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 augmentations and usually wear passive camouflage uniforms. Other Marines wear brown or black metal armor, intended to shield them from plasma fire, as opposed to bullets. Marine Helmets contain display eyepieces and Helmet Recorders, which give them information about their surroundings. As well as helmets they wear boonie covers for light combat operations. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are a special operations group within the UNSC Marines.

Marine NCOs are distinguished by eight-point covers carrying the Eagle, Globe and Anchor of the Marine Corps. They never wear helmets, even when in body armor. Sergeants are (usually) smarter, better shots, and tougher to kill, though these differences, 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, Marines are only seen with no armor on the first level, when they are dressed in their whites and one Marine 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 full helmets and heavier armor to protect 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 their weapons, but incidents of friendly fire are common. Marines will strafe and avoid fire but not 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.

They will ride on Warthogs and Scorpions but are only capable of piloting Ghosts by themselves. They will get off the Scorpions when the player exits the driver seat, but they will stay in a Warthog until you order them 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 is killing them.



Halo 2
In Halo 2, the Marines are programed much more intelligently. 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, since in Halo: Combat Evolved the Marines could only shoot sleeping Grunts thus waking up other grunts and alerting others of your presence. The Marines are far more interactive and more capable of independent thought and wield a greater assortment of weapons. The player can also switch weapons with the Marines to make sure that they are well armed. (Or if you want to be well armed because you want their weapon) 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, thus they don't use cover as the player does.

Halo 3
It is unknown what the Marine's 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 (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

 * 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 (his) belly aching... remember you're a leatherneck." Leatherneck A nickname earned by U.S. Marines in the 19th century.
 * In the level Cairo Station someties there is a battle damaged marine. He is missing his helement and is bloody. This is random and only happens on this level.
 * After a marine is killed in Halo 2, his/her eyes will continue to blink.