United States Space Command

## Overview

The United States Space Command, also known as the USSC, were the former United States Armed Forces, before the United Earth Government was formed, and the UEG put the United States at the forefront of military defense. Out of the hundreds of billions of people over all of the colonies, only 9.3 billion are registered as USSC personnel. The Marine Corps, Army, Navy, and Air Force were the main combatants of the Human-Covenant War. The Spartans were introduced after heavy casualties by the Marine Corps, but did not see much combat.

## Marine Corps

With the second most personnel, they have some of the best and some of the worst recruits. Most of the bad recruits are flushed out in combat, leaving only the best. They have access to most weaponry able to be carried by personnel, along with the Army. The Marine Corps is the outer-planetary territory defense force and rapid response force. Their top elites are the ODSTs, who specialize in deploying behind or into enemy lines. They also have a Corps of Engineers. They use the Warthog as their scouting vehicle, with the Scorpion serving as the main battle tank, and the Mongoose as fast transport. They work closely with the Navy, as a Marine battalion is almost always present on any ship. They also work less closely with the Air Force.

## Army

With the third most personnel, they have the widest range of specialists, also going into the civilian sector. While they are mostly inactive in times of peace, other than patrolling, they are a force to reckon with in times of war. They know the areas they fight in very well, and will use any environment to their advantage. Their top elites are the Rangers, who are very specialize in local combat environments. They also have a Corps of Engineers. They are found on the inner colonies, though seldom they do break out, they only go to areas facing insurrection. They use the main battle tank of the USSC, the Scorpion, modified to better fight in urban and woodland environments. They use the Warthog as their armored security and personnel mobility vehicle. They also use the Mongoose and their variant, the Gungoose, for light hostile interdiction. Unlike the Marine Corps, they have an aerial vehicle they have access to, called the Falcon. The Falcon is used for personnel transport, and can be mounted with machine guns, grenade launchers, and always has the two front machine guns for the pilot’s use. They often work closely with the Air Force.

## Navy

The United States Naval Corps has the most personnel to its branch, holding nearly half of the personnel. The Naval Corps is split into three groups. The Planetary Naval Branch takes over for battles on the seas. The Expeditionary Naval Branch assists civilians in the colonization of planets and escorts civilian vessels between human colonies. The Space Naval Branch has the most personnel of the three branches, manning many warships with a minimum of a thousand brave men and women. The Navy works very closely with the Marine Corps and Air Force.

## Air Force

The United States Air Force has the third least personnel among all the branches. The Air Force specializes in aerial and space combat, with their many interceptors, fighters, and bombers. They are also tasked with orbital defenses around planets. Among the most iconic fighters is the Longsword, extremely maneuverable, with high speeds and firepower, making it near suicidal to attack one head on. The most iconic bomber is the Thunderbird, which can carry an auto cannon as its main weapon, and has access to modern nuclear bombs or 500 ton bombs. The pilots of this branch work very with the Army and Navy.

## Office of Naval Intelligence

The United States Office of Naval Intelligence has the second least amount of personnel, but have an unproportional amount of influence in operations, only being foiled by the Marine Corps. They do much more than gather intelligence, and conduct operations of such secrecy that they would have to terminate any who hear. Hence, not much information cannot be obtained or told to keep it secret.

## Spartan Operations

The United States Space Command Spartan Operations is a program initiated by the Office of Naval Intelligence. ONI kidnaps children at a young age, and put clones in their place. ONI then genetically modified the children, preparing them to become super soldiers, and capable of wearing the newest Trojan armor. They have access to all vehicles and weapons in production and in testing.