United Nations Space Command

Headline text
The United Nations Space Command (UNSC) is the scientific, exploratory and military arm of the United Nations, Colonial Administration Authority and the United Earth Government that controls and administers that authority. The UNSC's military arm is called the United Nations Space Command Defense Force, they are most commonly seen defending planets. Space stations and defense platforms such as the Cairo Station are part of the UNSCDF. During the events of Halo 2 the UNSC fought the Covenant above Earth by defending their planet against all odds.

There are several breakaway factions opposed to the Government and UNSC as well, including the United Rebel Front.

The UNSC Flag is described as "...a blue field with stars and Earth in the corner.

NOTE: It should be noted now that the UEG's specific functions, legal makeup and legal boundaries as they relate to the CAA and UNSC are not yet known in detail.

Background
The UNSC was formed by the United Nations when over-population on Earth started becoming a problem in the early 22nd century. The UNSC is run by HIGHCOM and is Earth's main defense against the Covenant. The Navy houses the divisions of Marines (including the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers), and Office of Naval Intelligence, and the fleet. Originally designed to keep the peace between neighboring planets and star systems, when certain rebellious factions began to rise in the late 2510s the UNSC was forced to police its colonies to keep privateers and pirates from raiding them. After Harvest, a colony planet, was destroyed, one badly damaged UNSC ship returned to tell the tale of monstrous alien ships that utterly destroyed the colony. The UNSC doubled its shipbuilding to bolster themselves against the Covenant, but it was useless, for the Covenant's technology was far superior to mankind's. The UNSC fortified major positions such as Reach, the UNSC's main shipyards and command center, and Earth. The war finally ends with help from Covenant separatists that seceded during the Covenant Civil War. The war has seen the Arbiter and his people, the Elites, join forces with the UNSC against the remainder of the Covenant in a desperate, yet successful fight for survival.



A Short History
The United Nations Space Command was formed as the result of a series of brutal wars across the Solar System between 2160 and 2164, most prominently among them the Jovian Moons Campaign, The Rain Forest Wars, and a series of battles on Mars. These conflicts were centered around UN clashes with dissident political movements, the most important of which were the "Koslovics" and the "Frieden." More specifically, the Frieden movement was a fascist organization based on the Jovian Moons, though they received backing from some corporations operating in the United German Republic on Earth, while their ideological opponents, the Koslovics, formed a Marxist-Leninist group centered around the leadership of Vladimir Koslov.

The war began with an attack on UN Military Advisers on the moon of Io, but would spread to Mars and parts of South America in the Rain Forest Wars. These events culminated in a large UN buildup in the 2160s, which would change the UN from a largely diplomatic organization to a permanent military power; the war's consequences also helped make way for a unified government seated on Earth to lead the human race by 2170. The four-year long war put the spotlight on problems facing the overpopulated planet, and the Rain Forest Wars also exacerbated the problems related to food distribution. The ensuing famine and societal problems related to the post-war population boom provided the impetus to change the political nature of governance on Earth and elsewhere, leading to the political system seen in the period of the Halo games.

These pressures also helped make space colonization more attractive in later centuries, as the government would sign off on a colony ship program that was revealed in 2310 to ease the burden on the ailing homeworld. This would not have been possible without the invention of the Slipspace drive in the late 2200's.

It took 52 years before the first colony ship, the Odyssey, was launched, and what became the so-called Inner Colonies were not fully colonized until the end of the 24th century. The apex of UNSC colonization would come in 2492, when over 800 worlds were under human control and were at various stages of development. By this time, a ring of Outer Colonies was providing the UN with the raw materials that made the macro-economy work; the political power, however, remained with the aforementioned Inner Colonies. The massive difference in wealth distribution and political power, which became a hallmark of the humans' civilization by this period, led to new threats of secession from the outer ring. Fearing the consequences of the breakup of the interstellar empire and seeing the benefits of avoiding all-out war to defend their hold on the colonies, the UNSC would embark on the predecessors to the SPARTAN-II program in 2491, beginning with the ORION Project.

The Human-Covenant War
The year was 2525, the conflict between the Covenant and the humans originally started with a chance encounter between a human freighter and a Covenant privateer. . Then on February 3, 2525 contact with Harvest ceased. On October 7, 2525, a UNSC battle group sent in response to the disappearance of the scout ship Argo entered the Harvest system. It discovered that everything on the planet had been completely incinerated, and the surface had been melted down to glass. In orbit around the remains of the colony world was a single alien ship which proceeded to attack the battle group, destroying all the ships except one. Intercepted communications identify the enemy as The Covenant, a caste-driven, theological organization made up of several alien species. The message "Your destruction is the will of the Gods... and we are their instrument" was broadcast in perfect English. .

Thus began the Human-Covenant War, raged for 27 years. Since the Battle of Harvest in 2531, the humans' grip on their territories declined significantly in the course of their struggle. Of the 800 worlds under UNSC control in the 2490's, only 540 colony worlds are left by the time of the halos games, and the Covenant forces were also proving successful in attacking and destroying some of the Inner Colonies as well as the smaller counterparts in the frontier. The UNSC fleet was effectively outnumbered and outgunned, and the human sphere of influence shrank as UNSC ships were moved closer to the remaining colonies and to Earth for their protection. As the tide of the war continued to turn against the UNSC, its brass considered more unorthodox tactics for ending it. In a desperate move to stop the Covenant, the Space Command intended to send a group of Spartans to capture one of their ships, find their homeworld and capture a Prophet (Prophets are the species and caste that effectively command the Covenant). But on August 30, 2552, only two days before the operation, a massive battle fleet of 314 Covenant warships came out of Slipspace near Reach to recover an artifact and destroy the UNSC base there.

By October of 2552, the Covenant haphazardly discovered the position of the human homeworld, Earth, in what became the abortive First Battle of Earth. By this time, however, a serious political and religious crisis had developed within the Covenant, complicating the battle; sects within the Covenant by the time of the Second Battle of Earth were seceding, threatening to make the war a three-way conflict. Nevertheless, the discovery of the homeworld allowed the Covenant to send a large invasion force in their effort to end the human resistance (and also to search for a collection of items and devices involved in the Covenant's state religion, centered around the story of what they call the Great Journey); head there for a description of the religious story and the crisis of faith that led to the Covenant's schism. On March 3, 2553, the war ended with an UNSC victory, but at a high cost - the loss of most of the Outer Colonies and some of the Inner Colonies, for the estimated number of humans left alive at the end of war on Earth is 200 million.

Organization

 * United Earth Government
 * Colonial Administration Authority
 * Central Command (CENTCOM)
 * High Command (HIGHCOM)
 * Administrative
 * Personnel Command (PERSCOM)
 * Navigation Command (NAVCOM)
 * UNSC Astrophysics
 * UNSC Medical Corps (MEDCORPS)
 * UNSC Engineering Corps (ENGCORP)
 * UNSC Logistical Corps
 * UNSC Test and Evaluation Corps
 * UNSC Ordinance Committee
 * UNSC Navy
 * Fleet Command (FLEETCOM)
 * Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI)
 * Office of Investigations (OI)
 * '''Prowler Corps
 * Naval Special Warfare (NAVSPECWAR)
 * Project SPARTAN-II
 * Beta-5 Division
 * Project SPARTAN-III
 * Signal Corps
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * UNSC Marine Infantry
 * UNSC Marine Aviation
 * UNSC Marine Logistics
 * UNSC Marine Special Operations
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * UNSC Army
 * UNSC Army Infantry
 * UNSC Colonial Militia
 * Other
 * UNSC Symphony Orchestra

UNSC Personnel

 * See Characters for a list of UNSC personnel.

UNSC Navy

 * See UNSC Navy

UNSC Marine Corps

 * ''See UNSC Marine Corps

UNSC Army

 * ''See UNSC Army

Colony Systems, Worlds, and Cities
Sol System
 * Earth - Homeworld to Humanity,
 * Micronesia
 * Asia
 * China
 * Japan
 * Mongolia
 * Pakistan
 * Africa
 * Cairo
 * East African Protectorate
 * Republic of Kenya
 * Mombasa
 * New Mombasa
 * Old Mombasa
 * Voi
 * United Republic of Tanzania
 * Zanzibar Island
 * Korea
 * Kyonggi Province
 * Songnam
 * Special Warfare Center
 * Commonwealth of Australia
 * Sydney, Australia
 * HighCom Facility Bravo-6
 * Sydney Synthetic Intellect Institute
 * Diego Garcia
 * Republic of Cuba
 * Havana
 * Centennial Orbital Elevator
 * Republic of Chile
 * United Republic of North America
 * Mexico
 * Mexico City
 * Base Segundo Terra
 * Canada
 * United States of America
 * New York
 * New York City
 * New Jersey
 * Unit 216
 * Newark
 * Cleveland, Ohio
 * Old Cleveland
 * Oregon
 * Salem
 * Illinois
 * Chicago
 * Industrial Zone 08
 * Gut Check
 * Rebound
 * Severe Tire Damage
 * The Seropian
 * Halsted Street
 * Indiana
 * Boston, Massachusetts
 * Chawla Base
 * Commonwealth of Kentucky
 * Great Lakes
 * Lake Michigan
 * Great Lakes Spaceport
 * Cottage Grove Terminal
 * Minnesota
 * Wisconsin
 * Switzerland
 * United Kingdom
 * Great Britain
 * London
 * Islington
 * Birmingham
 * Bristol
 * Cheshire
 * Leeds
 * Plymouth
 * Portsmouth
 * Reading
 * Romford
 * Scotland
 * Edinburgh
 * Federal Republic of Germany
 * Essen
 * Beweglichrüstungsysteme research facility
 * UNSC Symphony Hall
 * Luna
 * Luna OCS Academy


 * Mars
 * Chiron
 * Argyre Planitia
 * Reyes-McLees Shipyards
 * Katagalgun
 * New Legaspi
 * New Manila
 * Mare Erythraeum


 * Jupiter
 * Jovian Moons
 * Ganymede
 * Aigburth
 * Lister
 * Io
 * Io Station
 * Europa

Epsilon Eridani System


 * Reach - Primary military installation. Glassed by Covenant in 2552.
 * Highland Mountains
 * CASTLE Base
 * Camp Hathcock
 * Camp Independence
 * Fairchild Field
 * HighCom Armory Omega
 * Military Reservation 01478-B
 * Military Wilderness Training Preserve
 * ODG Facility A-331
 * Olympic Tower
 * Reach Station Gamma
 * Reach Naval Academy
 * Ehilend - natural orbiting satellite


 * Beta Gabriel

Sigma Octanus System


 * Sigma Octanus IV - Still held by the UNSC even though it was attacked in 2552 by the Covenant
 * Côte d'Azur

Eridanus Star System
 * Eridanus II - Glassed in 2530
 * Elysium City
 * Luxor Spaceport

Lambda Serpentis System


 * Jericho VII - Glassed in 2535

Zeta Doradus System


 * Onyx - obliterated

Epsilon Indi System


 * Harvest - Glassed by Covenant in 2525
 * Utgard
 * Utgard Highway
 * Gladsheim
 * Gladsheim Highway

Chi Ceti System


 * Chi Ceti IV -Unknown
 * Damascus Testing Facility

Hellespont System


 * Troy - Glassed

111 Tauri System


 * Victoria - Unknown

Epsilon Eridanus System


 * Tribute
 * Casbah

Other Colonies


 * Biko - Glassed in 2525
 * Durban
 * Emerald Cove - Glassed in 2542
 * Harmony - Glassed
 * New Harmony - Unknown
 * Draco III - Glassed
 * Paris IV - Glassed
 * Charybdis IX - Unknown
 * Minister- still held by UNSC
 * Hydra System- Unknown
 * Gilgamesh- Unknown
 * Coral - Attacked by Covenant in 2552, unknown/glassed
 * New Constantinople - Glassed
 * Tantalus- Unknown
 * Mamore - still held by UNSC
 * Crystal - still held by UNSC
 * Groombridge 34 System - Unknown
 * Atlas Moons - still held by UNSC
 * Far Isle - Unknown
 * Miridem - Unknown
 * Mariposa-Unknown
 * Ballast-Unknown
 * Arcadia-Unknown

UNSC bases


 * Fort York
 * Roosevelt Military Base
 * Crow's Nest

Nations
The majority of information contained by weekly Bungie updates and several comic books indicate that at least some nations on Earth still exist and probably maintained their independence despite the global unification that was performed by the UN, UNSC and United Earth Government in the 22nd century during the Interplanetary War.

UNSC Weaponry
These are the weapons that the UNSC employs against the likes of The Covenant.

Note that all the hand held weapons in Halo 2 apart from grenades can be swapped with the appropriate class of soldier's weapons.

The Novels
The weapons exclusive to Halo: The Fall of Reach, Halo: The Flood, Halo: First Strike, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, and Halo: Contact Harvest.

Handheld Weapons
 * Combat Knife
 * MA2B Assault Rifle
 * MA5K Assault Rifle
 * MA3 Assault Rifle
 * HMG-38 Rifle
 * M99 Special Application Sniper Rifle
 * M19-B SAM Missile Launcher
 * Electric Baton
 * Confetti Maker

Missiles
 * Archer Missiles
 * ASGM-10 Missiles
 * ''ANVIL-II ASM
 * Argent V Missiles
 * Scorpion Missiles

Mines
 * Lotus Anti Tank-Mine
 * Antlion Anti-Personnel Mines
 * Moray Space Mines
 * Type 14 Magnetic/Anti-Tank Mine
 * Asteroidea Anti-personnel Mine

Grenades
 * Smoke Grenade
 * Flash-Bang Grenade
 * Concussion Grenade
 * Napalm Grenade
 * Sonic Grenade

Machine Guns
 * MLA Autocannon
 * M202 XP Machine Gun

Nuclear Weapons
 * Fury Tactical Nuclear Warhead
 * Shiva Nuclear-tipped missile
 * FENRIS Nuclear Warhead
 * Nova
 * HORNET Mines
 * HAVOK nuclear mine

Other
 * VX 7 Nerve Gas
 * Magnetic Accelerator Cannon
 * 102mm SC-HE Rocket Turret
 * Fougass
 * Satchel Charge
 * C-7 Foaming Explosive
 * C-12 Shaped-charges
 * Narcozine Gas
 * Thermite-Carbon Cord

Land

 * Scorpion Tank - M808B Main Battle Tank
 * Warthog - M12 LRV with mounted chaingun, rocket launcher or gauss cannon
 * Mongoose - All-Terrain Vehicle
 * Cougar - Infantry Fighting Vehicle
 * Elephant - Siege Vehicle and Infantry Carrier
 * Rhino  - Heavy Tank/Self Propelled Artillery Vehicle

Air

 * Pelican - D77-TC Dropship
 * Albatross - Larger Dropship
 * Bumblebee - Escape pod
 * Longsword - C709 Space fighter
 * SkyHawk - Sub-orbital jet
 * Shortsword - Short-range atmospheric fighter-bomber
 * Sparrowhawk - VTOL Close Air Support Gunship
 * Hornet - VTOL Gunship/Utility Dropship
 * Kestrel - Deleted vehicle seen in the Halo 2 Collector's Edition Disc.

UNSC Technologies

 * See Technology

UNSC Vessels and Stations

 * See UNSC Navy

UNSC Currency
The UNSC uses the United Nations Credit monetary unit to organize its economical stability by selling or buying military equipments, supplies, costs for shipping etc. The UN Credit was implemented by the United Nations, probably some time before its dissolution and replacement with the CAA in 2164.

Known UNSC Military Units

 * UNSC Navy
 * UNSC Marine Corps
 * Orbital Drop Shock Troopers
 * UNSC Army
 * Office of Naval Intelligence

Major UNSC Events

 * Interplanetary War - 2160-2200
 * Inner Colony Wars - Unknown, probably 25th century
 * Human-Covenant War - 2525-2553
 * Battle of Harvest
 * Battle of Sigma Octanus IV
 * Battle of Reach
 * Battle of Installation 04
 * Operation: FIRST STRIKE
 * First Battle of Earth
 * Battle of Installation 05
 * Second Battle of Earth
 * Battle of Voi
 * Second Battle of Mombasa
 * Battle of Onyx
 * Battle of Installation 00

UNSC Laws

 * See UNSC Laws

Trivia

 * The UNSC is the navigation, and military arm of the United Nations and the Colonial Administration Authority, thus it does not administrate the colonies without the consensus of the CAA or the UN.