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| {{Era|RE|GOO|HE}}
| | The '''SPARTAN-III Program''' was the latest addition to the successful SPARTAN Program already in affect by the [[UNSC]]. They were designed to be elite super-soldiers in combat, but also to be much cheaper than their predecessors, the [[SPARTAN-II Program]] soldiers. Designed to rely more on superior battle tactics, teamwork, and large numbers to achieve victory. They were much more numerous and chosen from a wider pool of candidates than the SPARTAN-IIs, and were also cheaper to train, produce, and arm. A more famous team of SPARTAN-IIIs was [[Noble Team]] which included members [[Carter-A259]], [[Catherine-B320]], [[Jun-A266]], [[Emile-A239]], and [[SPARTAN-B312]] ([[Jorge-052]] was a SPARTAN-II assigned to Noble Team). |
| {{Ratings}}
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| {{New Content}}
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| {{Infobox Military Unit
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| |unit_name = Spartan-III Program
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| |dates = [[2531]] - [[2552]]
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| |allegiance = [[United Nations Space Command]]
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| |branch = *[[UNSC Navy]]
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| **[[Office of Naval Intelligence]]
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| ***[[Beta-5 Division]]
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| |type = Special operations
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| |size = *[[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]] - [[Killed In Action]]
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| *[[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Company]] - Killed In Action
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| *[[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] - Active
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| *[[SPARTAN-III Delta Company|Delta Company]] - Inactive
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| *[[Noble Team]] - Active as of [[2552#August|August 2552]]
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| *[[Headhunters]] - Unknown
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| |garrison = [[Camp Currahee]]
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| |equipment = *[[Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor]]
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| *[[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|MJOLNIR Armor]] [[Noble Team|(Noble Team)]]
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| |battles = *[[Insurrection]]
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| *[[Human-Covenant War]]
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| |commanders = *[[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]]
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| *[[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Kurt-051]]
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| *[[Senior Chief Petty Officer]] [[Franklin Mendez]]
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| |notable_commanders = *[[Carter-A259]]
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| *[[Lucy-B091]]
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| *[[Tom-B292]]
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| *[[Ash-G099]]
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| }}
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| {{Quote|Make the units better with new technology. Make more of them. And make them cheaper.|[[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]]}}
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| The '''SPARTAN-III program''' was a project initiated by the [[Beta-5 Division]] of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence|Office of Naval Intelligence's Section-III]] in order to produce cheap and expendable super soldiers to fight for the survival of [[Human|humanity]] and the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s colonies.
| | == Gallery == |
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| ==Introduction==
| | [[File:Halo+reach.jpg|500px|thumb|left|Noble Team ride to battle in a [[Falcon]]]] |
| The SPARTAN-III program was both the successor and supplement to the [[SPARTAN-II program]]. Created and engineered by Colonel Ackerson of the Office of Naval Intelligence, the SPARTAN-III soldiers were to be the next generation of supersoldiers. Composed primarily of vengeful orphans from fallen colonies,<ref name="Page 70">'''''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''''', page 70</ref> they would be cheaper to arm, train, and produce; being chosen from a wider pool of candidates, they would also be more numerous than their SPARTAN-II predecessors. They would rely on superior battle tactics, teamwork, and sheer numbers rather than technology and equipment, to achieve their effectiveness.<ref name="Page 44">'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', pages 44 - 48</ref>
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| ==Purpose==
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| The SPARTAN-II program had been a dazzling success for the UNSC. Tales of Spartan super soldiers fighting off thousands of [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] attacks had become the stuff of legend. Unfortunately, there were too few SPARTAN-IIs to turn the tide of the war. Even worse, the director for the program, [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]], had postponed the training of new Spartan-IIs for years due to the extremely specific genetic requirements for the children to be selected.
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| The SPARTAN-II program also had several problems and deficiencies which overshadowed its success to ONI. Firstly, the high mortality rate of the children during [[SPARTAN-II Augmentation Procedures|augmentation]] was counter-productive to the purpose, drive, and ambition of the program. Next, funding the Spartan program, including their training and [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|MJOLNIR armor]], cost as much as a [[battle group]], at least according to [[Rear Admiral]] [[Ned Rich]]. Third, there were far too few of them for them to turn the tide of the war. Finally, the Spartan-II program had gone public to improve morale in [[2547]]. Even though it was a huge morale boost to the UNSC, it was a problem for most of the Office of Naval Intelligence. ONI operated in secrecy, and anything that shone light on their operations was seen as detrimental to their efforts.
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| The SPARTAN-IIIs were designed to be better trained, cheaper, and expendable. They would be trained in companies of 300 to 330 at a time, and then sent on suicide missions that the UNSC could not accomplish even with the elite [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s. Though the casualty rates of the SPARTAN-IIIs stood at 100 percent on some missions, to ONI, all the operations were strategic successes. They were trading lives for time against the larger and technologically superior [[Covenant Empire]]. ONI hoped that in time, enough Spartans would survive to train more and more future Spartans, swelling the ranks of available super soldiers from only thirty SPARTAN-IIs in [[2531]] to a hundred thousand SPARTAN-IIIs within ten to twenty years.<ref name="Page 44"/>
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| ==Personnel==
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| ===Alpha Company===
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| *[[Noble Team]]
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| **[[Emile-A239]] - Active as of [[2552#August|August 2552]]
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| **[[Carter-A259]] - Active as of August 2552
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| **[[Jun-A266]] - Active as of August 2552
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| *[[Team Wolf Pack]]
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| **[[Jane (SPARTAN-III)|Jane-A???]] - KIA
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| **[[Shane|Shane-A???]] - KIA
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| **[[Robert (Spartan)|Robert-A???]]- KIA
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| *'''Others'''
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| **[[Kai-A019]] - Unknown status; likely killed in Operation: PROMETHEUS
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| ===Beta Company===
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| *[[Team Echo]] - KIA
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| *[[Team Foxtrot]]
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| **[[Adam-B004]] - KIA
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| **[[Lucy-B091]] - Active in [[Shield World]]
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| **[[Min-B174]] - KIA
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| **[[Tom-B292]] - Active in Shield World
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| *[[Team India]] - KIA
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| *[[Team Lima]] - KIA
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| *[[Team X-ray]] - KIA
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| *[[Team Romeo]] – KIA
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| *Team Zulu - KIA
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| *[[Noble Team]]
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| **[[SPARTAN-B312]] - Active as of August 2552
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| **[[Catherine-B320]] - Active as of August 2552
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| ===Gamma Company===
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| *[[Team Gladius]] – KIA - Found deceased after several days of fleeing from [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]].
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| *[[Team Katana]] - Inside [[Slipspace Field Pod]]s in Shield World. Currently traveling with surviving SPARTAN-IIIs/IIs.
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| *[[Team Saber]]
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| **[[Holly-G003]] - KIA <ref>[[Halopedia:Letter - Re:Spartan-Holly|Letter from Eric Nylund]]</ref>
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| **[[Ash-G099]] - Active in Shield World.
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| **[[Dante-G188]] - KIA
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| **[[Mark|Mark-G???]] - Active in Shield World.
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| **[[Olivia|Olivia-G???]] - Active in Shield World.<ref name="Page 369"/>
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| ===Others===
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| *[[Headhunters]]
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| '''Team 1'''
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| **[[Jonah]] - KIA
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| **[[Roland (Spartan)|Roland]] - KIA
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| '''Team 2'''
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| **Unnamed SPARTAN-III - KIA
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| **Unnamed SPARTAN-III - KIA
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| *[[Noble Team]]
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| **[[Thom-293]] - KIA
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| **[[SPARTAN-344]]- Unknown status
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| ==Spartan-III Companies==
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| [[File:Spartan III Alpha Company.png|thumb|A section of Alpha Company being inspected by [[Franklin Mendez]].]] | |
| ===Alpha Company===
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| {{Main|SPARTAN-III Alpha Company}}
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| On December 27, [[2531]], the first group of Spartan-IIIs, known as Alpha Company, were sent to [[Onyx]] to be trained at [[Camp Currahee]]. They were led by [[Kurt-051]] a SPARTAN-II operating under the pseudonym "Ambrose". Of the 497 candidates who were conscripted, only 300 became Spartans. This class of Spartans all survived the augmentations and was activated in November of [[2536]]. Their record was at first exemplary, as they saw action at the [[Insurrection of Mamore|Insurrection of]] [[Mamore]], the [[Battle of New Constantinople]], and at the [[Bonanza Asteroid Belt]]. Nine months after they were activated, they were massacred in [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]]. All of the three-hundred Spartans deployed on the mission were supposedly killed. The only fire team mentioned for Alpha Company is [[Team Wolf Pack]].<ref name="Page 83"/>
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| ===Beta Company===
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| {{Main|SPARTAN-III Beta Company}}
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| Beta Company was approved right after Operation: PROMETHEUS in [[2537]]. 418 candidates were conscripted in [[2539]], but only 300 became Spartans. Kurt-051 was disheartened at the loss of his first Spartans, and trained this group in unit cohesiveness along with a tougher training program. Though they were even better trained than the previous Spartans, they were similarly massacred in [[Operation: TORPEDO]] in [[2545]]. From the entire company, only two participants survived the battle.<ref>'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', ''Prologue''</ref>
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| ===Gamma Company===
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| {{Main|SPARTAN-III Gamma Company}}
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| Gamma Company was trained with the help of the only two Spartan-IIIs from Beta Company who survived Operation: TORPEDO: [[Tom-B292]] and [[Lucy-B091]]. Lieutenant Commander Ambrose regarded Gamma Company to be the finest of the SPARTAN-III companies. 330 candidates were selected, on average only six years old, and at the request of Kurt, all 330 were approved. Every one of them survived the [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|augmentation procedures]].<ref>'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', pages 96-120</ref> Gamma Company received deployment orders only a few weeks after the [[Fall of Reach]], and most left Onyx before the [[Battle of Onyx]].<ref>'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', page 139</ref> Only fifteen SPARTAN-IIIs remained on Onyx as they competed for top honors. Following the Battle of Onyx, seven had been killed in action. [[Team Gladius|Teams Gladius]] and [[Team Katana|Katana]] were not present in the early stages of the battle, leaving only [[Team Saber]]. Team Saber was the only SPARTAN-III unit to fight alongside the SPARTAN-II unit [[Blue Team]]. With the help of their older, more experienced counterparts, they successfully fought off a Covenant attack along with destroying a [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinel]] [[Sentinel Constructor Factory|manufacturing facility]]. Ultimately, the surviving SPARTAN-IIIs escaped to the [[Shield World]] at the core of Onyx.<ref name="Page 369">'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', pages 369-383</ref>
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| ===Delta Company===
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| {{Main|SPARTAN-III Delta Company}}
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| Delta Company was proposed, and [[Camp Currahee]] was being prepared for their arrival when the Battle of Onyx began on [[2552#October|October 31, 2552]]. With the death of Kurt-051 and the disappearances of [[Senior Chief Petty Officer|SCPO]] [[Franklin Mendez]] and Dr. Catherine Halsey, as well as the immediate concerns of the [[Battle of Earth]] and the disintegration of Onyx, it is highly unlikely that Delta Company will ever be trained.
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| ==Special-Purposed==
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| A number of soldiers were specially selected and separated from their respective companies to fight in smaller fireteams.
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| [[File:Evo Headhunters Post.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Jonah]] and [[Roland (Spartan)|Roland]], a Headhunter team.]]
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| ===Headhunters===
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| {{main|Headhunters}}
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| Only SPARTAN-IIIs who have survived two or more specially assigned training missions can join the "Headhunters". These two-man teams of SPARTAN-IIIs go on missions far behind enemy lines and are typically expected to die in combat. The Headhunters' existence is secret even to their peers. Once selected, candidates for the program are separated from their fellow SPARTANs and are sent to specialist training camps on the far side of Onyx. The Headhunters are comprehensively evaluated in order to ensure an effective bond between the members of each team. A contingent of of six two-man teams, as well as five additional Headhunters, is maintained at all times to ensure the program's numbers remain constant should one or both members of a team be lost. The Headhunters' [[Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor|SPI armor]] is more advanced than the suits issued to most SPARTAN-IIIs, as it includes [[energy shielding]], [[Motion Sensor|motion trackers]], and [[Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance|VISR]] technology, and can also support a prototypical [[active camoflauge]] module.
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| {{clear}}
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| [[File:Noble Team.jpg|150px|thumb|right|[[Noble Team]]]]
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| ===Noble Team===
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| {{Main|Noble Team}}
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| Noble Team is a [[UNSC Special Forces|special operations]] squad of the UNSC's [[Special Warfare Command]] it is made up of SPARTAN-IIIs from both [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company|Alpha]] and [[SPARTAN-III Beta Company|Beta Companies]]. Composed of five SPARTAN-IIIs and a SPARTAN-II, Noble Team employs special tactics and expensive but extremely advanced equipment such as a variant of the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|MJOLNIR armor]], which is much more advanced than the SPI armor issued to most SPARTAN-IIIs. Their most notable combat deployment was during the [[Fall of Reach]]. The team is commanded by [[Carter-A259]], with [[Catherine-B320]] as his second in command.
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| {{clear}}
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| ==Operational History==
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| The operational history of the SPARTAN-III program has been marked by success and tragedy. Many of the operations undertaken by the soldiers were suicide missions, but were listed as successes by the UNSC.
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| ===2536 - 2537===
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| *Alpha Company is activated.
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| *Alpha Company quells [[Insurrection of Mamore|Insurrection at]] [[Mamore]] - Success.
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| *[[Battle of New Constantinople]] - Success.
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| *Operations in the [[Bonanza Asteroid Belt]] – Success.
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| *Six other successful unnamed battles in which Alpha Company participated.<ref name="Page 83">'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', pages 81-83</ref>
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| *July 27, [[2537]] - August 2, 2537 - [[Operation: PROMETHEUS]] – Success, all participants confirmed KIA.<ref>'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', pages 83-88</ref>
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| ===2539===
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| *Candidates for Beta Company are selected.
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| ===2545===
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| *July 3, 2545 - [[Operation: TORPEDO]] – Success, all but two participants confirmed KIA.<!--SPARTAN-B312 was removed from Beta Company immediately after training, as revealed in a report made two months before Operation: TORPEDO. He/she did not participate in Operation: TORPEDO. Thus, only two participants survived the battle.-->
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| ===2545–2552===
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| *Candidates for Gamma Company are selected.
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| *August 30, [[2552]] - Noble Team participates in the [[Fall of Reach]].
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| *September/October, 2552 - The majority of Gamma Company are sent out on an unknown mission.
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| *October 31, 2552 - November 3, 2552 – [[Battle of Onyx]].
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| ==Equipment==
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| ===SPI Armor===
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| {{Main|Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor}}
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| Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor, colloquially called "SPI Armor", is a powered [[armor]] system used by the SPARTAN-IIIs. Though far more advanced and far more powerful than the [[ODST Ballistic Battle Armor|ODST combat suit]], it is less advanced and less powerful than the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|MJOLNIR armor]] used by the SPARTAN-IIs. Its main benefit was that it is drastically cheaper to produce than the MJOLNIR armor.
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| This armor is designed with an emphasis on stealth rather than raw power. It features [[Camouflage Cloak|photo-reactive panels]] that mimic the surrounding textures which were developed by UNSC scientists. It has been described as "part legionnaire mail, part tactical body armor, and part chameleon." It lacks the energy shielding of the Mark V and VI MJOLNIR armor designs, and a single "splash" from an enemy plasma weapon melts the suit's photo-reactive panels, rendering its camouflage capabilities useless.
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| ===MJOLNIR Armor===
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| {{Main|MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Mark V}}
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| The Spartan-IIIs of Noble Team are the only known Spartan-IIIs to wear variants of the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]]. By 2552, they were wearing specialized permutations of the most recent Mark V model. In addition, some of them utilized a variant that was specifically developed for [[Special Warfare Command|SPECWAR/Group Three]]; the [[Mark V(B) MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|Mark V[B]]].
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| ===Augmentation Procedures===
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| [[File:BirthOfASpartan - Augmentation.png|thumb|A screen monitoring [[Carter-A259]]'s augmentations during [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM]].]]
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| {{Main|Project CHRYSANTHEMUM}}
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| The SPARTAN-IIIs underwent enhancement procedures similar to those of the SPARTAN-IIs, but with higher success rates due to advancements in technology. The rate of survival went up from 44% for the SPARTAN-IIs to 100% for the SPARTAN-IIIs.
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| ==Trivia==
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| *The naming convention of the SPARTAN-III companies follows the Greek alphabet (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, etc). Each individual SPARTAN-III's identifier becomes A,B, or G (letter of respective company), followed by a three-digit number between 001 and 300 or so, such as [[Ash-G099]]. This numbering system is very much like that of the SPARTAN-IIs.
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| *For some reason, Ash-G099 was referred to as a private. This may suggest that the SPARTAN-IIIs were actually Marine-esque personnel. Evidence of this includes the use of [[Long Range Stealth Orbital Insertion Pod]]s, a more sophisticated counterpart to the [[Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle|SOEIVs]] used by the ODSTs, and their only known combat experience being ground operations. However, the reference to Ash being a private may simply be a mistake, since Tom-B292, Lucy-B091, and the members of Noble Team are given Navy ranks.
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| *The number of 300 SPARTAN-IIIs in both Alpha and Beta companies, who were both massacred but completed their missions and killed many [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] warriors in the process is a reference to the last stand of the 300 Spartans in the [[Battle of Thermopylae]].
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| *The protagonist of ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' is [[SPARTAN-B312]], a SPARTAN-III who was pulled from Beta Company right before [[Operation: TORPEDO]] commenced.<ref>[http://www.bungie.net/projects/reach/article.aspx?ucc=personnel&cid=24040 '''Bungie.net:''' Letter from Kurt to Mendez]</ref>
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| ==Sources==
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| <references/>
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| ==See also==
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| *[[SPARTAN Program]]
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| *[[SPARTAN-II program]]
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| {{Spartan III}}
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| {{SpartanPrograms}}
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| [[Category:UNSC Special Forces]]
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| [[Category:Spartans]]
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