"Discipline, Obedience, Loyalty" ~ Candidate Motto
The Umbrella Research Center served as one of the first facilities constructed by the Umbrella Corporation. Its purpose was to educate prospective officers and executives of Umbrella, but it also served as the private laboratory of James Marcus. It was also the birthplace of the t-virus. It is also commonly known as the "Management Training Facility".
History
The MTF was built along with the Ecliptic Express rail system and the Arklay Laboratory in the back region of Raccoon Forest during the 1960s and was completed in August 1968. 1 The facility's first director was James Marcus, one of the co-founders of Umbrella. Marcus was shuffled into his position by Ozwell E. Spencer in his effort to minimize Marcus' standing within Umbrella. Despite knowing precisely what Spencer was thinking, Marcus kept focused on his research. Despite being head of the facility, Marcus cared very little about the actual training of staff. Instead, the facility was used by Marcus as a research lab for the Progenitor virus, and he secluded himself. Albert Wesker and William Birkin were two particular students educated at the facility, and the two quickly earned Marcus' attention and later, trust. 2 On January 13, 1978, Marcus successfully developed the t-virus at the facility. Marcus continued his experiments with both Progenitor and t, even after the facility was closed down by Umbrella in July 1978.
Eventually, Marcus became infatuated with his leech specimens. He continued his experiments with his leeches right up until 1988, when he was assassinated by Wesker and Birkin under orders from Spencer, and the facility was completely abandoned by Umbrella. In May 1998, an accident occurred in the training facility causing a large quantity of pollutants, including the t-virus, to leak. This accident is attributed to the facility being attacked by the Queen Leech.
The facility remained abandoned until the summer of 1998, when Umbrella ordered the "Reclamation Project", an attempt to reclaim the facility and bring it back under operation. Under the leadership of Wesker and Birkin, two teams were sent. However since the Queen Leech in the form of a revived Marcus had attacked the facility, it had become infested with leeches and B.O.W.s. The first investigation team was wiped out by the creatures infesting the facility while the second investigation team on route to the facility on the Ecliptic Express was also wiped out in the middle of Raccoon Forest by the leeches. 3
S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team member Rebecca Chambers, along with convict Billy Coen, uncovered the facility on July 23, 1998. As Wesker and Birkin watched events unfold behind the scenes through live camera feeds of the entire facility and discovered Marcus' involvement. Eventually, Wesker left to rejoin the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team while Birkin set off the self-destruct sequence in the facility after backing up all of the research data, rendering the birthplace of the t-virus a mass of rubble on the morning of July 24.