UNSC Special Operations Command (RelentlessRecusant)

The UNSC Special Operations Command (UNSCSOCOM) was one of the uniformed services of the UNSC Defense Force, responsible for the training, organization, and direction of the UNSC's special operations forces. A combined command, its units draw members from all other combatant services of the UNSC Defense Force, operating special forces units drawn from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and the Office of Naval Intelligence.
The Special Operations Command prosecutes special missions in the deep battlespace, operating advanced special operations such as direct action, unconventional warfare, and special reconnaissance. Special forces units also operate in friendly UNSC space, performing cooperative missions such as foreign internal defense and civil-military operations, as well as hostile missions such as counterterrorism and counter-proliferation on UNSC colonies. Furthermore, UNSCSOCOM prosecutes highly sensitive missions in clandestine missions in support of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. 
==Concept==
After the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC military underwent a significant organizational remodeling, and all special-operator groups previously singularly associated with their parent command became jointly commanded by UNSCSOCOM as well. This has been cited as being necessary for integrating all of the UNSC's special operations forces underneath a single unified command and for increasing unity between the UNSC's individual special-operator groups.
Each of UNSCSOCOM's individual special-operations groups are highly regarded by other UNSC servicemen, although certain officers take a particular distrust in UNSCSOCOM's clandestine activities and also the potential that UNSCSOCOM has to shape politics and galactic development through the use of precisely-applied and covert force. 
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==Operational History==
===Insurrection===
UNSCSOCOM's first major involvement was during the Insurrectionist movements prior to the Human-Covenant War, where rebel entrenchment in highly-populated urban environments made their elimination impossible by "regular" Marine units without extensive civilian collateral casualties. UNSCSOCOM would lead the UNSC's directed and targeted campaign to eliminate the rebel forces, although as UNSCSOCOM began to take losses, many UNSCSOCOM forces would begin to acquire bloodthirsty rivalries against certain insurgent forces, and UNSCSOCOM commanders authorized the usage of excessive force to decimate insurgent populations, and also the use of terror tactics — indiscriminate civilian killing until insurgent activity stopped, torture and killing of rebel POWs, and usage of biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to indiscriminately slaughter rebels and civilians alike.
UNSCSOCOM would become feared amongst insurgent forces, and were known by their cruelty and brutality. UNSC senior commanders, with no control over UNSCSOCOM's "special forces" and "covert operations", were forced to stand by and watch UNSCSOCOM efficiently terminate rebellions using terror and intimidation tactics, often becoming as amoral as the rebel forces they were fighting. UNSCSOCOM's ruthless counterinsurgency methods would make the special forces feared through the UNSC Defense Force, and Marines would create a legendary mythology of terror and awe around the special forces, similar to their view of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. UNSCSOCOM's efficiency gave it significant prestige to UNSC High Command, which conveniently ignored UNSCSOCOM's abuse of human rights. UNSCSOCOM's prestige and position would allow it to reassign personnel from any branches of the services that it deemed useful, solidifying UNSCSOCOM's myth of all-pervasive power.
Despite UNSCSOCOM's widespread brutality, it would have one notable exception in Major Woodbury, a ODST company commander who had been forcibly reassigned from the Marine Corps to UNSCSOCOM. Woodbury would become a publicly-respected figure in mediating the successful and bloodless conclusion of several high-stakes terrorist events, such as the nuclear weapons crisis in a casino and the hijacking of a space luxury liner, and Woodbury would emphasize victory without force nor bloodshed.
===Post-War===
UNSCSOCOM would play an integral role in the post-War UNSC and the regeneration and reconstruction efforts. With the overbearing threat of the Covenant gone, insurgent and pirate forces rose up in the Outer Rim, hoping to take advantage of the war-weakened UNSC. UNSCSOCOM's role would change from military reconnaissance and action to specialized counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, and counter-piracy operations, covertly sanctioning hostile activity on the Fringe Worlds and preserving the fiction that the post-War UNSC was a recovering utopia. However, UNSCSOCOM would become increasingly well-associated with the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence, such to the point that most UNSCSOCOM units would be seen in special forces circles to be jointly commanded by ONI and UNSCSOCOM. The Office of Naval Intelligence would utilize UNSCSOCOM's special operations forces to execute its own covert operations. Whole divisions of various forces, including UNSC Naval Special Warfare, would undergo long-term reassignment to ONI, and ONI often had an integral role in coordination of individual UNSCSOCOM operations, providing advanced intelligence for direct action renditions.
==Composition==
===Subordinate Commands===
UNSCSOCOM is subordinated into eight subordinate commands, including six individual regional commands and two joint functional commands. UNSCSOCOM was originally subordinated into four commands (SF Divisions 1st—4th). During the Human-Covenant War, the acceleration of special mission operations tempos would lead to the activation of the 10th Special Forces Division. The closure of the War and the expansion of human colonization across the Orion and Sagittarius Arms would lead to the activation of the 5th and 6th Special Forces Divisions and the increased demand for the development of the UNSC's next-generation special forces to counter the new and unfamiliar times of the post-War truce would lead to the creation of the 15th Special Forces Division, commonly known as "Section Fifteen".
*UNSC Special Operations Command Centauri (1st Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCCEN): UNSCSOCCEN is responsible for special operations forces in the "local space" of FLEETCOM Sector One, and its jurisdiction includes planetary systems orbiting the stars of Sol (Earth), Epsilon Eriandi (Reach), and Alpha Centauri A / B (Thebes). It is headquartered on the colony world Thebes, in the Alpha Centauri System.
*UNSC Special Operations Command Ceti (2nd Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCCET): UNSCSOCCET is responsible for special operations forces in the "Ceti" local cluster of stars and associated planetary systems, including Tau Ceti, TZ Ceti, and Groombridge 34, approximately ten light-years from Sol at a right ascension of approximately eighteen hours. It was headquartered on the colony world Tau Ceti IV, in the Tau Ceti System. After the closure of the Human-Covenant War and the establishment of colony worlds such as Asphodel Meadows (47 Ursae Majoris System) and Hekate (Alpha Orionis System), UNSCSOCCET would be relocated to the Asphodel Meadows Naval Special Warfare Center, 47 Ursae Majoris System, a planetary system strongly affiliated with the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence.
*User:RelentlessRecusant/UNSC Special Operations Command Procyon (3rd Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCPRO): UNSCSOCPRO is responsible for special operations forces in the "Procyon" local cluster of stars and associated planetary systems, including Alpha Canis Minoris (a.k.a. Procyon) and DX Cancri, approximately ten to fifteen light-years from Sol at a right ascension of approximately seven to eight hours. It is headquartered in the Alpha Canis Minoris System.
*User:RelentlessRecusant/UNSC Special Operations Command Indi (4th Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCIND): UNSCSOCIND is responsible for special operations forces in the "Harvest" local cluster of stars and associated planetary systems, including Epsilon Indi (Harvest) and Ross 154, approximately fifteen light-years from Sol at a right ascension of approximately sixteen hours. It is headquartered on the colony world of Harvest in the Epsilon Indi System.
*User:RelentlessRecusant/UNSC Special Operations Command Sagittarius (5th Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCSAG): UNSCSOCSAG is a newly-activated diffuse regional command established after the Human-Covenant War. It was responsible for all UNSC special operations forces over fifty light-years from Sol approximately ten to fourteen hours right ascension to Earth, that is, in the direction of the Sagittarius Arm and the Galactic Core of the Milky Way galaxy. Its jurisdiction included Beryl (Carinae-2179) and Carinae-312D (Carinae-312), and UNSCSOCSAG would become heavily involved in the post-War special missions with the Covenant Astrological Ministry to reconnoiter the Covenant Borderlands and identify Jiralhanae pirates and dissidents. 
*UNSC Special Operations Command Perseus (6th Special Forces Division, UNSCSOCPER): UNSCSOCPER is a newly-activated diffuse regional command established after the Human-Covenant War. It was responsible for all UNSC special operations forces over fifty light-years from Sol approximately four to six hours right ascension to Earth, that is, in the direction of the Perseus Arm and Outer Arm and the Outer Rim of the Milky Way galaxy.
*UNSC Special Operations Strategic Command (10th Special Forces Division, SOCSTRATCOM): SOCSTRATCOM is a joint functional command responsible for the development and deployment of UNSCSOCOM's special mission capabilities, such as electronic warfare (EW), information operations (IO), psychological operations (PSYOP), civil affairs (CA), civil-military operations (CMO), and the development and employment of chemical, biological, and nuclear (CBN) offensive capabilities.
*UNSC Progressive Warfare Division (15th Special Forces Division, PROGWARDIV): PROGWARDIV is a joint functional command responsible for the progressive development and maturation of the UNSC's special operations forces, and it is integrally involved with the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. It is colloquially known as "Section Fifteen".
===Subordinate Formations===
The UNSC Special Operations Command is comprised of an undisclosed number of special forces units from all four major uniformed services of the UNSCDF — the UNSC Army, the UNSC Navy, the UNSC Marine Corps, and the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. 
The Army special forces elements are subordinated under the UNSC Army Special Operations Command (ARSOC), and the Marine special forces elements are subordinated under the UNSC Marine Special Operations Command. The UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command (NAVSPECWARCOM) is an umbrella command that organizes special forces units from both the UNSC Navy and the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence. 
Highly classified UNSCSOCOM units that partake in sensitive activities for the Office of Naval Intelligence are specially relegated under the UNSC Progressive Warfare Command (PROGWARDIV), a joint ONI/SOCOM special forces command.
====UNSC Navy====
*UNSC Naval Special Warfare (NAVSPECWAR): Naval Special Warfare is the principal special operations force of the UNSC Navy. Recognized as one of UNSCSOCOM's premier special missions units, NAVSPECWAR is specially equipped to partake in high-risk special operations in extreme environments, such as deep space operations, orbital operations, atmospheric operations, and deep-sea oerations. Naval Special Warfare is a principal counterterrorism unit of the UNSC, partaking in counterterrorism activities whether in space, sea, or on land. UNSC Naval Special Warfare Group Six is a highly classified subdivision of NAVSPECWAR, believed to participate in either highly specialized counterterrorism operations or else in support of ambiguous Office of Naval Intelligence objectives.
*UNSC Counterforce Task Force: The Counterforce Task Force is a joint UNSC Navy/UNSC Medical Corps special missions unit specifically activated to counter weapons of mass destruction (WMD) — to prevent their manufacture and dissemination, and also to deal with the aftermath of their activation. The Counterforce Task Force is uniquely organized and armed to deal with biological, chemical, and nuclear/radiological weapons, with Medical Corps specialists to handle victims of weapons of mass destruction, augmented by Navy special-operators who seek to hunt down and disarm them before they are used. 
====UNSC Marine Corps====
 
*UNSC Marine Force Reconnaissance: Marine Force Reconnaissance is the principal counterterrorism and special activities unit of the UNSC Marine Special Operations Command, complimenting the much-larger Marine Orbital Incursion Group, the other one of the Marine Corps's special forces units. Marine Force Recon principally practices unconventional warfare as well as more sensitive special operations, such as counterterrorism as well as ONI-associated special activities. Force Reconnaissance is closely associated with UNSC Naval Special Warfare, off which it was based. 
*UNSC Marine Orbital Incursion Group (MARORBGRU): The Marine Orbital Incursion Group, more commonly known as the "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Corps" ("Helljumpers") is the second Marine special operations force, the larger cousin to Marine Force Reconnaissance. MARORBGRU specializes in orbital and airborne operations, and is defined for its advancement in the special operations insertion paradigm of orbit-to-ground vertical insertion. ODST units specialize in special deep reconnaissance into denied territories, reconnaissance-in-force, unconventional warfare, and direct action. In contrast, Marine Force Reconnaissance principally participates in more advanced special operations roles, such as counterterrorism.
====UNSC Army====
*UNSC Army Special Operations Group (ASOG): The Army Special Operations Group is the newest UNSC special operations force to be activated. A component of the UNSC Army Special Operations Command, the Army Special Forces were formerly a classified ONI assassination program ("JUST CAUSE"). During the Galactic Era, they would be reformatted into a genuine special operations force. The Special Operations Group fulfills a unique position in UNSCSOCOM doctrine, performing both "open warfare" special operations tasks such as direct action and special reconnaissance, as well as more sensitive special operations roles, such as in extremis hostage rescue and counterterrorism. 
*UNSC Army Ranger Corps (Repentance): The Army Ranger Corps are by far the largest special operations force under the control of the UNSC Special Operations Command. A corps-level formation operating a large number of divisions, the Rangers are the only UNSCSOCOM unit that integrates infantry, vehicular, and aircraft assets into a single versatile force. The Rangers operate several dozen "expeditionary forces" organized as conventional brigades that are expected to provide UNSCSOCOM's reaction to any emerging crisis in any theater of operations within several days, serving as the highly-trained quick reaction force of the UNSC Special Forces.
*UNSC Army Special Operations Aviation: Army Special Operations Aviation is an integral component to all of UNSC Special Operations Command's units across all four uniformed services. A highly unique and unusual UNSC Army/UNSC Navy joint task force, Special Operations Aviation both operates independent airborne strike and reconnaissance missions as well as provides fire support and infiltration/extraction for ground special forces teams. Special Operations Aviation operates heliborne, aircraft, and spacecraft assets to prosecute special operations, typically with Army pilots operating atmospheric assets (helicopters, dropships, aircraft) and Navy pilots operating extra-atmospheric assets (starfighters).
====UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence====
*UNSC Special Warfare Group SPARTAN: UNSC Special Warfare Group SPARTAN is the formal umbrella command for all the various SPARTAN Programs, comprising the three earliest SPARTAN iterations, the SPARTAN-Is and the SPARTAN-IIs and SPARTAN-IIIs of the Human-Covenant War. A highly classified unit jointly operated under the jurisdiction of the UNSC Office of Naval Intelligence and the UNSC Special Operations Command, Special Warfare Group SPARTAN participates in highly sensitive special activities for the Office of Naval Intelligence, operating field units like the High-Priority Assassination Program. While during the Human-Covenant War and the Memory War, SPARTAN teams were often employed in the open and brutal warfare against the Covenant, during post-War times, SPARTAN teams would largely be used in classified ONI-sanctioned covert operations as part of the UNSC Progressive Warfare Command.
*Task Force Myrmidon: One of the newest UNSC special forces units, Task Force Myrmidon is the fourth-generation iteration of the SPARTANs, integrating lessons learned from nearly a hundred years of the SPARTANs into a novel, integrated, and chemically-augmented task force. Task Force Myrmidon was created to fulfill several decades of a lack of SPARTAN Programs, designed to take decades of human innovation and technology to arm a new counterterrorism unit to face the UNSC's challenges of the 2590s, such as the Midgard Crisis. The "Myrmidons" would become an integral part of Office of Naval Intelligence operations, serving as humanity's chemically-augmented fastest, strongest, and smartest soldiers.
===Provisional Task Forces===
Division-scale task forces 
*Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Dashan: Dashan, MOA-2007-BLG-192L System
*Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force 51: Midgard, Alpha Draconis System
Brigade-scale task forces
*Joint Special Operations Task Force 452
Battalion-scale task forces
*Joint Special Operations Task Force Anaconda
*Joint Special Operations Task Force 11: Dashan, MOA-2007-BLG-192L System
Company-scale task forces
*Joint Special Operations Task Force Janelia Blue: CAM-327-17
*Special Operations Task Force Myrmidon
*Special Operations Task Force Sword
As per the UNSC's institutionalized nomenclature on task force nomenclature, all provisional task forces principally featuring Special Operations Capable forces are known as "Special Operations Task Forces". Additional qualifiers may be added as prefixes; the "Joint" designation refers to the fact that the given task force is a multiservice unit (e.g., JSOTF 452 features Navy, ONI, and Marine Corps personnel) whereas the "Combined" designation additionally denotes that the task force exists at the division level scale or above (e.g., CJSOTF Dashan has multiple brigade/regiment-level contributions and thence administratively exists at the division echelon or above).
==Known Personnel==
Personnel are alphabetically listed by their last known rank and affiliation, as of the Galactic Era
===Officers===
*Vice Admiral Kawika Son (VADM, O-9): Commander-in-Chief, UNSC Naval Special Warfare Command
*Rear Admiral Chandler Danial (RADM, O-8): Task Force Myrmidon
*Rear Admiral Evelyn Lake (RADM, O-8): Task Force Myrmidon
*Rear Admiral Randall Hayes (RADM, O-8): Task Force Myrmidon
*Rear Admiral Peter Thoreau (RADM, O-8): Task Force Myrmidon
*Colonel Curtis Freeman (COL, O-6): Marine Force Reconnaissance 
*Captain Raphael-M064 (CAPT, O-6): Task Force Myrmidon
*Commander Cassidy-G044 (CMDR, O-5): Task Force Myrmidon / SPARTAN-III Gamma Company
*Commander Lee Clayton (CMDR, O-5): Naval Special Warfare Group Six
*Major Courtney Archer West (MAJ, O-4): Army Special Operations Group
*Major Leonid Woodbury (MAJ, O-4): Marine Orbital Incursion Group
*Major Victor Stryker (MAJ, O-4): Army Ranger Corps
*Lieutenant "Delta-One" (LT, O-3): Counterterrorism Activity Warfare Section
*Lieutenant Srini Rajagopal (LT, O-3): Naval Special Warfare Group Six
*Lieutenant Jr. Grade Wakes (LTJG, O-2): Naval Special Warfare Group Six
===Enlisted===
*Master Chief Petty Officer August Plummer (MCPO, E-9): Counterterrorism Activity Warfare Section
*Master Chief Petty Officer Karen-M013 (MCPO, E-9): Task Force Myrmidon
*Master Chief Petty Officer Kimberly Ivy Blackburn (MCPO, E-9): Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge, UNSC Progressive Warfare Command
*Master Chief Petty Officer Whitney-G179 (MCPO, E-9): Task Force Myrmidon / SPARTAN-III Gamma Company
*Master Sergeant Blake Robinson (MSG, E-8): Army Special Operations Group
*Master Sergeant Lansing Lovejoy (MSG, E-8): Marine Force Reconnaissance 
*Senior Chief Petty Officer Apollo-2994 (SCPO, E-8): Task Force Myrmidon / High-Priority Assassination Program
*Sergeant First Class Gordon Hedges (SFC, E-7): Army Special Operations Group
*Chief Petty Officer Murray (CPO, E-7): Naval Special Warfare Group Six
*Chief Petty Officer "Delta-Two" (CPO, E-7): Counterterrorism Activity Warfare Section
*Staff Sergeant Alexander T. Grant (SSG, E-6): Army Special Operations Group
*Staff Sergeant Peter Lancaster (SSG, E-6): Army Special Operations Group
*Petty Officer 1st Class Katrina Woodbury (PO1, E-6): Naval Special Warfare Group Six
*Sergeant Bethany Sullvan (SGT, E-5): Army Special Operations Group
*Sergeant Pratik Shah (SGT, E-5): Army Special Operations Group
*Sergeant Randall Ridenour (SGT, E-5): Army Special Operations Group
*Petty Officer 2nd Class "Delta-Four" (PO2, E-5): Counterterrorism Activity Warfare Section
*Corporal Cosette Freeman (CPL, E-4): Marine Force Reconnaissance
==References==
*Halo: Dawn at Gethsemane
*Halo: Memory
*Halo: Common Denominator
*Halo: Vector
*Halo: Beyond Veil's Azure
*Halo: Galactic Era
Category:UNSC