Camp Currahee

Camp Currahee was a secret United Nations Space Command military base located on a northern peninsula on the planet Onyx south of Zone 67. The camp Commandant was Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose (in actuality SPARTAN-051), and the camp was used by the Office of Naval Intelligence for the sole purpose of training the SPARTAN-III supersoldiers.

Located within a jungle, Camp Currahee was horseshoe-shaped and contained dormitories, mess halls, offices, parade grounds, firing ranges, and many areas for exercises. To the west of the camp were obstacle courses. As per UNSC regulation, the inspection yard had a perfectly geometric shape, the paths within the camp were three meters wide and paved with crushed white quartz, and three hundred meters of the jungle surrounding the camp had been cleared.

As it was the only UNSC installation on the planet (except Zone 67 to the north), the Spartans had ample areas to train in prior to deployment. Operations at the base were aided by the ONI AIs Eternal Spring, Deep Winter, and Endless Summer, all of which were primarily assigned to the survey teams in Zone 67.

History
Camp Currahee was constructed in 2531 and was operated until 2552. Colonel James Ackerson insisted for the camp to be established near Zone 67, a top-secret area housing an Office of Naval Intelligence research facility to study the Forerunner ruins present there. Alpha, Beta, and Gamma Companies trained there, and Delta Company was planned, but was never formed. At the time of Alpha Company's induction, the camp's personnel consisted of the six dozen drill instructors assigned to the SPARTAN-III program, physical therapists, doctors, nurses, psychologists, and cooks.

In late October 2552, after John-117 destroyed Installation 04, Zone 67 turned active, with huge numbers of Sentinels coming out of the area and began attacking any human in sight. The Sentinels began attacking Camp Currahee and killing its personnel. As the Sentinels continued searching for surviving humans, Kurt and the surviving UNSC personnel used the camp to gather weapons and send a distress signal before leaving for El Morro Point. Later, Kelly-087 arrived at the remains of the camp to get supplies and weapons. Camp Currahee was certainly destroyed with Onyx during the Battle of Onyx, which culminated in the disintegration of the planet.

Locations

 * Command center - Served as a communications and energy-control center
 * Armory - Contained both UNSC and Covenant weaponry
 * NCO quarters - Personal residences of the camp's non-commissioned officers
 * NCO's inspection yard - Destroyed during the Sentinel attack
 * Infirmary - Medical center on Onyx
 * Camp Commandant's residence - Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose's place of residence. It was a small house, consisting of three rooms; an outer office, a toilet area, and a bunk. Kurt's office had photos of the SPARTAN-IIs on the wall and an alcove with a Greek urn with ancient wrestlers. It is also where Kurt kept his old Mark IV MJOLNIR armor in a locked safe. He never kept the door to his residence locked.

Trivia

 * Camp Currahee is most likely a reference to the real-world Camp Toccoa, a training area for the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, which was located near Currahee Mountain in Georgia. It was popularized by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
 * Currahee is a Cherokee word for "Stands alone." It has been the battle cry and credo for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division since World War II.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx