Codename: SURGEON

SURGEON was a code name adopted by an Office of Naval Intelligence operative with Section III and was a leader of Operation: HYPODERMIC in 2552. This operative's Section III Operator Number is AA2.

The earliest mention of SURGEON was in 2532, when he/she received a message concerning the SPARTAN-III program from Codename: COALMINER. The message noted that the early stages of preparation for SPARTAN-III Alpha Company were progressing satisfactorily and expressed confidence in Kurt-051's training regimen.

SURGEON was later informed by Codename: COALMINER of a potential breach of security when Cortana broke into the ONI database and discovered that the was an ONI Prowler. COALMINER then deleted the ship from the Reach database.

On December 31, 2552, Surgeon filed a report to Codename: USUAL SUSPECTS entitled "Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J." The extensive report outlined the life and career of Admiral Preston Jeremiah Cole and postulated that he was in fact alive and living outside UNSC-controlled space. The report was filed from the in synchronous orbit on the far side of Luna.

Identity
"SURGEON"'s true name and rank are unknown, but it has been suggested that SURGEON is actually Colonel James Ackerson. The final line of SURGEON's report on Admiral Cole supports this; SURGEON attempts to answer the question of what should happen if Cole should return and side against the UNSC, stating: "I, for one, have lost my stomach for killing legends." This could refer to Ackerson's attempt to kill John-117.

However, this theory is soundly disproved by the fact that the report was filed on December 31, 2552, whereas Ackerson was captured, tortured, and beheaded by the Jiralhanae Chieftain Lepidus following the Battle of Mare Erythraeum in November 2552; this is corroborated by Cortana during the short story Human Weakness. Furthermore, the report was clearly not submitted posthumously by Ackerson, as it specifically references the end of the Human-Covenant War as having already taken place. The "killing legends" remark, therefore, probably merely refers to the "death" of Admiral Cole's legend itself brought about by SURGEON's report.

Gender
Codename: SURGEON's gender is unknown, although SURGEON is referred to as "sir" by Codename: COALMINER. However, the title "sir" is not entirely restricted to males, and females are referred to as "sir" on some occasions.