Chief Petty Officer Mendez

Chief Petty Officer Mendez was the Spartan's training leader during their first years on Reach. He trained them as hard as any Marine when they were only at the ages of 6-7 years old. After their training was completed, he was reassigned to go train the next generation of Spartans, though he has not been heard of for some time. It may be assumed he was killed, along with any young Spartans he may have been training, when Reach fell during the invasion. He is currently listed as MIA.

There is speculation that he may be in the next novel, Halo: Ghosts of Coral. It is suspected that there, more SPARTANS are being trained. It is also the sight of a dig that has uncovered a Forerunner artifact. Further speculation is that Spartan-087 (Kelly) and Dr. Halsey are headed for that destination in First Strike.