Special operations

Special operations are a unique class of specialized military operations that include reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions, and are typically conducted by small groups of highly-trained personnel, emphasizing sufficiency, stealth, speed, and tactical coordination, commonly known as "special forces".

Special operations are commonly conducted by various organizations in the Halo universe by specialized military forces of the Covenant and the UNSC, being utilized in varying areas by each faction in turn.

UNSC Special Forces
The UNSC Special Forces is humanity's elite special warfare branch. Various units operate under the UNSC branch, such as the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers of the UNSC Marine Corps, and the SPARTAN-II and III super-soldiers of the UNSC Navy and the Office of Naval Intelligence, respectively.

Covenant Special Operations
Part of Special Warfare Group, the Special Operations is the Covenant's equivalent to the UNSC's special forces. Personnel serving under the division are sent in many combat environments, including those without high-risk, as typically expected in the context of a specialized operation. These castes include Special Operations Elites and Special Operations Grunts, Jackals and Hunters being the notable exceptions from the Covenant species with Special Operations units.

Disambiguation
The term special operations or SpecOps could refer to the following:


 * Covenant Special Operations - Covenant's equivalent to the UNSC's special forces.
 * Special Operations Sangheili - A standard Sangheili member of the Special Operations.
 * Special Operations Officer - An officer of the Special Operations.
 * Special Operations Commander - A high position that commands a fleet's Special Operations forces.
 * Special Operations Unggoy - A standard Unggoy member of the Special Operations.
 * SpecOps (commendation) - A campaign commendation in Reach.