Killed in action

"Looks like a Covenant patrol. Badass Elite units, all KIA."

- Sergeant Avery J. Johnson to Captain Jacob Keyes on Alpha Halo

Killed in Action, better known as KIA, is a casualty classification used by the United Nations Space Command that denotes the death of a serviceman during or after a combat mission or situation.

Due to the need to increase morale in the UNSC armed forces, the Office of Naval Intelligence issued a directive requiring that SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III casualties be listed as Missing in Action or Wounded in Action, to create the illusion that such personnel were invincible. The SPARTAN-IIs would put a fallen member's status as MIA or WIA on their team's rosters.