UNSC Marine Corps

"Man, I'm never going to get another hour's sleep."

- Corporal Locklear

"Sleep when you're dead, Marine."

- Staff Sergeant Avery Johnson

A rugged and diverse assortment of warriors, the Marines of the UNSC are fighting a losing war against the Covenant's superior weaponry and numbers. Under the leadership of notable figures such as Captain Keyes, or Admiral Whitcomb, they continue to wage a furious struggle against the Covenant, even as their numbers dwindle. They're the best of the best. Unfortunately, they're only Human.

Marines are the standard infantry of the UNSC. They have few bio-augmentations and usually wear passive camouflage uniforms. They wear dark-colored metal-alloy armor to shield them from plasma fire and the few occaisional bullets. Marine helmets are mounted with display eyepieces and helmet recorders, which give them information about their surroundings. As well as helmets, Marines on field ops in more humid locales sometimes choose to wear boonie covers. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, distinctive in their black-based camoflage scheme and more protective body armor, are a special operations group within the UNSC Marines.

Marine NCOs are easily recognized by the eight-point covers carrying the Eagle, Globe and Anchor of the Marine Corps that they wear. They occasionally wear helmets, although in Halo: Combat Evolved, they are portrayed as never wearing them. Sergeants are (usually) smarter, are better shots, and are tougher to kill than normal Marines, though these differences in gameplay, if any, are largely unnoticed.

The UNSC Marine armor is much different in Halo 2. The utilites worn under the armor are now camouflaged. The standard issue armor is more efficient and is a rough offshoot of the original armor used by Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Marines are less of a rag-tag group in Halo 2 than they were in Halo: Combat Evolved. They no longer wear boonie covers and are never in combat without their armor. In fact, in Halo 2, the only times Marines are seen without any armor is during the awards ceremony on the first level. In this case, they are wearing their dress whites, and one armored Marine is missing the armor for his arms. It should be noted, however, that the full gray Marine armor with additional pockets/backpack in Halo: Combat Evolved was a medical uniform, as suggested by the letters EMP (Emergency Medical Personnel) written on the back.

In the Halo Wars trailer, Marines are seen wearing helmets, balaclavas, and environmentally-suited armor to protect them from the cold.

Halo: Combat Evolved
In Halo: Combat Evolved, almost all Marines carry Assault Rifles, though occasionally they can be seen with a Sniper Rifle, Needler, Shotgun, or Plasma Rifle. They are relatively accurate with these weapons, but incidents of friendly fire sometimes occur. Marines will strafe and avoid fire but not usually seek cover. They will roll out of the way of a vehicle but they will not pick up different weapons, Health Packs, or additional ammo.

Marines are conscious of back stabbing. After you have killed three Humans of any type, the rest of the Marines in the level will attack you. If you kill Captain Keyes in The Pillar of Autumn, Cortana will lock the doors and summon a squad of invincible Marines to destroy you.

Marines hitch rides on player-driven Warthogs and Scorpions but are only capable of piloting Ghosts by themselves. They will exit Scorpions when the player leaves the driver seat, but will stay in a Warthog until they are ordered to get out. Be careful of Marines piloting Ghosts. They are occasionally prone to running you over. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the only practical way of getting a Marines' weapon, unfortunately, is by killing them.



Halo 2
In Halo 2, the Marines are much more intelligent. They are able to drive the Warthog, the Ghost, the Wraith, the Spectre and the Scorpion, albeit a bit clumsily. They can now melee sleeping Grunts or enemies with their backs turned, a vast improvement over the Halo: Combat Evolved Marines, who had to fire their weapons in such situations. The Marines are far more interactive, capable of more independent thought and wield a greater variety of weapons. The player can also easily switch weapons with the Marines to make sure that they are well armed or that the player is. As in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Marines are aware of backstabbing, and will attempt to kill you after you kill three of their comrades. They will seek cover behinds boxes and walls, though this mainly only happens when the Marines are desperate, so they don't use cover as the player does.

Halo 3
It is unknown what the Marines' armor and abilities will be in Halo 3. All that is known about them AI-wise is that they are better drivers and more capable of surviving without the player's aid. Their armor is only seen in the Halo 3 Vid-Doc Et Tu Brute?. It is the most clearly seen at the "4:54-4:57" mark in the Vid-Doc. It appears to be a slight modification of the Halo 2 Marine armor with a hint of ODST armor and seems metallic and is a blue/black color. But according to Bungie, since the Vid-Doc was made a while back that many things have changed since then. So, it is unknown what their current armor looks like.

Equipment

 * CH252 Helmet
 * M52B Body Armour
 * VZG7 Armoured Boots
 * S90 Gas Mask
 * VX7 Nerve gas
 * PG000E Portable Electricity Generator

Halo 1


 * MA5B
 * SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
 * M90 Shotgun
 * M6D Pistol
 * M12 Warthog LRV
 * M808B Scorpion MBT

Halo 2


 * BR55
 * M7/Caseless Sub Machine Gun
 * M6C Magnum
 * SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
 * M19 SSR SPNKr Rocket Launcher
 * M90 Mk.I Shotgun
 * M9 HE-DP Grenade
 * M12G1 Warthog LAAV
 * M12 Warthog LRV
 * M808B Scorpion MBT

Halo 3


 * MA5C Assault Rifle
 * BR55
 * M6D Pistol
 * M7/Caseless Sub Machine Gun
 * M6C Magnum
 * M6 G/GNR "Spartan Laser"
 * M274 ULATV Mongoose
 * SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle
 * M19 SSR SPNKr Rocket Launcher
 * M90 Mk.I Shotgun
 * M9 HE-DP Grenade
 * M12G1 Warthog LAAV
 * M12 Warthog LRV
 * M808B Scorpion MBT

List of Marines

 * Colonel James Ackerson
 * Lance Corporal Janet Adams
 * Al-Thani
 * Sergeant Banks
 * Private Bisenti
 * Lieutenant Buckman
 * Company Sergeant Tink Carter
 * Lieutenant Jake Chapman
 * Private Cochran
 * Sergeant Corly
 * Second Lieutenant Dalu
 * Dawkins
 * Private Chipps Dubbo
 * Major Easley
 * Corporal C. Errera
 * Private Fincher
 * Private First Class M. Fitzgerald
 * Corporal Harland
 * Private First Class Hosky
 * Private First Class Wallace A. Jenkins
 * Sergeant Major Avery J. Johnson
 * Lance Corporal "Snaky" Jones
 * Private Kappus
 * General Kits
 * Master Sergeant Lister
 * Corporal Locklear
 * Corporal Lovik
 * Second Lieutenant McCasky
 * First Lieutenant Melissa McKay
 * Private McKenzie
 * Private Manuel Mendoza
 * Staff Sergeant Marvin Mobuto
 * Private O'Brien
 * Second Lieutenant Oros
 * Sergeant Parker
 * Corporal Perez
 * Private Marie Postly
 * Parsons
 * Private Riley
 * Private Satha
 * Major Antonio Silva
 * Sergeant Stacker
 * Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker
 * Major General Nicolas Strauss
 * Suzuki
 * Medic "Doc" Valdez - ODST
 * Private Walker
 * Gunnery Sergeant Waller
 * Corporal Wilkins
 * Yutrzenika
 * Master Gunnery Sergeant (Master Guns) (Athens Station Armory)

Marine Units

 * 405th Marine Infantry Division
 * A Company
 * 105th Shock Division
 * 7th ODST Battalion
 * 1st Platoon
 * 105th Drop Jet Platoon
 * Charlie Company
 * Tango Company

Trivia

 * In Halo 1, the Marine's faces were modeled on Bungie employees.
 * Bungie Studios went to great lengths to ensure that the Marines reflected the diversity of Earth; some Marines look and sound Anglo-Saxon, while others appear Asian, African, Hispanic, and Australian.
 * In the Halo: Combat Evolved level "Truth and Reconciliation", Captain Keyes tells a Marine to "Stow your belly aching...! Remember you're a leatherneck." Leatherneck was a nickname earned by U.S. Marines in the 19th century.
 * In the level Cairo Station, there is sometimes a battle damaged Marine. He is missing his helmet and is covered in blood. This is random and only happens on this level.
 * After a marine is killed in Halo 2, his/her eyes will continue to blink. (disputed)