Special Operations

''Looking for something else? See Special Operations (Disambiguation).''

Special Operations are a unique class of specialized military operations that include reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions, and are typically conducted by small groups of highly-trained personnel, emphasizing sufficiency, stealth, speed, and tactical coordination, commonly known as "Special Forces".

Special Operations are commonly conducted in the Halo universe by specialized military forces of the Covenant and the United Nations Space Command.

Covenant
In the Covenant, Special Operations soldiers are routine personnel in many combat environments, including those without high risk, as typically expected in the context of a specailized operation. The massive Special Warfare Group of the Covenant maintains a Covenant Special Operations division that routinely fields a large number of Covenant special forces to the battlefield. These castes include Special Operations Elites (including Special Operations Commanders and Special Operations Officers) and Special Operations Grunts.

United Nations Space Command
The UNSC have placed a large emphasis on creating Special Forces, as if devoting their resources to "wonder weapons". They have several major Special Operations forces: the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper commandoes of the UNSC Marine Corps and the SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III supersoldiers of the UNSC Navy and the Office of Naval Intelligence, respectively.