Orbital Drop Shock Troopers

The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs), colloquially known as Helljumpers are an UNSC Marine Corps Special Forces unit. They are renowned for their toughness and take immense pride in their "elite" ethos.

Origins
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or "Helljumpers", have their roots in the paratroopers of 20th and 21st century fame, who dropped frequently behind enemy lines to capture buildings, bridges, and other important military and industrial targets in anticipation for a larger advance by more conventional military forces. Such troops were first used in 1939 by the German Wehrmacht in World War Two to overrun the Allied defence forces in Holland and the legendary Eben Emaelfortress in Belgium. However, the origin of dropping humans from orbit comes from the Martian Campaign of 2163, where Marines were dropped onto Mars in support of UN forces against the Neo-Communist Koslovics.

Human-Covenant War
ODSTs were operating as early as 2525. The first, and most elite division of ODSTs were the 105th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Division, most known as Helljumpers ad his phrase ( jump feet first into the hell ) which quickly gained a reputation as a brutal but effective fighting force. They are often referred to as 'elite' and seem to have a class of their own, often coming right after the brutes, elites, and spartans.

Barring the personnel of the SPARTAN programs, ODSTs are one of the most effective forms of troops available to the UNSC, and the expectations placed on ODST units made them all-volunteer outfits, with some outsiders regarding such volunteers as 'crazy'. By 2552 their strength had swelled to a larger number of divisions in an attempt to fill the demands of the Human-Covenant War. Some ODSTs actively participated in training the SPARTAN-IIs, but the efficiency of that program was demonstrated when a single SPARTAN-II killed three ODSTs and left one severely wounded during an exercise. These fatalities resulted in ODSTs having a disdain of the SPARTANS, as they were "Freaks" in Silva's case and not even worthy of being Human.

Operations


ODSTs are known for their unorthodox methods of insertion, including orbital drops onto terrestrial environments.

Similar to regular Marines, the ODSTs maintain units of varying strength aboard many UNSC vessels and installations. ODST units were present aboard the, the , the , the , and Cairo Station.

While they are human, they are, overall, very different from marines in the sense that they take the most dangerous, crazy, and suicidal missions. They have no physical differences between the Marines, but they are always ready to "Jump feet first into hell" as their motto goes (This motto comes from the intense heat inside the HEV drop pods. The heat inside these pods is what coined the nickname 'Hell Jumpers' ), and dive into fights they may not return from, which shows an outstanding level of courage, honor, valor and sometimes, pure insanity. Due to this reputation, some contingents amongst the UNSC Navy believe that the ODST soldiers are peculiar, and the ODSTs think that UNSC personnel, due to the fact that they stay in space, rather than join in the fight below.

They also drop into areas that are under heavy assault, or are heavily guarded by enemy troops. Their primary objective for these situations is to clear the enemies and set up an LZ for Pelican drop ships to land or deploy Marine reinforcements. Without the use of the ODST clearing an area, the Pelicans would be unable to land. An example of this is on Delta Halo, during the events of Halo 2. The ODSTs, accompanied by the Master Chief, must clear a landing zone so that Pelicans could drop off a Warthog. Because of the nature of their missions, many dead ODST troops can be found lying on the floor in the Halo games.

Equipment
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers use advanced equipment, specifically made for their purpose and missions.

Body Suit

 * Main article: Body Suit



The ODST's, in addition to using normal Marine equipment, use a specially made body suit. It is completely black and sealed off, allowing for extra-vehicular operations and makes them immune to being infected by flood. It has heating and cooling systems to mask the infrared signature of the wearer, and it also has a oxygen tank capable of allowing 15 minutes in space. The helmet contains state of the art communications gear, along with a HUD and thermal and motion detectors.

During the Battle of the Ark, the ODST's appear to have colors on their shoulder armor which may denote ranking. There were 3-4 "whites" along with one "red," possibly meaning a red patch stands for Squad Leader or the Sergeant, while white would be more akin to a Squad Member, this is very likely due to the fact that he is far more aggressive than the other ODST's and that he also often leads his teammates into combat. A white patch with a red cross symbolizes a squad medic. (It also bears noticing that in cut scenes showing ODSTs, their shoulder armor does not show any color and just appear black. This is, however, due to how the cinematics were designed for the game.)

Human Entry Vehicles

 * Main article: Human Entry Vehicle



The Human Entry Vehicle (HEV) is a tear-drop shaped pod made of Titanium-A, Lead Foil, and a ceramic skin. They are known for their risky use, as they can die either from the intense heat on re-entry, the extreme G-forces, the force of hitting a terrestrial target, or, the parachute may not open to slow the HEV down. This is the main reason why many consider the ODSTs to be "insane".

The HEV also carries weapons, ammunition, food, a radio, and a cubicle for shelter in case the ODST is ever dropped off target or they need to fight immediately when they hit the ground.

Armed Assault Boats

 * Main article: Armed Assault Boats

Armed Assault Boats were aerial vehicles used by the UNSC Navy and UNSC Marine Corps to deploy Orbital Drop Shock Troopers to a ground target. However, the armed assault boats proved to be ineffective, taking heavy fire once within ground firing range and they were also very slow. The UNSC Navy had ultimately replaced them with the HEV's.

Notable Actions
ODSTs were on board the Pillar of Autumn upon the discovery of Alpha Halo. An ODST group led by Major Antonio Silva was later instrumental in frustrating Covenant attempts to purge the ring-world of the Pillar of Autumn's survivors.

Members of the 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion would go into the Outskirts of New Mombasa in support of the capture of the Prophet of Regret. They were in a separate Pelican fired upon by a Scarab. They fought through the outskirts before linking up to the main UNSC advance. Their battle is showcased in the bonus video: Another Day at the Beach.

Members of the 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion would later drop from In Amber Clad onto Delta Halo. They then cleared a landing zone so that a Warthog could be deployed for John-117. Later, they were dropped from the to assist John-117 again, during the Battle of Installation 00 near the Ark and the Citadel.

Two ODSTs fought in the Battle of Pawas in 2552. Bravo-21 and Bravo-22, were tasked with calculating the crash site of the Master Chief on Earth, while a Marine Battalion was tasked with defending a narrow corridor between Covenant and UNSC forces in Pakistan. Bravo-21 and numerous Marines were killed in the fighting, while Bravo-22 was injured along with the other marine survivors

List of known ODSTs
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 * Major Antonio Silva: Killed In Action
 * First Lieutenant Melissa McKay: Killed In Action
 * Second Lieutenant Dalu: Killed In Action
 * Second Lieutenant Oros: Killed In Action
 * Master Sergeant Lister: Killed In Action
 * Company Sergeant Tink Carter: Killed In Action
 * Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker: Active
 * Gunnery Sergeant Waller: Killed In Action
 * Sergeant Corly: Killed In Action
 * Sergeant Parker: Killed In Action
 * Corporal Locklear: Killed In Action
 * Lance Corporal "Snaky" Jones: Missing In Action
 * Private First Class Hosky: Killed In Action
 * Private Butkis: Active
 * Private Jones: Active
 * Private O'Brian: Killed In Action
 * Private Marie Postly: Killed In Action
 * Private Satha: Killed In Action
 * Private Walpole: Active
 * Al-Thani: Killed In Action
 * Dawkins: Killed In Action
 * "Doc" Valdez : Killed In Action
 * Joe: Active
 * Murphy: Missing In Action
 * Suzuki: Killed In Action
 * Yutrzenika: Killed In Action
 * T. Rymann: Killed In Action
 * S. Hartley: Wounded In Action

Known ODST Units



 * 105th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Division
 * 2nd Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion
 * 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion
 * First Platoon
 * 340th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Combat Training Unit
 * Echo Team
 * Kilo Team
 * 105th Drop Jet Platoon
 * Alpha Team

Trivia

 * ODSTs only appear in five levels in the Halo series. The levels are Delta Halo and Cairo Station (Halo 2), The Ark, The Covenant, and Cortana (although deceased in Halo 3).
 * According to Halo: First Strike, ODST's wear and sport normal Marine uniforms during the Battle of Installation 04, rather than their space suits.
 * On the right side of an ODST's body armor is a Chinese character which, when translated, means roughly complete Bad Ass, a reference to the ODST's hardcore attitude. Next to the character is the marathon symbol. Putting these symbols together spells the Chinese word "混蛋", also meaning "Badass" or "Bastard".
 * The ODST with the Flamethrower has a Marathon symbol on his chest, which is found on the High Charity level "Cortana."
 * ODST's can also be deployed in Long Range HEVs or "Para-sails" from long distances away from the planet.
 * Onboard the UNSC Carrier Atlas, Spartan-117 had a confrontational moment with four ODST's in the ship's gym. John had removed a pin from the weights at the bench press, and forgot to put it back. The ODST's walked into the gym and went straight to the bench press. The weights fell and almost crushed one of the soldier's foot. A fight ensued and John killed two of the ODSTs and severely injured the others. Ever since then, relations between the Spartans and the ODST's have been relatively uneasy.  This does not seem to stop them from working to their utmost efficiency during the Battle of the Ark.
 * On the level Delta Halo, several dead ODSTs can be found.
 * There is an ODST helmet Armor permutation in multiplayer that is unlocked by gaining enough experience to be a Spartan Recruit.
 * The CQB Armor permuations shoulder pads and chest plating look roughly like the pads for the ODST's (even though the C.Q.B. knife is in the frontal chest plate).
 * ODST's only appper in two levels in Halo 2, Cairo Station (although dead) and in Delta Halo.
 * ODST's are able to survive multiple head shots from headshot capable weapons, unlike normal Marines in which it will be an instant kill.
 * The ODST's motto and credo is "Feet First Into Hell!"
 * In Halo: The Fall of Reach, it is stated that the infamous 105th had a reputation for brutallity even against fellow soldiers.

Related Articles

 * Human Entry Vehicle
 * United Nations Space Command
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * UNSC Military Units