Brotherhood of Steel ( Midwest ) The Brotherhood of Steel in the Midwest is a splinter faction of the original Brotherhood of Steel . Background . After the defeat of the Master , the original Brotherhood found themselves at odds with their need for new blood versus their code of technological secrecy . The debate went lightly . Finally , the elders ruled against sharing the technology with outsiders , convinced that they would endure what they had before . Further discussion was discouraged when the elders ordered the minority who wished to share their technology on a mission across the wastes . The Brotherhood constructed airship s and dispatched the minority East , to track down and assess the extent of the remaining super mutant threat . However , as they traveled over the great mountains a great storm broke the main airship and flung it far from its course . The mighty airship was badly damaged , the smaller sections were torn from the main craft and never to be seen again . Many of the expedition leaders , including Paladin Latham , were lost to the winds . The fraction of the crew that still survived , struggled to keep their ship aloft before finally crashing on the outskirts of the ruins of Chicago . Survivors eventually formed a new organization , which diverged greatly from the ideals of the old Brotherhood . In time , they established a harsh rule over the towns and villages in that area . After long fights with countless raider bands , a warlike technological cult known as the Reavers , and a super mutant army led by mad Paladin Latham , a survivor of one of the other Brotherhood of Steel airships , in 2198 the Brotherhood eventually faced their greatest enemy - a robotic army commanded by the Calculator , the mad AI of Vault 0 in Colorado . Eventually , the robotic army was defeated and the Calculator was either destroyed or merged with a new mind . That of the Warrior or that of Simon Barnaky . As of 2277 , the fate of the splinter faction is unclear . They differ from the rest of the Brotherhood as they are willing to accept non - humans into their ranks . During the war with the Calculator , the Midwestern Brotherhood ' s forces consisted of survivors from the expedition , human recruits from tribes and towns , ghoul s , sentient ( hairy ) deathclaw s , some super mutant s ( many recruits came from defeated enemy forces ) , and machine legions from Vault 0 . Symbol . It is said that in the Brotherhood of Steel symbol , the gears represent their engineering knowledge , the sword is their will to defend themselves , the wings are the uplifting hope , and the circle is the wholeness that makes it a Brotherhood . While the original Brotherhood uses different colors for different elements of the symbol ( blue for the wings , gray for the sword and black for the gears ) , the Midwestern Brotherhood uses a blue monocolored variation . It should be noted that they also use a mirrored version of the original insignia interchangeably with the original one as well as variants of other colors ( golden and black ) . Squads . The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel operations base on small , versatile squads deployed to engage the enemy . They rarely hold more than ten brothers . A rough listing of the most notable , named squads follows ( player ' s six - person squad excluded ) : Appearances . The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel appears as the main faction and player ' s affiliation in " " . In " Fallout 3 " , Scribe Reginald Rothchild makes a mention about a small detachment of Brotherhood in Chicago that have fallen off the radar and gone rogue . The only known group of Brotherhood that has operated in and around Chicago is the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel . In " " , Caesar mentions that the Legion has captured Brotherhood scribes back East . The only known Brotherhood group operating close to and east of Legion territory is the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel , most likely in Colorado . This is considering the fact that both Caesar ' s Legion and the Midwestern Brotherhood have been to Colorado . In " Fallout 4 " , the airship accident is mentioned when asking Lancer Captain Kells about the Prydwen ' s history and design . The Midwest Brotherhood of Steel were also to appear in the canceled " Fallout Tactics 2 " and " Fallout Extreme " . Behind the scenes . The term " Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel " is never used in - game , but was created by fans to differentiate it from the original Brotherhood of Steel . Sources . This article is based mostly on the description of the Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel from Chris Taylor ' s " " and the intro .