UNSC Army

The UNSC Army is a branch of the UNSC Defense Force that is primarily responsible for land-based military operations. They typically serve as a garrison force on UNSC-controlled colony worlds.

Role
Unlike the UNSC Marine Corps, which is frequently used in offensive operations, often in conjunction with the Navy, the Army is used largely as a defensive force. The Army shares many matériel assests with the Marine Corps, though some of their weapons differ; for example, the Army is the only branch of the UNSCDF that uses the M6J/C Carbine  and the M319 Individual Grenade Launcher. The Army fields the MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System instead of the MA5B and MA5C assault rifles, as well as the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle, which has been supplanted in the other branches of service by the BR55 Battle Rifle. Soldiers of the UNSC Army wear the UNSC Army Battle Dress Uniform, which incorporates many modular components shared by other branches of the UNSC Defense Forces, including the CH252 combat helmet.

The UNSC Army maintains Airborne special forces units. These troopers are equipped with the Air Assault helmet, which was originally intended for issue to Marine Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Airborne Pathfinder units prefer the FC-I variant of the AA helmet.

Known operations
On April 22, 2552, UNSC Army personnel supported SPARTAN Noble Team in an engagement against Covenant forces on an unidentified colony world.

Between July 23 and August 30, 2552, thousands of Army personnel defended the fortess world Reach during the Covenant's invasion of the planet. Trooper fireteams dispatched by Colonel Urban Holland initiated first contact with the Covenant at the UNSC communications relay at Visegrád on the night of July 23. Only July 14, Army troopers stationed near the Office of Naval Intelligence's Sword Base, with crucial assistance from SPARTAN Noble Team, defended against Covenant attackers. Following these early engagements, Army personnel continued to combat the Covenant's advance invasion force for several weeks. On August 12, three Army brigades served as part of a large joint UNSC force during the battle for the Viery Territory. Part of this force was used to eliminate a series of Covenant teleportation spires during the Battle at Szurdok Ridge. Two days later, a much larger Covenant fleet arrived in at Reach. By August 23, Army forces had attempted to break the Covenant's siege of New Alexandria for some time. With the assistance of SPARTAN-B312, they were able to evacuate most of the civilians and military personnel from the city, though some stragglers remained. On August 29 and 30, the few Army personnel remaining on the Eposz continent attempted to rally at the area's ship-breaking facilities, which served as the only evacuation area left on the continent. There, they engaged in a large-scale battle against the Covenant, who had arrived on Reach in force and had begun glassing the area. Most of the convoys on the way to the evacuation zone were destoyed by the Covenant.

Contemporary with the Fall of Reach, Army forces participated in the Battle of Tribute. In September 2552, the Army fought in the Battle of New Jerusalem.

During the Battle of Earth on October 20, 2552, an Army convoy was sent to New Mombasa to aid the Marines and civilians stationed there; the unit was destroyed in the attempt. Later, during the Battle of Mare Erythraeum on Mars, Colonel James Ackerson led Army personnel against Covenant forces led by the Jiralhanae commander Lepidus.

Trivia

 * The UNSC Army makes its in-game debut in Halo: Reach, in which UNSC Army troopers, Marines, and ODSTs have their own service tags showing their name and rank as part of the fireteam gameplay mechanic. Most of them are named after Bungie and Rooster Teeth employees.
 * Bungie concept artist Isaac Hannaford was largely responsible for designing the look of the UNSC Army troopers in Halo: Reach. When first starting to design the troopers, he drew them as all-female, as he was looking to do something different after drawing the John-117 for three years during the development of Halo 3.
 * All male Army troopers have an emblem with a hexagon divided by a diagonal line on their shoulders. Curiously, female troopers lack this symbol.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Palace Hotel
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Birth of a Spartan
 * Patrol
 * Deliver Hope