Camp McCarran

Camp McCarran is the base camp of the New California Republic Army in the Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas. It is located just south of the defensive wall surrounding New Vegas, easily identifiable due to the wall surrounding it.

Background
Originally founded as the Alamo Airport in 1942, the airport was renamed to its present name on December 20, 1948, after Pat McCarran, Senator, Nevada native, and author of the Civil Aeronautics Act. Once the primary airport of Las Vegas, the McCarran International Airport was heavily fortified before the War and featured a direct monorail connection to the Strip. Although abandoned in the wake of the Great War, the arid climate of the Mojave preserved the buildings well, allowing for the New California Republic to settle into it Treaty of New Vegas of 2274. As the inheritors of America occupied it, it became a hub of all NCR Army efforts, particularly the logistical aspect: troop allocation, supply distribution and intel. Normally under the command of General Lee Oliver, Colonel James Hsu takes over in the event of general's absence.

Although the camp is the hub of all NCR activities, it is shorthanded due to constant skirmishes with the Fiends and troop redeployments. It also suffers from a variety of other problems, including decent food supply for the soldiers.

Exterior
The exterior of the airport is divided into two parts, the parking lot in front of the terminal, which houses numerous tents used by the Army for administrative and housing purposes, and what remains of the tarmac in the rear, surrounding the Camp McCarran concourse.

The road leading into the airport splits off into two directions, circumnavigating the central parking lot. Three NCR bunkers surround the entrance, providing them with cover in case of an attack. Just to the south, near the entrance to the cargo terminal, is a truck repair depot where the Army maintains its fleet of transport trucks. The northwestern corner of the parking lot is occupied by a shooting range. Opposite is a small parking space for trucks, a storage bunker, and a mannequin where Little Buster practices his moves.

The tents can be difficult to navigate at first. However:


 * The northwestern cluster contains seven tents containing mattresses and beds for the troops stationed at McCarran, surrounding a central recreation hall.
 * The two tents directly south contain the 1st Recon quarters, with the troops (Corporal Betsy, Sterling, Private 10 of Spades, Sgt. Bitter-Root) in the large one and the commanding officer, Lieutenant Gorobets, in the smaller one.
 * The next tents are, clockwise, a break room, an archives tent, storage, and administration.
 * Finally, the two tents at the eastern edge contain the main mess hall and the base's infirmary.

The entrances to the terminal building are spaced out along its front. Major Dhatri usually stands by the entrance.

The tarmac, accessible through the terminal building, is filled with derelict planes and houses the McCarran obstacle course overseen by a drill sergeant, the Camp McCarran concourse and supply shack, and a seemingly abandoned control tower.

Camp McCarran terminal building
The terminal building houses the offices of the commanding officer, Colonel James Hsu, as well as a science facility operated by OSI and Thomas Hildern, the local jail and interrogation room, and other amenities, such as access to the monorail line.

Camp McCarran concourse
The concourse is the heart of Camp McCarran, with the spaces once used by passengers waiting for their flight converted into barracks for troops. The area also includes a mess hall - perpetually undersupplied - and the supply shack responsible for managing the supplies flowing into the Camp.

Inhabitants

 * Col. James Hsu, base commander
 * Maj. Dhatri, bounty manager
 * Capt. Ronald Curtis, head of Bravo company
 * Lt. Carrie Boyd, security chief
 * Sgt. Daniel Contreras, chief of supply
 * Cpl. William Farber, mess hall cook
 * 1st Recon
 * Lt. Gorobets, CO of 1st Recon
 * Sgt. Bitter-Root
 * Cpl. Betsy
 * Cpl. Sterling
 * 10 of Spades
 * OSI
 * Thomas Hildern
 * Angela Williams
 * Other
 * Little Buster, bounty hunter
 * Centurion Silus
 * Frumentarius Picus

Notable loot

 * La Longue Carabine: A unique cowboy repeater, carried by Corporal Sterling. The player can kill him for the rifle (failing I Don't Hurt Anymore and Old School Ghoul). Otherwise, the rifle can be obtained by stealing his ammunition, then changing locations, which will prompt the Corporal to unequip the rifle.
 * Cram Opener: A unique bladed gauntlet, carried by Little Buster. It can be stolen from him. The player can also blow up the trucks around Buster, killing him without losing karma, as environmental kills cannot be blamed on the player. Otherwise, Buster can be found dead in Freeside after the player finishes Three-Card Bounty, as he moves on to win big at the Strip.
 * .308 Sniper rifle: On the bed in the 1st Recon tent. There's also a Milsurp Review and a ¡La Fantoma! magazine under the bed. All are marked as unowned.
 * This Machine: A unique battle rifle, acquired by Dealing with Contreras.

Behind the scenes

 * Camp McCarran's location script was written by Eric Fenstermaker.
 * The airport exteriors and vehicle models were built by Cochey Cantu.
 * The interior of the concourse and the supply shack were implemented by Paul Fish.
 * Spare Us the Cutter
 * There was originally a one of a kind Sentry bot here (McCarranFieldSentryBot). It is actually pictured in the Official strategy guide, so must have been removed late on. Its patrol routes are still in place on the map, but it seems the bot was deleted rather than simply disabled - it's not present anywhere in the game. It has an AI package that makes it patrol in a loop around the outer edge of the camp.
 * In the retail release of the game there were two recruits and a drill instructor on the obstacle course. These were removed at some stage of the game's patching process.
 * There are also several push up idle markers in a pyramid shape near one of the aircraft here. It's likely there was supposed to be some other kind of scene of recruits training with a drill sergeant that was never implemented. Speculating further, it's likely the emplacement at the back of the area was going to be for some kind of further training scenes as well.
 * It's been pointed out that the back area of the camp where Private Crenshaw patrols has some interesting differences when comparing between the internal and external models for the camp. The external main Mojave worldspace version of the Camp has an interesting area where two guard towers are placed close together. The way they are positioned suggests there would be something important between them, such as an entrance. Of course Pvt Crenshaw mentions he is guarding the South Entrance even though there seems to be no such thing. Indeed on the internal version of the McCarran map there is only one guard tower in this position and no evidence of any door. Further adding credence to the theory of the gate being replaced with just a regular wall outside is the fact that what would be the entrance in this case is flanked by 4 NCR troopers (2 a side) as if they were guarding an entrance. In the final game it is difficult to see this as when the player enters the area they are usually fighting Fiends.

Bugs

 * There are wrong idle markers placed in the mess hall, resulting in NCR Troopers playing keyboard and typing animations there.
 * Collecting Corporal White's journal in Corporal White's locker in the concourse may break the quest scripts and corrupt the savegame.

Appearances
Camp McCarran appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.