Musa Ghanem

"As of today Spartans stand on their own. Not as Navy or ONI assets. We are our own branch. As of now."

- Commander Musa, to a council of high-ranked officers at HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6

Commander Musa, formerly SPARTAN-096, is an erstwhile candidate of the SPARTAN-II program who was crippled by the biological augmentations he received as part of the project. He joined the Office of Naval Intelligence following his medical discharge and eventually developed substantial clout with the Admiralty. Musa oversaw the SPARTAN-IV program near the end of the Human-Covenant War and founded the Spartans' independent military branch in January 2553.

Conscription and career
Musa was abducted and conscripted into the SPARTAN-II program by Dr. Catherine Halsey in 2517 when he was six years old. Musa was taken to Reach, where he was trained by the artificial intelligence Déjà and Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez along with the rest of the SPARTAN children. As a result of his body rejecting some of the augmentation procedures, Musa was forced into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He held a grudge toward Dr. Halsey and the Office of Naval Intelligence not only for his own predicament, but also for the other candidates who were either maimed or killed by the augmentations. Even though he viewed the SPARTAN-II program as morally repugnant, Musa also recognized the importance of their accomplishments during the Human-Covenant War. He believed that Spartans were still necessary in the aftermath of the war and as a result, he proposed that more Spartans be created in the form of the SPARTAN-IV program.

Creation of the Spartan branch
"You are Spartans now. You stand side by side with your Spartan brothers and sisters. You march into battle together — you do not charge ahead. You do not grab glory for yourself."

- Commander Musa addressing SPARTAN-IV recruits

With the aid of SPARTAN-III Warrant Officer Jun-A266, several UNSC personnel were recruited into the SPARTAN-IV program. Musa and Jun later witnessed a training exercise after the SPARTAN-IVs received the augmentation program with Sarah Palmer, Edward Davis, Vladimir Scruggs, Joel Thomas, and Yeong-hao Holst — without MJOLNIR armor — against a squad of Marines. During the exercise Palmer rushed ahead to accomplish the objective, but her teammates were disabled in the process. After Scruggs complained that the Spartans would have been more successful if they were donning their armor, Musa told them that he would have to earn the right to wear the armor. Jun and Musa berated Palmer for abandoning her teammates to complete the objective and Musa lectured the Spartans on the importance of Spartans working as a team. The five SPARTAN-IVs and Jun were later ordered to, where they succeeded in stopping the New Colonial Alliance's attempt at capturing the ship.

In January 2553, he brought together several admirals at HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 to discuss the development and necessity of the new Spartan program as an independent branch within the UNSC. Musa stated that the Spartans were able to prevent the attack on Infinity and for exposing Admiral Mattius Drake and his rebel movement. Musa then boldly declared the Spartans as an independent branch.

Trivia
As a commander, Musa is the second-highest-ranking member of the SPARTAN-II program, active or otherwise. He is outranked only by Admiral Serin Osman, CINCONI.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Initiation
 * Halo: New Blood