Covenant army

The Covenant Army is a branch of the Covenant Military responsible for land-based operations. It is the primary invasion force, and houses the numerous Special Operations units.

Function
The Covenant Army comprises of the majority of the Covenant's ground-based infantry and units, and is asked with engaging the enemies of the Covenant in ground and air combat, using a diversity of equipment and weaponry. Primarily led by the Brutes, and formerly by the Elites, including former Arbiters, the Army is comprised of most of the military-service races who act as infantry or, in the case of Hunters, as demolitions experts and shock troops.

Because Prophets do not hold military ranks, no Prophet is truly a "member" of the Army. Instead, they command its Brute leaders as either religious or militaristic tactician, who follow their orders and accomplish their objectives. Engineers, as primarily non-combatants, are also exempt from the Army.

Species In The Covenant Army
Pre Civil War
 * Grunts
 * Elites
 * Jackals
 * Drones
 * Hunters
 * Brutes
 * Engineers

Post and During Civil War
 * Grunts
 * Jackals
 * Drones
 * Hunters
 * Brutes

Covenant Civil War
During the Covenant Civil War, or "Great Schism," the Covenant military was violently divided between the Covenant Loyalists, who continued to believe in the Prophet's wisdom, and the Covenant Separatists, who followed the Arbiter against them. The Covenant Separatists crushed the Covenant Loyalists at the Battle of Installation 00 with their human allies.

Known Units

 * Dn'end Legion
 * E'Toro Warrior Crèche
 * R'Lan Warrior Crèche
 * N'Noro Warrior Crèche

Infantry Weapons
Introduced During Great Schism (to Loyalist forces)
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol
 * Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle
 * Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher
 * Type-51 Carbine
 * Type-33 Light Anti-Armor Weapon
 * Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade
 * Type-50 Sniper Rifle System
 * Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword
 * Type-25 Carbine
 * Type-52 Pistol
 * Type-25 Grenade Launcher
 * Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer
 * Type-3 Antipersonnel/Antimatériel Incendiary Grenade

Vehicles

 * Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Spectre Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (limited service)
 * Type-25 Wraith
 * Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery
 * Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft
 * Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle
 * Type-52 Infantry Support Vehicle
 * Type-52 Troop Carrier - "Phantom"

Brute Military Hierarchy
The Brute species is arranged in a pack society, based on a hierarchy determined by viciousness and number of war kills. In Halo 2, Brute ranks were mostly determined by red flags on their backs, the amount of armor they wore and the color of their fur(sometimes even their weapons). Ranks in Halo 3 are differentiated physically by armor, equipment and weaponry:

Other Brute Ranks
'''Chieftain of the Jiralhanae - The Leader of the entire Jiralhanae race.

Brute Ship Master/Alpha Jiralhanae - Commanders of ships. They may be equivalent to Chieftains of the Jiralhanae.

Grunt Ranks
Grunts have five classes, which are easily identifiable by the color of their armor:

Other ranks
Deacon: The only position open to the Grunts in the Ministry of Tranquility. This rank doesn't involve combat or hard manual labor, possibly meaning it is the lowest position on the Covenant hierarchy. But as seen in Halo: Contact Harvest the Deacon ordered around other Unggoy whenever it came to matter of religion.

Curl-Back Grunts: In Halo: Combat Evolved, there was an alternate suit for the Grunt Infantry. It was a slightly larger mask that covered more of the face and a methane tank that curled upwards instead of it sticking out. The reason for this is unknown, as this variation is only seen in Halo: Combat Evolved. It is possible that the curl-back design would denote that the wearer was a Grunt Heavy. This could have been used before an actual rank and suit were made for the heavy grunts. This is supported by the fact that most Turrets in Halo: Combat Evolved are controlled by curl-backs (on higher difficulties), and that there are screenshots depicting them on turrets in Halo Wars. But if the player looks closely, he/she will find that ALL Grunt ranks on Halo: Combat Evolved have this armor design, including Minor Grunts, Major Grunts and SpecOps Grunts. Also some people think that the methane tanks on the "Curl-Back Grunts" could have not been refilled unlike the other grunts methane tanks in the Halo series. Curl-back design could also be a type of out-dated suit that was slowly being removed from the Grunt military. The curl-back design could have been for females, however this is unlikely due to the fact that they can be heard with mostly male voices. The reason for the curl-back methane tank is that it was in fact, a different version, which would contract for easier transportation as it ran out of methane.

Unknown Rank
In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, there is seen to be a high-ranking Jackal Official in red armor as mentioned but it is unsure whether these Red Armor-ordained Jackals fit in to the ranking scheme. It is highly likely that they are Jackal Ultras.

Related Articles

 * Covenant
 * Covenant Loyalists
 * Covenant Separatists