automated cargo lifting robot wading through a pool of some green, likely toxic, material having spilled out of a broken container nearby.

In-game
When several members of the Black Mesa personnel are seen together, they can become very useful allies, as well as providing conversations, together or towards the player, that revealed small parts of the story.

Security personnel


The Security Force is the main component of Black Mesa's support personnel force. Each guard is granted a different security clearance specific to his or her duty, with an average clearance of Level 3. The security guard uniform consists of a blue shirt, black tie, dark blue pants, black assault boots, equipment belt, armor vest and helmet. The security guard's standard issue sidearm is the Glock 17 9mm pistol, but heavier ordinance, such as pump-action shotguns, .357 Magnum revolvers, Desert Eagles and grenades are also available to them.


 * Security Officer - The vast majority of guards work as security officers, tasked with protecting secured areas and information, reporting breaches of authority to their administrative sponsor and helping with general maintenance tasks. In rare cases, security officers will be tasked with capturing escaped research specimens.
 * Section Manager - The role of section manager is effectively a desk job that consists of directing security officers and assigning tasks.
 * Instructor - Security officers will often take on additional work instructing new recruits in the Sector A Training Facility.

Known members

 * Barney Calhoun, the only known member of the Security Force who survived the Black Mesa Incident. Went on to join City 17's Civil Protection as a spy for the Resistance and helps Gordon Freeman on his way to Isaac Kleiner's secret lab.
 * Miller, who gave his likeness to the holographic instructor for the Black Mesa Hazard Course for Security Guard Training.

Models
The security guards feature two models. The "Barney" model, which is the standard Half-Life security guard, the only model met in the game, and that was later retconned into a standalone character, Barney Calhoun, and the "Otis" model, the overweight security guard introduced in Opposing Force. The latter comes with or without a moustache. They are never referred by these names in-game, being only their model names.

In-game

 * Black Mesa guards will always help the player and can be very useful as protection or drawing fire. If shot at by the player, they will turn against them.
 * They are all voiced by Michael Shapiro and all say the same sentences, although the two models have specific ways of speaking and sentences
 * Although each Barney carries a handgun, their effectiveness in combat can often be hampered by poor pathfinding and slow response times. However, it can be seen that he is capable of killing one or occasionally several of the more heavily armed and armored soldiers, most likely due to his accuracy at long range. It can also be helpful for the player to kill guards when arrived at a point where he cannot follow the player anymore (ie. when the player must climb a ladder, which guards cannot), to take his ammo.

Science personnel


The science personnel (a.k.a. the science team or the scientists), recruited largely from academic backgrounds, are the overwhelming majority of Black Mesa's population. Each scientist is granted a different security clearance specific to his or her duty, with an average clearance of Level 5. Like other employees, scientists have an assigned uniform, consisting of a blue shirt, white labcoat, red striped tie and white (or beige) slacks. In Opposing Force, a cleansuit-wearing variation of the normal scientist appears in limited areas. Some scientists are trained in the use of the MP5N submachine gun (or the M4 with the HD pack) as part of HEV suit training, but most others have little or no combat skills or experience.


 * Research and Development - The largest portion of the scientists are assigned to research and development positions, where they conduct experiments and create new technologies. The research conducted ranges in focus from particle physics to biological study to space travel. Most R&D scientists have a limited knowledge of first aid, and can heal some wounds. Dr. Isaac Kleiner and Dr. Eli Vance were prominent R&D scientists.
 * Research Associate - Research Associates work alongside R&D scientists, but with a lower status in the employment hierarchy. They are usually required to conduct the more mundane or less desirable portions of a given experiment. Dr. Gordon Freeman and Dr. Colette Green were notable research associates.
 * Hazardous Environment Supervisor - Supervisors act in a similar role to research associates in that they assist in experiments, but they are primarily concerned with maintaining a safe work environment. Dr. Gina Cross worked in this position.
 * Instructor - Scientists will often take on additional work training employees and conducting simulations in the Sector A Training Facility.
 * Survey Team - Survey teams were organized soon after the first teleportation labs were constructed in Black Mesa. Their assignment is the most dangerous, as they are tasked with entering Xen to collect samples and conduct experiments. Because of the danger, survey team members are highly trained in the use of the HEV suit and a variety of weapons.

Known members



 * Walter Bennett
 * Wallace Breen (Black Mesa Administrator during the events of Half-Life)
 * Gina Cross
 * Gordon Freeman
 * Colette Green
 * Harold
 * Richard Keller
 * Isaac Kleiner
 * Arne Magnusson
 * Peters
 * Stanley Rosenberg
 * Simmons
 * Smithers
 * Truman
 * Eli Vance

In-game
Although cowardly and clumsy at times, scientists can assist the player with certain tasks like retinal scanners or opening doors, but they tend to be physically weak, dying within a few shots. The scientists know first aid and will administer a medicine boost to the player if they see that he is wounded (i.e. if his health is below 50).

Other personnel

 * Administration personnel - Serving the Office of the Administrator, administration personnel handle the bureaucracy for the facility, including recruiting civilians and assigning personnel.
 * Service personnel - Service Personnel are rarely seen in the Half-Life games, but can sometimes be spotted driving forklifts. They are also tasked with some more complicated maintenance tasks, such as repairing turrets.
 * Military personnel - Although the facility maintains a small military presence, the bulk of the facility's military personnel are the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit who are kept off-site and only sent in as a clean-up crew in case of extreme circumstances.

Behind the scenes

 * Originally, the Half-Life's Black Mesa security forces were to be members of the Military Police, hostile to the player and attacking them. After several tests, allied NPCs showed their usefulness and testers grew fond of his (occasionally bumbling) behaviors. The Black Mesa security guards, as well as large parts of the story, and the main character itself, were rethought. Then, the team came to think about characters that were neither allies nor enemies to the player, leading to the creation of the G-Man.
 * Originally, security guards and scientists were to have a much more frightened, almost cartoonish face.
 * There were also to be female scientists, cut from the final game. The texture files for the model can be found in the folder "f_science" (likely the name of the model) in the Half-Life: Source texture folder, but not in the original Half-Life folder.
 * Security cards were to be picked up in offices or the corpses on Black Mesa's employees, which was replaced by the eye scanner.

Trivia

 * In any games of the series, the HEV suit scientists are always found dead on Xen.
 * A cheat in the Dreamcast version of Half-Life that provides the character with invincibility is "Otis loves Dreamcast".
 * Originally, the Otis security guard model was to wear a helmet similar to the Barney model, but it was removed for some reason, although it stuck for the multiplayer version of Opposing Force.
 * Characters from The Andy Griffith Show bear the names of Barney and Otis. It is probable, though yet to be verified, that the references are intentional. Also, the original Barney model bears a striking resemblance with Don Knotts, one of the actors of the show, who played the character named Barney Fife, which in the US has long been a disparaging term for an inept policeman or security guard. Hal Smith, who played the character named Otis, bears some resemblance with the Otis model, though it is not striking.

List of appearances

 * Any game of the series except Portal
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar