Editing Special Operations Commander

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Merge|Sangheili Commander}}
{{Unit infobox|variant=Cov
|name=Special Operations Commander
|image=[[File:H2A Rtas-Ingame.png|250px]]
|species=[[Sangheili]]
|affiliation=[[Covenant]]
|branch=[[Covenant Special Operations]]
|mission=Commander of Special Operations
|armament=
|equipment=
|notable=[[Rtas 'Vadum]] 
}}

'''Special Operations Commander''' was a high [[Covenant]] [[Sangheili]] rank. Special Operations Commanders held authority over all [[Covenant Special Operations|Special Operations forces]] within a [[Covenant fleet|fleet]].<ref name="vis">'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 175''</ref><ref>'''[[The Official Halo 2 Strategy Guide]]''', ''page 121''</ref>{{Ref/Note|In the ''Halo 2'' developer commentary included with the ''[[Halo 3 Legendary Edition]]'', [[Jason Jones]] refers to Rtas 'Vadumee as "Special Operations Commander of the Covenant", implying that 'Vadumee is the commander-in-chief of the entire Special Operations division. However, ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' gives Vadumee's rank as "Special Operations Commander" and suggests that the title is not unique. The latter source is considered authoritative as it is newer and comes from [[343 Industries]].}}

==Background==
The title of Special Operations Commander was the highest known office attainable by a Sangheili in the Covenant Special Operations division. They held considerable political and military authority; a Special Operations Commander was placed in command of all the personnel and matériel of a fleet's Special Operations detachment and had the honor of speaking directly to the [[Hierarchs]] and relaying their messages to the [[High Council]].<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Sacred Icon (level)|Sacred Icon]]''</ref> It is unclear whether the position remains in service with any of the various [[Covenant remnants]] active as of [[2558]], with the possible exception of [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]'s [[Swords of Sanghelios]].

[[Rtas 'Vadum]]ee, Special Operations Commander of the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]], led his forces near [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]] in [[2552#September|September 2552]],<ref>'''Halo Graphic Novel''': ''The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor''</ref> near [[Threshold]] in [[2552#October|October]],<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign levels ''[[The Arbiter]]'' and ''[[The Oracle]]''</ref> and at [[Installation 05]] in early [[2552#November|November]]. He later joined the Arbiter against the [[San'Shyuum]] and [[Jiralhanae]] (who had betrayed the entire Sangheili species) at the outbreak of the [[Great Schism]].<ref>Halo 2, campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref> 'Vadumee (now 'Vadum) would come to humanity's aid during the Covenant's [[Battle of Earth|invasion of Earth]], turning the tide of the campaign and contributing to the Covenant's destruction at [[Installation 00|the Ark]] in [[2552#December|December 2552]].<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign levels ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]'' and ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref>

==Production notes==
This rank is often titled "Special Operations Commander" (or similar) in various works, though much of this comes down to an oft-repeated misconception on the part of the ''Halo'' fanbase and older pages on Halopedia. The term "SpecOps Commander" was used throughout the [[Development of Halo 2|production]] of ''[[Halo 2]]'' to refer to the character of [[Rtas 'Vadum]], who had not been named at the time. This labelling can be seen in the game files for the character tag, and even in published media such as the [[Halo 2: The Official Strategy Guide|''Halo 2'' strategy guide]] (a source with dubious canon authority) and the ''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]'' commentary for the story ''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]'', in which author [[Lee Hammock]] refers to Rtas as "the SpecOps Commander".{{Ref/Comic|HGN|Story=The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor|Page=55}} Crucially, the story itself does not refer to the rank of "SpecOps Commander" at any point, only referring to the characters of Rtas 'Vadum and [[Bero 'Kusovai]] as commander and sub-commander, respectively.

In-universe sources for the rank of "SpecOps Commander" were first published in the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'' and repeated in its [[Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition)|2011 reprint]], which discuss Rtas 'Vadum as having "''been reassigned to the position of SpecOps Commander''".{{Ref/Reuse|Enc11}} This is repeated in the ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide|Essential Visual Guide]]'' page on the character with mostly identical wording; neither of which discuss the rank as a particular title and can be easily interpreted as referring to a Special Operations Commander in the same way one may refer to an "SAS General". Given the [[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)#Reception and errors|many errors]] present throughout the 2009 encyclopedia, this source is generally considered untrustworthy should alternates be available.

More recent media published by [[343 Industries]] has almost entirely neglected to mention the idea of the "Spec Ops Commander"; the first mention within more recent media occured in the [[2016]] novel ''[[Halo: Envoy]]'' during which [[Rojka 'Kasaan]] refers to [[Keza]] as "''one of his special operations commanders''" - with no capitalisation, suggesting the title is not intended as a proper noun, but instead a general descriptor.{{Ref/Novel|HEnv|Chapter=8}} More recently, the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]'' discusses the ranks of commander and sub-commander as general ranks employed throughout the Covenant military in a similar fashion to [[Major (Covenant)|Major]] or [[Minor]],{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}, while the book's page on Rtas 'Vadum explicitly states he "''served as '''a''' Special Operations commandeer''" - explicitly avoiding to call him a Special Operations Commander, presented as a proper noun.{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=250}} Given that the concept of a Sangheili Commander rank was fully established within ''[[Halo 4]]'' (and its supporting media such as the [[Halo 4 Interactive Guide|Interactive Guide]] and ''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''), it would seem that the concept of a Special Operations Commander rank was based on a misreading of game data and ambiguous wording in early ''Halo'' media, and one [[343 Industries]] has consciously gone out of their way to retcon/ ignore.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 2]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
**''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadow of Intent]]''
*''[[Halo: Envoy]]''

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Sangheili Ranks}}