Sam goes solo in Colombia to rescue Shetland, circa 1992.
Operation Selva Verde was a Navy SEAL operation in Norte de Santander, Colombia, on 2 May through 3 May 1992. US Navy SEALs Warfare Group 1, 3rd Squad, were sent to the jungle to defeat FARC (or RAFC) guerillas (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). They successfully killed ten guerillas. Private Laurence was wounded during the skirmish.
Background
On 2 May, at approximately 800 hours, a reconnaissance force comprised of Colombian regular troops and advised by platoon commander, Lt. Douglas Shetland, began operations in the Norte de Santander area. They were ambushed by the using accurate mortar and machinegun fire. Fourteen Colombian regular troops were killed and Lt. Shetland was captured. Once it was determined that Lt. Shetland was a prisoner, Captain Moore, commander of all U.S. military forces in the region, ordered Sam Fisher's platoon to stand down and await further orders.
One-Man Rescue Operation
Since a full rescue operation may not have reached Shetland in time, Fisher decided to disobey orders and went solo to keep Shetland from spilling any information to the enemy. Captain Moore ordered him to stand down and not to leave the base, but conceded, telling Sam, if he left the base he would be on his own. Sam snuck out the base avoiding his fellow SEALs and made his way through the jungle to the village held by guerillas. He carefully made his way through a mine field, disabling a few land mines along the way. He made his way to the bunker where Shetland was being held, but was discovered, and put in a cell. Sam later recovered his gear (which was confiscated after his capture) and escaped. He eventually located and freed Lt. Shetland from his cell and escaped to friendly territory.
3rd Squad
- Captain Moore
- Lieutenant Douglas Shetland (liaison and platoon commander of 3rd Squad)
- Staff Sergeant Sam Fisher
- Private Mike
- Private Erik
- Private Frank
- Private Stephen
- Private Bradley
- Private Laurence
- Private Martinez
- Private Peter
FARC guerillas
- Paolo
- Agustin
- Dino
- Baco
- Santiago
- Falco
- Hans
- Manuel
- Pedro
- Javier
- Iago (fan of football player Hernandez)
- Nardo
- Esteves (group leader, has a sister Julia)
- Jorge (blew off his legs with a landmine week before Selve Verde)
Trivia
- In Essentials, Sam's unit is called "US Navy SEALs Warfare Group 1, 3rd Squad" (actually its "Naval Special Warfare Group One, SEAL Team Three (ST-3)"), which mean that he was part SEAL Team 3. However, ST-3's AOR (Area of Responsibility) is in Southwest Asia (or Middle East) not South America. There is a strong possibility that Sam was a member of DEVGRU (or SEAL Team 6), the U.S. Navy's top-secret counter-terrorist unit.
- The ranks above are incorrect because those are Army / USMC ranks. Since SEALs are part of the U.S. Navy, those should be Navy ranks (Lt. Cmdr., Chief Petty Officer, etc.). Sam most likely had the rank he retire with (see Sam Fisher) during that time.
- Sam states he isn't Army but Special Ops to Captain Moore.
- Dialogue from Capt. Moore suggests that Shetland (a U.S. Marine) was just a liaison for the Navy SEALs, not a member of the unit. Although in the level cutscene, the NSA agent claims that Sam was in the Seals the same time as his father, and went on a mission to "rescue one of our guys". The mission objectives says "rescue your C.O.". The loading screen and after-mission report also states that he was the "command officer" and "platoon commander" of Sam Fisher's SEAL team.
- Moore is a Captain in the level but listed as a Colonel in the after-mission report.
- The events in this operation bears striking similarities with the "flashback" level in the Splinter Cell: Conviction:
- Both SEAL Teams lost members during an ambushed.
- Both had a high-ranking officer captured (Douglas Shetland in Essentials, Sam Fisher in Conviction).
- Both had one man (Sam Fisher in Essentials, Victor Coste in Conviction) go on a solo rescue mission.