Commander (Covenant)
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Commander is a military rank in the armed forces of the Covenant, and the empire's remnants. The title is most typically held by the Sangheili.[1] Within the post-war era, the rank of commander has seen prominent usage by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant[2][3], the Swords of Sanghelios[4] and even mercenary outfits such as that led by Vata 'Gajat and the Banished.[5]
Overview[edit]
Covenant[edit]
Within the Covenant of old, the rank of commander (and below it, sub-commander) allowed the Sangheili to maintain unit cohesion across species.[1] They represent the primary leadership of the Covenant in ground engagements, and provide overall strategic direction to the Sangheili, Kig-Yar and Unggoy units under their command.[6][2]
Covenant special forces[edit]
Within the Covenant's Special Warfare Group, Commanders were tasked with leading specialised strike teams of special warfare personnel. This included Covenant Special Operations, in which Commanders led strike teams consisting of a sub-commander and several Special Operations Officers[7] - personnel serving in this role were sometimes termed "SpecOps Commanders".[8][9][10] Commanders also served in the Fleet Security's Ranger divisions, leading detachments of Ranger personnel in the field.[11]
Covenant remnants[edit]
Following the dissolution of the Covenant, many seasoned and battle-hardened Sangheili went on to form the backbone of leadership within the Covenant's various successor states. For many, this involved becoming commanders of their own successor faction, who in turn formed alliances with one another throughout the Covenant sphere.[12] The more experienced of these warlords, those who served in the old Covenant for decades in both ground and space warfare, became an integral backbone for some of the larger post-Covenant groups, such as the faction led by Jul 'Mdama. Their experience allowed them to rapidly gain respect within the alliance, and power to go along with it.[6][2]
Equipment[edit]
Armor[edit]
Within the Covenant empire, Commanders serving in Covenant Special Operations employed the Gheocin-pattern combat harness in a grey-white colouration similar to that of the Evocati, and equipped with active camouflage.[7][13] Commanders of Ranger detachments generally employed the standard Tlaipoz-pattern and Ebgione-pattern exo harnesses - the former of which would be worn in a gold colouration.[14][15] The precise preferences of mainline Covenant military commanders are unknown, though they may have employed harness designs in a gold command colouration similar to generals and Zealots.[16]
Sangheili Commander harnesses - particularly those used by post-war groups such as Jul 'Mdama and the Swords of Sanghelios - can be described as a more sophisticated set of the Storm harness with both sporting the same lower body armor and chest harnesses of Hesduron aesthetic principle; Commanders on the other hand wear more angular shoulder-pads, wrist-guards, a smooth bodysuit and a much more ornate helmet. Commander harnesses appear similar to the suits worn by Sangheili Officers of the original Covenant in terms of design, although the Commander's set is colored a deep claret compared with the Officer's scarlet.[6] They can also occasionally be found in a green[17][citation needed] and gold[18] combat harness. The raised claw on their boots are reminiscent of ancient ceremonial armor.[6]
Though, it has been seen that few known post-war Commanders have worn different armor. In the case of Gek 'Lhar, he wore the Storm harness without a helmet. In the case of Parg Vol and Kitun 'Arach, they wore the standard Warrior harness used by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant.
Weaponry[edit]
The deployments of Covenant-era commanders are little-known, and thus their particular preferences are similarly unknown. Commanders in SpecOps units, such as Rtas 'Vadum, were prominent swordsmen and made heavy use of the energy sword.[7]
Commanders within Jul 'Mdama's Covenant group have been known to wield both the infamous Mosa-pattern carbine and the devastating Zebando'Taa-pattern concussion rifle. They rarely engage enemy forces without heavy firepower at their disposal.[2]