Canon

Chief of Naval Operations

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An illustration of Terrence Hood,
Fleet Admiral Lord Terrence Hood, the current Chief of Naval Operations

Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) is an office of the UNSC Naval Command held by a high-ranking flag officer, typically a fleet admiral, who is the UNSC Navy's senior officer.[1]

Background[edit]

It is a purely administrative office and such an officer does not exercise command over naval operating forces. However, the Chief of Naval Operations is also dual-hatted as Commander-in-Chief Fleet (CINCFLEET),[2] and in this capacity, presides over the Navy's primary combatant command with authority over the Fleet's vast array of warships and small craft. The CNO is the Navy representative to the UNSC Security Council at HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 in Sydney, Australia;[1][3] the Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence (CINCONI) who leads the United Nations Space Command's intelligence service, despite being a subordinate command of the Navy, sits on the council in an equal capacity.[3]

The Deputy Chief of Naval Operations serves as one of the CNO's main staff officers.

The former Covenant rank of Imperial Admiral may have held a similar position within the now-disbanded Covenant fleet's command structure. Likewise for the Lord of Admirals title held by humanity's Ancestors civilization.

History[edit]

Chief of Naval Operations was a title first observed in use by the United States Navy in 1915, and later modified by the United States Space Force as the Chief of Space Operations in 2019; the UNSC continued this office in the same capacity. The British Royal Navy maintained the position of Commander-in-Chief Fleet from 1971 to 2012 before replacing the position with Fleet Commander.

Lord Terrence Hood assumed his duties as Chief of Naval Operations/Commander-in-Chief Fleet sometime before September 4, 2552.[1] During his tenure as CNO/CINCFLEET, Lord Hood has served concurrently in vital posts during the Human-Covenant War's final year and in the years following, as Commander, Home Fleet during the Battle of Earth and as one of President Ruth Charet's main diplomatic envoys to the war-ravaged colonies and to the former Covenant.[4][5][6][7][8][3]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Halo: First Strike, page 100
  2. ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 209
  3. ^ a b c Halo: Escalation, Issue 1
  4. ^ Halo 2, level Cairo Station
  5. ^ Halo 3, level The Storm
  6. ^ Halo 3, level Floodgate
  7. ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 70
  8. ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 358-360