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22nd Tactical

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22nd Tactical

Active:

Destroyed on September 22, 2552

Affiliation:

Unified Earth Government[1]

Branch:

United Nations Space Command

Type:

Shock Infantry

Size:

400 ODSTs[4]

Engagements:

Commanders:

 

22nd Tactical was a battalion of the 105th Shock Troops Division stationed aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn to support the SPARTAN-IIs during Operation: RED FLAG.[6] The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers of the battalion were a crucial element of the United Nations Space Command resistance campaign against the Fleet of Particular Justice during the Battle of Installation 04.

History[edit]

Fall of Reach[edit]

By August 30, the 22nd Tactical was onboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn while the vessel participated in the space engagement over Reach and the Battle of Asźod. On this same day, Major Antonio Silva, the battalion commander, complained to Captain Jacob Keyes about the SPARTAN-IIs taking all M90 shotguns from the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's armories, forcing the ODSTs of the 22nd Tactical to use M45E shotguns instead.[7]

Battle of Installation 04[edit]

On September 19, 2552, after arriving out of slipstream space, the ODSTs of 22nd Tactical were awakened from cryonics and assigned to defend the experimental power plant of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn from Covenant boarding parties. The ODSTs were so successful in protecting the power plant from Covenant boarders that they had to stack the bodies of Covenant Warriors to maintain clear fields of fire.[5] In addition to the defending the power plant, the 22nd Tactical was ordered to defend Bulkhead Charlie 14, and Cortana and CAPT Keyes directed multiple Combat Teams to defend Port Decks Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, and Eleven, and to Starboard Decks Eight and Ten.[8] Fireteam Raven managed to reactivate downed M910 Rampart point-defence guns, after Covenant forces knocked it offline.[9] Once CAPT Keyes issued the evacuation order, 216 ODSTs of the 22nd Tactical conducted an orbital drop onto Installation 04 using a mix of M8823 and M8900 drop pods.[10][9][Note 1]

Once on the surface of Installation 04, 22nd Tactical regrouped with several D77 Pelicans of the 23rd Naval Air Squadron and launched an assault on a Covenant-held butte near their landing zone. B Company led by First Lieutenant Melissa McKay launched a ground assault on the butte while C Company conducted an aerial insertion. MAJ Silva, meanwhile, led A Company and D Company in the defense of the battalion's Headquarters as the Covenant assaulted their position, before having the Headquarters organization and himself join C Company in the aerial assault of the butte. After securing the butte, the 22nd Tactical established Alpha Base that would serve as the UNSC's primary base of operations for the majority of the Battle of Installation 04.[11]

Upon learning where CAPT Keyes is being held prisoner, MAJ Silva orders Fireteam Charlie, led by Sergeant Parker, and Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 to raid the Truth and Reconciliation and extract all prisoners.[12] As MCPO John-117 and Fireteam Charlie cleared out Covenant ground forces guarding the area around the Truth and Reconciliation, Second Lieutenant Dalu and a team followed behind in Echo 419 to secure Covenant infantry weaponry, tools, rations, communication equipment, power packs, and Shade turrets for transport back to Alpha Base. After taking heavy casualties during the boarding action, the remaining ODSTs of Fireteam Charlie were eliminated by Stealth Sangheili while they attempted to guard the vessel's bridge.[13]

On September 20, 2552, the 23rd Naval Air Squadron transported B Company to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's crash site to gather additional equipment, ammunition, vehicles, and supplies to sustain the UNSC Navy and UNSC Marine Corps Service Members who landed without supplies. B Company arrived at the crash site, eliminated the Covenant forces guarding the wreckage, secured multiple Mongooses, Warthogs, Scorpions, UH-144 Falcons, and several of the ship's point-defense guns, and linked up with Fireteam Raven who was separated from the battalion during the orbital drop.[14] On the return journey to Alpha Base, the supply convoy managed to break through a Covenant ambush, led by Field Master Noga 'Putumee.[15]

On September 21, 2552, Special Operations Officer Zuka 'Zamamee infiltrated Alpha Base with a file of Special Operations Sangheili to hunt down MCPO John-117 and to extract Special Operations Unggoy Major Yapyap, while Field Master Noga 'Putumee led an assault to retake the butte from the UNSC. Two of the recovered M808B and M808C Scorpions from the UNSC Pillar of Autumn were placed in hull-down positions around Alpha Base and managed to deal heavy damage to the Covenant assault forces, including eliminating Field Master Noga 'Putumee.[16] Fireteam Raven repelled Covenant forces deployed from the Upright Chalice during the engagement.[17] After successfully defending Alpha Base, B Company laid a trap for Covenant reconnaissance flights; during the ambush, the ODSTs made contact with the Flood. 1LT McKay managed to capture the Flood-infected Private First Class Wallace A. Jenkins during the firefight and bring him back to Alpha Base for interrogation.[18] After Master Chief John-117 regained contact with the UNSC forces, Wellsley sent Fireteam Raven into the canyons around the Control Room to thin out Covenant and Flood forces in the area while the SPARTAN-II delayed Installation 04's firing mechanisms.[19]

On September 22, 2552, after MCPO John-117 conducted a second raid on the Truth and Reconciliation in an attempt to rescue CAPT Keyes,[20] Fireteam Raven is sent by Wellsley to hold off Covenant and Flood forces while the SPARTAN-II triggers the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's self-destruct mechanism.[21] MAJ Silva launches an assault on the Truth and Reconciliation with all UNSC forces under his command, capturing the Minor Prophet of Stewardship in the process. After securing the Ket-pattern battlecruiser, the ODSTs discovered that the Covenant had repaired the vessel enough that it was capable of space travel. MAJ Silva, blinded by glory, planned to violate the Cole Protocol by having Wellsely pilot the battlecruiser directly to Earth to deliver the Minor Prophet of Stewardship, samples of the Flood, and the first-ever captured Covenant vessel to the Office of Naval Intelligence, all to prove his belief that ODSTs are superior to SPARTAN-IIs. His plans did not come to fruition, however, as the Flood-infested PVT Jenkins convinced 1LT McKay to sabotage the still partially Flood-infested vessel and prevent the Flood from attacking Earth. All ODSTs of the battalion onboard the Truth and Reconciliation perished when the battlecruiser crashed into the surface of Installation 04,[22] and Fireteam Raven and any other ODSTs of the battalion remaining on the surface of Installation 04 perished when the UNSC Pillar of Autumn detonated.[21][23]

Corporal Locklear, the only known ODST of the battalion to survive the Battle of Installation 04,[24] would go on to participate in the capture of the Ascendant Justice,[25] the rescue of Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb and 8 SPARTAN-IIs from Reach,[26] and sacrificed himself to destroy the Menachite Forerunner crystal trapping the UNSC Gettysburg-Ascendant Justice inside of a Slipspace anomaly.[27]

Organization[edit]

The 22nd Tactical was a battalion comprised of 400 ODSTs, divided into four companies.[11]

The following units have a currently undefined place within the existing command structure;

Personnel[edit]

Equipment[edit]

Unlike ordinary ODST units, the majority of the ODSTs assigned to the 22nd Tactical wore green UNSC Marine Corps Battle Dress Uniforms instead of black ODST Battle Dress Uniforms.[11][14][24] The battalion also deployed a mix of M8823 Human Entry Vehicles and M8900 Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicles, rather than relying on a single model.[9][4] The battalion was equipped with Wellsley, a 4th-generation, Class-C military Nonvolitional AI, with the battalion commander's command pod containing high-powered imaging gear for the AI and an armored matrix to transport it after landing.[11][22]

Only Major Silva and Fireteam Raven are the only known ODSTs of the 22nd Tactical to have worn ODST BDUs during the Battle of Installation 04.[28] With Ava Lang wearing purple-painted ODST/DEMO BDUs, Ethan Graves wearing blue-painted ODST/TAC BDUs, Marcus Hudson wearing orange-painted ODST/COMM BDUs, and Victor Ramos wearing green-painted ODST/HVY BDUs.

Trivia[edit]

  • 22nd Tactical is below half-strength for a UNSC Marine Corps battalion. The normal strength size of a UNSCMC battalion is 900 Marines[29], while the 22nd Tactical stands at only 400 ODSTs. The battalion's understrength status is also reflected in its company sizes. B Company is stated to have 130 ODSTs; that leaves only 270 ODSTs to fill the other three companies, or 90 ODSTs per company. A normal-strength UNSCMC company is supposed to have 180 Marines. Furthermore, the unit being understrength is represented by its lack of Commissioned Officers; a battalion commander is typically a Lieutenant Colonel, the battalion executive officer is a Major, a company commander is a Captain, a company executive officer is a First Lieutenant, and a platoon commander is a Second Lieutenant; however, First Lieutenant Melissa McKay is shown to be serving as the Battalion executive officer, a company commander, and a platoon commander at the same time, while Major Silva serves as the battalion commander.

List of appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ In Chapter 2 of Halo: The Flood states that around 400 ODSTs landed in the orbital drop, but Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo states that the UNSC Pillar of Autumn only had 216 drop pods.
  2. ^ GYSGT Waller was originally referred to as an ODST in Halo: The Flood, however the 2010 and later editions of the novel removed all references to him being an ODST.
  3. ^ SGT Parker was originally referred to as an ODST in Halo: The Flood, however the 2010 and later editions of the novel removed all references to him being an ODST.
  4. ^ PFC Hosky was originally referred to as an ODST in Halo: The Flood, however the 2010 and later edition of the novel removed all references to him being an ODST.

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bungie.net, Halo 3 ODST : Field Guide - ODST (Retrieved on May 25, 2013) [local archive] [external archive]
  2. ^ Halo Waypoint, ODST (Retrieved on Oct 27, 2015) [archive]
  3. ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 131
  4. ^ a b Halo: Warfleet, page 25
  5. ^ a b Halo: The Flood, chapter 1
  6. ^ Halo: Campaign Evolved, Terminals - The Maw
  7. ^ Data Drops, Data Drop 6
  8. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Pillar of Autumn
  9. ^ a b c Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Escape
  10. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 25
  11. ^ a b c d Halo: The Flood, chapter 2
  12. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 3
  13. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 4
  14. ^ a b Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Rubble
  15. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 6
  16. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 8
  17. ^ Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Alpha Base
  18. ^ Halo: The Flood, chapter 9
  19. ^ Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Ice Canyon
  20. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Keyes
  21. ^ a b Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Last Stand
  22. ^ a b Halo: The Flood, chapter 12
  23. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level The Maw
  24. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, chapter 6
  25. ^ Halo: First Strike, chapter 8
  26. ^ Halo: First Strike, chapter 20
  27. ^ Halo: First Strike, chapter 30
  28. ^ Halo: Fireteam Raven, In game models
  29. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 57
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