Editing Operation: RED FLAG

{{Era|HCW}}

[[Admiral]] [[Margaret Parangosky]], head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, would first reference RED FLAG in a letter to [[Vice Admiral]] [[Michael Stanforth|Stanforth]] on [[2552#July 19|July 19th, 2552]].<ref name="three">'''Halo Waypoint''', ''[[Data Drop]] 3''</ref>

*'''Phase One''' — The first objective of the operation consisted of the disabling and capture of a Covenant flagship carrier (either a [[CAS-class assault carrier]] or a [[CSO-class supercarrier]]). For the first phase, [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey]] selected [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] for [[Keyes Loop|his exemplary performance]] during the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], and his newly fitted cruiser, the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}. For the completion of the mission, Stanforth was willing to risk his own ships in order to bait any artifact-retrieval ships into going planetside.

Despite the [[Fall of Reach]], the loss of most of the SPARTAN-II force assigned to the operation, the death of almost all ''Pillar of Autumn'''s crew, and the destruction of the vessel at [[Battle of Installation 04]], [[John-117]] had every intention of continuing Operation: RED FLAG, despite arguments against it by [[Elias Haverson|Lieutenant Elias Haverson]] and Cortana. During the [[Skirmish over Threshold]], the Master Chief actually succeeded in part of the operation by capturing the {{Class|DDS|carrier}} ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'', but lacked the personnel to continue the mission. The Master Chief only agreed to not continue the mission after proper instructions were given by the [[UNSC High Command|Admiralty]] on Earth.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''pages 90-93''</ref> RED FLAG was also considered as a possible way to stop the planned Covenant attack on Earth, but was discarded as an option as John-117 knew that they couldn't risk the ''Gettysburg''-''Ascendant Justice''. Instead, the SPARTANS went with [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE]].

[[File:H2A JohnVsRegret.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Death of the Prophet of Regret.]]

Ultimately, the plans would be canceled by a lack of resources and manpower. The [[Battle of Earth|invasion of Earth]] began shortly after the remains of RED FLAG arrived back at the homeworld, effectively scrubbing any chances of a high-risk offensive by special warfare units accompanied by fleet support.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', level [[''Cairo Station'']]</ref> However, events initiated within the ranks of the [[Hierarchs]] and [[High Council]] would provide a similar outcome to that envisioned by High Command and Naval Intelligence just months before. An ongoing feud between the increasing [[Jiralhanae]] threat encroaching on [[Sangheili]] commanders throughout the military planned by the Hierarchs would ultimately culminate in its fall, the [[Great Schism]] tore a rift between these two castes, with the former of the two species becoming the favored guardians of the [[Great Journey]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', level [[''Tayari Plaza'']]</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', level [[Gravemind (level)|''Gravemind'']]</ref> These events came to a head following Supreme Commander [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee's failure to prevent the [[Battle of Installation 04|destruction of Installation 04]], causing considerable turmoil within the Covenant. Taking advantage of these brewing events, on November 2, 2552, the former Spartan leader of RED FLAG managed to infiltrate a heavily-occupied area on [[Installation 05]] (Delta Halo), defeat a detachment of [[Honor Guard of the Covenant|Sangheili Honor Guardsmen]], and assassinate the [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]], having been informed of the Covenant's ultimate goal: the firing of the Halo rings.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', level [[Regret (Halo 2 level)|''Regret'']]</ref> Just days after during a [[Flood]] assault on ''[[High Charity]]'', the [[Prophet of Mercy|High Prophet of Mercy]] was killed by the spreading infection in front of John-117.

A month later, a joint Human-Sangheili force of the [[Fleet of Retribution]] led by [[Miranda Keyes|Commander Miranda Keyes]] began an [[Battle of the Citadel|operation]] to destroy the remaining command elements of the [[Prophet of Truth|High Prophet of Truth]] and his fleet at the [[Installation 00 Citadel|Citadel]]. This joint force destroyed a handful of Covenant infantry forces, in addition to their armor and aerial assets. The push to the Citadel ultimately led to end of the Human-Covenant War with the assassination of the Prophet of Truth by [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]], with John-117 as witness.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', level [[The Covenant (level)|''The Covenant'']]</ref>

*The capture of ''[[Ascendant Justice]]'' effectively completed the first part of Operation: RED FLAG. Ironically, while the mission was slated to be performed by Spartans aided by the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}, ''Ascendant Justice'' was captured by [[John-117|a single Spartan]], [[Locklear|an ODST]], [[Avery Johnson|a Marine]], [[Elias Haverson|an ONI officer]], [[Shiela Polaski|a pilot]] and [[Cortana|an AI]] using only a [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican]] dropship and a [[Longsword]] fighter. Later, [[Blue Team]] also effectively completed the first part of the mission again when they captured the Covenant {{Class|CPV|heavy destroyer}} ''[[Bloodied Spirit]]'' during the [[Battle for Earth]], an operation that was aided and made much easier by what was learned from the earlier capture of the ''Ascendant Justice''.

*The hijacking of the {{Class|SDV|heavy corvette}} ''[[Ardent Prayer]]'' during [[Operation: UPPER CUT]] could also be considered a completion of the first part of this operation. However, ''Ardent Prayer'' was only taken over for the sole purpose of destroying the Covenant {{Class|CSO|supercarrier}} ''[[Long Night of Solace]]'' with both ships being destroyed at the end of the operation.

**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|Limited Edition]]'' {{Mo}}