Questions and Answers

[MrKill]

Certainly, it can be infuriating.

Was it a soldier's wiki page saying he joined in at sixteen?

[Ward, J.]

It was a character's wiki page from Contact Harvest if I remember correctly.

[MrKill]

So far zip.

Mhmmm....

[Jakob]

The UNSC was desperate but I don't think they were so desperate that they would literally take anyone. At the end of the day, a 16 year old doesn't make as good a soldier as a 17 or 18 year old.

Also, the first world has generally moved towards older enlistment ages as a whole. There has been debates in America about raising the age and if we assume the trend continues then the UNSC wouldn't lower it, and might even raise it.

Raising it just because of a fear of the civil war also seems unnecessary, seeing as that just gives you more recruits and not much else. It's not going to stop a civil war, and the UNSC was already moderately well prepared to fight one.

Also, space America, doesn't make sense, but Halo as a whole doesn't try to at the end of the day.

Oh, and any character in Contact Harvest besides the three(?) instructors were all militiamen, and I am fairly sure their standards would be lower.

[Ward, J.]

It actually makes a great deal of sense. A sixteen year old is physically capable of handling the work and can be easily broken and molded--just like a sixteen or seventeen year old. You've got to realize the severity of the Insurrectionist threat.

Innies were on hundreds of colonies, some as small cells and some who arguably spoke for their governments. Some were just disgruntled farmers who picked up shotguns and pitch forks, while others were former UNSC or Militia who had enough of the UEG and UNSC. A civil war would have been costly and difficult to win because of the nature of the different Insurrectionist groups. The UNSC was getting desperate after stuff like what happened on Eridanus and its other colonies where full blown uprisings were happening and being put down.

So, the UNSC wanted more able bodied people who were willing to serve. Recruiting older people is good because they're generally more mature, but they have downsides both psysiologically and psychologically; especially if they've never served before. They wouldn't be in as good of shape as your average sixteen year old.

Obviously they would want parental permission. Your kid wants to serve humanity; if you're okay with it, sign this waiver. But after the war started with the Covenant and colonies started getting glassed left and right, now this is a war not of nations with political agendas, but of survival from a genocidal hegemony of aliens that seemingly popped up out of hell to slaughter humans.

Men, women, children, old folk--the Covenant doesn't distinguish. You're simply an enemy needing exterminating. America has never faced that kind of threat in the modern world--no country has. Genocide happens today, yes, but neither on the scale or as organized ans methodical as the Covenant.

So it is conceivable the UNSC would start "deregulating" their recruiting process to allow people in. Hell, I'm sure people lied about their age and got in just so they could fight while the recruiters looked the other way because the UNSC needed bodies.

And let's not forget these are the same people that kidnapped six year olds and turned them into killing machines; though, in fairness, that's not public knowledge. I doubt the UNSC would see any moral dilemma's at giving a kid who is legally at the age of consent the opportunity to serve his species a year earlier than before.

And yes, the UNSC would raise its limit too on older individuals. Let's say before the war the enlistment age to legally enlist in the Marine Corps was 18 to 26. Now, in our current timeline, it's now 16 to 36 or 40. They need people and at this point they really don't care how they get them as long as they have people to be thrown on the frontlines.

So, what I am trying to say is it isn't a far stretch of the imagination to believe they would do it. It's conceivable and very likely, to be honest. Why recruit only eighteen year olds (seventeen with permission), when there are plenty of able-bodied sixteen year olds yearning to serve as well. We've nearly lost all of our Outer Colonies and now the Inner Colonies are being threatened... we need people to put on the line and to, at the very least, be sent to guard our most important colonies like Reach.

It just makes sense if you take the severity of the Covenant situation into account. This isn't a conventional war nor a conventional threat. Conventional tactics usually are piss poor against the Covenant. You have to think unconventionally.

[Ward, J.]

Apologies for double post but my phone is being retarded when it comes to editing posts. According to this page Romeo enlisted at sixteen (a few months shy of seventeen) and Mickey enlisted at seventeen (a few months shy of eighteen). So I believe that there, if the source can be trusted, is evidence the UNSC were letting in sixteen year olds.

halo.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=Halo3ODSTsquad

There's the link above. Check it out.

[Jakob]

Well we know for a fact that the UNSC has much older people in it, seeing as the average death age is much higher in 2552. I think this would more than alleviate any problems with recruitment, seeing as instead of opening it up to one year under and possibly risking quality of marines (they are easier to mold, but sixteen year olds are far less mentally matured than late seventeen/eighteen year olds) they can have say, twenty more years worth of population join.

Also, I don't think we take much of Halo: ODST as canon. Last I checked, we RP the ODST's as using marine organization skills and not allowing major customization of armor, both going against Halo: ODST canon.

Edit: And I disagree against the unconventional war part. The UNSC fought the Covenant like they did any other foe and met with success. It has been noted that the UNSC can hold their own and even win in ground engagements when they are equally matched with Covenant, it's just space that ends up destroying them.

[MrKill]

All right.

We've got a source file.

That settles it. Sixteen year olds can join the UNSC Military.

And Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are technically Marines, so they use the Marine Organization anyways. You also forget that in order to become an ODST you need previous special forces status. So, as a result, he joined the UNSC Marines at 16 before advancing further into a spec-ops unit.

[Jakob]

The ODST's are an all volunteer unit, there was never anything about ODST's having to have previously been special forces that I know of. I remember reading that you can even be a civilian when you go in as an ODST (which is reinforced by the We are ODST commercial.)

Also, Grasslands and Sadie's Story both put the age at 18.

[MrKill]

You can't take post war sources during the war, Jakob. Yes, it's canon, and after 2553 when the war finished the age will be upped to eighteen, but at this point it is, through canon proof, been lowered to sixteen. And, if you want further information, please look at the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers info page.

It specifically stats that the volunteers volunteered from another special forces unit.

[Jakob]

The UNSC was still fighting Covenant remnants as of post Halo 3, I doubt they would suddenly raise the age back up.

Also, Sadie's story was during Halo 3: ODST, and is actually in game whereas the page ward link seems to be promotional material. And, the ODST from special forces is also from a post war source.

[MrKill]

No, no it's not.

The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are one of many Special Operations Forces in the UNSC Defense Force. The ODSTs are under the exclusive operational authority of the Naval Special Warfare Command/Naval Special Weapons. Their methods of operation allow them to conduct missions against targets that more conventional forces cannot approach undetected. ODSTs are recruited from the Special Operations Groups of every nation of the Unified Earth Government and are a strictly all volunteer fighting force. Potential ODSTs are selected because of their performance in their chosen MOS; every ODST candidate is a veteran from another Special Operations outfit and therefore has already gone through at least two layers of screening and months of intense training — not counting the years of training received before volunteering for the ODSTs. There are no age or gender restrictions — as long as the candidate meets the physical and mental requirements they are guaranteed the opportunity to try out for the ODSTs. Once in the ODSTs, a candidate's training continues - its entrance requirements serve as a third layer of screening upon two more, where applicants would have theoretically failed to pass. Candidates would, therefore, already have extensive experience in conducting the types of high-risk missions that the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers typically perform.

Read the bolded. Also, note the UEG. UEG was suppressed by the Emergency UNSC Government, not called the UEG.

Covenant Remnants aren't nearly as dangerous as the threat of the entire Covenant Empire.


Romeo was born in 2524 and enlisted in 2541.

2541 - 2524 = 17, but due to his date of birth he was 16 at the time.

Also from the Wiki.

UNSC Marine Corps, at the minimum age of 16.

, at the minimum age of 16.

Satisfied?

[Jakob]

Calm down Kill, I am not arguing with you.

The source for the bolded part is from Grasslands, post war.

And the UNSC had no idea how strong the remnant war or which number, they were also afraid of a war with the elites.

The source for 16 is also that page (unless you actually link me to the wiki page you are quoting I am assuming we are sticking with that page) which is conflicting with Sadies story.

[MrKill]

I'm calm, just providing quotes.

Regardless, you realize that the majority of Halo's canon interfere's with A) Another Author or B) Bungie/343i?

Halo isn't perfect, and thus we can't make it perfect. And the link is in the year 2541, which is a time-table canon reference. Just wiki it.

But as a current war reference, the age is now 16.

As for the ODST's, approved ODST's here on Yappa's don't have a previous SPEC-OP's history, so it's nullified regardless.

[Jakob]

Of course, but I think in game and a book should take precedence over a promotional page.

Also, that wiki page cites nothing, presumably it is from the same conclusion that you made, that premotional page.

[Ward, J.]

You are technically incorrect. Sadie's Story, for the record, did not put the age at eighteen. Sadie said her friend joined the Militia at eighteen. She did not say the enlistment age was eighteen. One can easily argue he decided to graduate from school first before joining. And, plus, it was Colonial Militia. While trained by UNSC and using their equipment, I doubt their recruiting standards match.

[AlphaWolf]

Militia forces often take anyone able to hold and fire a gun. I suggest that this be taken to a Site Discussion, as it's taken up nearly a full page of this thread, which is meant simply for Q&A instead of debates.

[Jakob]

Jul 31, 2013 11:54:02 GMT -6 AlphaWolf said:

Militia forces often take anyone able to hold and fire a gun. I suggest that this be taken to a Site Discussion, as it's taken up nearly a full page of this thread, which is meant simply for Q&A instead of debates.

Jul 26, 2013 at 4:43pm via ProBoards Mobile 

[AlphaWolf]

Watch out. A whole five days in the past.

[David]

The topic has been finished. Please don't bring up old laundry to be re-aired. Its been folded and put away XD

[NinjaBoss]

What would the standard crew for a Heavy Destroyer in command by a  sangheili shipmaster/mistress be? What positions would you need filled, what would their ranks most likely be, etc.

[Dufflepud]

The roles are generally as follows for all Covenant ships:

CO: Shipmaster
XO: Ultra
Security Master: Ultra
Choir Master: Ultra
Weapons Master: Ultra
Navigations Master: Major
Communications Master: Major

[NinjaBoss]

What tasks and responsibilities are assigned to Security Masters and Choir masters?

[MrKill]

The Security Master's responsibilities are making sure the bridge crew is secure.

A Choir Masters responsibility is managing the choirs (Squadrons) of single ship fighters the Covenant launch (Seraphs).

[Spartan 999]

Alright, even though this question won't really affect me much: Do normal, standard Marines have HUD's, and if so, how complex are they? HUD's as in on their goggles/eyepieces, not just the quasi-HUD they have due to the implant that allows them to see someone else's rank and such, and in complexity compared to the MJOLNIR and ODST HUD's.

[Jakob]

Currently, we have ISIS which connects your brain to your helmet for some reason, but gives command your view via cameras. Flipping through the books I have on hand, (Contact Harvest, Fall of Reach, The Flood) I can't find anything about HUD's.

[SuperCommando]

If, say, a minor Prophet of the High Council were for any reason to be onboard an active duty Covenant warship, would he be guarded by a personal detachment of Honor Guard Elites, or by members of that ship's own security commandos?

[MrKill]

Aug 12, 2013 7:46:27 GMT -6 Spartan 999 said:

Alright, even though this question won't really affect me much: Do normal, standard Marines have HUD's, and if so, how complex are they? HUD's as in on their goggles/eyepieces, not just the quasi-HUD they have due to the implant that allows them to see someone else's rank and such, and in complexity compared to the MJOLNIR and ODST HUD's.

Marines most certainly have a Heads Up Display.



From the above link it provides the information you need. Marines use the same system, just without the fancy gadgets SPARTAN's have (Things like the SHIELD indicator, like above).

Aug 12, 2013 9:07:42 GMT -6 SuperCommando said:

If, say, a minor Prophet of the High Council were for any reason to be onboard an active duty Covenant warship, would he be guarded by a personal detachment of Honor Guard Elites, or by members of that ship's own security commandos?

I believe any Prophet would have it's own honor guards, regardless of where it is at. A personal escort for its-self.

[Jakob]

The problem being that the wiki page cites absolutely nothing and it has nothing that tells us where it got that idea. The only one I can actually identify from anything is the VISR from ODST.

[MrKill]

At this point, Jakob, the wiki is your best friend simply because this is a fictional universe and the only actual sources the HUD is citing too is the Halo games and books - who are almost always a SPARTAN in the books. Marines are hardly written, as a character, other then Sergeant Johnston in Contact Harvest. It's not reliable, I agree, but it's there. The green eye piece in Halo Combat Evolved would have been the heads up display for the Marines, or a combat information system.

Notice that some Marines don't have that piece.

Regardless, most Marines just use data and tactical pads, but that green eye piece is probably the Marines version of the HUD.