Orbital Drop Shock Troopers

"Jump feet first into hell!"

- ODST Unofficial Motto

The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, more commonly abbreviated as the ODSTs, are a United Nations Space Command Marine Corps special forces unit.

History
ODSTs were operating as early as 2525. Barring the personnel of the SPARTAN programs, ODSTs are one of the most effective forms of troops available to the UNSC, and the expectations on ODST units made them all-volunteer outfits, with some outsiders regarding such volunteers as 'crazy'. By 2552 their strength had swelled to a number of divisions in an attempt to fill the demands of the Human-Covenant War. Some actively participated in training the SPARTAN-IIs, but the efficiency of that program was demonstrated when a single SPARTAN-II killed two ODSTs during an exercise. These fatalities resulted in some enmity between the two groups of elite soldiers. Friction was heightened by the stunning success of the SPARTAN-II program, whose members proceeded to accumulate more confirmed kills than "any three divisions of ODSTs."

Operations
When assaulting a planetary target from orbit ODSTs were trained to employ 'unorthodox' means of insertion. Those requiring stealth could be accomplished by 'jumping' from an orbiting ship and using a parachute once within the atmosphere. However, their hallmark method was in the form of Human Entry Vehicles, a particularly hazardous means of reentry.

Similar to regular marines, the ODSTs maintain units of varying strength aboard many UNSC vessels and installations. ODST units were present aboard the, the , the and Cairo Station.

While they are human, they are, overall, different from marines in the sense that they take the most dangerous, crazy, and suicidal missions. They have no physical differences between the Marines, but they are always ready to "Drop feet-first into hell" as their motto goes (and thus gaining the nickname 'Hell Jumpers'), and dive into fights they may not return from, which shows an outstanding level of Courage, Honor and Valor.



They also drop into areas that are under heavy assault, or are heavily guarded by enemy troops. This is because these areas are too dangerous for Pelican dropships to land or drop reinforcements. They are also assigned to tasks such as landing and clearing a landing zone for reinforcements. An example of this is on Delta Halo, during the events of Halo 2. The ODSTs, accompanied by the Master Chief, must clear a Landing Zone so that pelicans could drop off a Warthog.

Equipment
In addition to using standard marine equipment, ODSTs were issued with a special issue combat dress. This combat dress is completly black, with a helmet and visor and having more supplies/ammunitions than typical marine forces. They also were each assigned an HEV and carry around a Combat Knife in a pouch on their back.



Notable Actions
ODSTs were onboard the Pillar of Autumn when she discovered Alpha Halo. An ODST group led by Major Antonio Silva was later instrumental in frustrating Covenant attempts to purge the ring-world of the Pillar of Autumn's survivors.

Members of the 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion would later drop from In Amber Clad onto Delta Halo. They then cleared a landing zone so that a Warthog could be deployed for the Master Chief.

List of known ODSTs
Sorted by rank, then alphabetically if rank is unknown.
 * Major Antonio Silva : KIA
 * First Lieutenant Melissa McKay : KIA
 * Second Lieutenant Dalu : KIA
 * Second Lieutenant Oros : KIA
 * Master Sergeant Lister : KIA
 * Company Sergeant Tink Carter : KIA
 * Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker : ACTIVE DUTY
 * Gunnery Sergeant Waller : KIA
 * Sergeant Corly : KIA
 * Sergeant Parker : KIA
 * Corporal Locklear : KIA
 * Lance Corporal "Snaky" Jones : MIA (Presumed Dead)
 * Private First Class Hosky : KIA
 * Private Butkis : ACTIVE DUTY
 * Private Jones : ACTIVE DUTY
 * Private O'Brian : KIA
 * Private Marie Postly : KIA
 * Private Satha : KIA
 * Private Walpole : ACTIVE DUTY
 * Al-Thani : KIA
 * Dawkins : KIA
 * "Doc" Valdez : KIA
 * Joe : ACTIVE DUTY
 * Murphy : KIA
 * Suzuki : KIA
 * Yutrzenika : KIA

ODST Units

 * 105th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Division
 * 7th Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Battalion
 * NavSpecWar Group 2
 * Team 5
 * 340th ODST Combat Training Unit
 * Echo and Kilo Teams

ODST combat Images
 Image:ODST-Battle-Rifle.jpg|An ODST with a Battle Rifle. Image:ODSTbattlerifle.JPG|A pair of ODSTs attack on Delta Halo. Image:MC and ODSTs.jpg|Two ODSTs and the Master Chief ready for battle. 