Editing Franklin Mendez

{{Status|Canon}}
{{New content|[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]}}
{{Character infobox
|variant=Human
|name=Franklin Mendez
|image=[[File:Enc22 Mendez.jpg|300px]]
|homeworld=[[Sigma Octanus IV]]<ref name="universe">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/chief-mendez '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Franklin Mendez'']</ref>
|birth=[[2492|March 21, 2492]]{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|death=
|causeofdeath=
|parents=
|siblings=
|spouses=
|children=
|species=[[Human]]
|gender=Male
|height={{Convert|188|cm|ftin}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|mass={{Convert|93|kg|lb|sigfig=3}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|hair=Silver,<ref name="Onyx69">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 69''</ref> formerly black<ref>'''Halo: Blood Line'''</ref>
|eyes=Brown
|affiliation=*[[UNSC Navy]] {{C|retired}}
*[[Onyx United Research Project]]
|rank=[[Senior chief petty officer]]{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} {{C|retired}}
|sn=22926-11908-FM{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}
|notable=
}}
{{Quote|Nothing can kill the Chief.|A young [[John-117]] refers to Mendez}}

'''Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez''' ([[service number]] '''22926-11908-FM'''){{Ref/Reuse|universe}} is a retired [[UNSC Navy]] [[non-commissioned officer]] who was involved in the training of every [[SPARTAN programs|supersoldier]] of both the [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] and [[SPARTAN-III program|SPARTAN-III]] programs. His career is extensive and he has earned numerous medals and commendations fighting in the [[Insurrection]] and the [[Human-Covenant War]].

==Biography==
===Early life and military career===
Franklin Mendez was born on the [[human]] [[Human colonies|colony]] of [[Sigma Octanus IV]] on [[2492|March 21, 2492]]. At the age of sixteen, he enlisted in the [[United Nations Space Command]] with the approval of his parents and he left for [[Reach]] to begin his training. In [[2514]], he transferred to [[Naval Special Weapons]], where he participated in some of the most challenging engagements of the [[Insurrection]] occurring within the [[Eridanus system]]—though the specifics of his activities during these [[operation]]s remain highly classified. Upon being promoted to Chief Petty Officer, Mendez became heavily involved in the NAVSPECWAR training cadre, where his skills became quickly recognized by the [[UNSC Navy]]'s [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} By [[2517]], then-CPO Mendez was regarded as the Navy's best hand-to-hand combat and physical training [[drill instructor]], in addition to having substantial combat experience.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 28-29''</ref>

===SPARTAN-II training===
[[File:FoR TAS Mendez 2.jpg|thumb|200px|Mendez during the SPARTAN-II training.]]
Due to his skills, he was recruited to lead the [[SPARTAN-II training|training]] of the SPARTAN-II supersoldiers in [[2516]].{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} He was the Spartan-IIs' training leader during their first years on [[Reach]] from 2517 until [[2525]]. He trained them in the aspects of combat as hard as any Marine when they were only at the age of six.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', "chapter 4"</ref> His military training was punctuated with in-class strategy sessions with AI [[Déjà]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 38''</ref>

At the beginning of their training, CPO Mendez and his training instructors used [[Humbler stun device|electric batons]] to discipline trainees.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 35''</ref> However, his trainers would occasionally use rifles with tranquilizer rounds to incapacitate the trainees (those who would eventually make up [[Gray Team]]) who attempted to escape. Eventually the Spartans, [[John-117]] in particular, came to revere Mendez as a solid, unmovable force in their lives.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 99'' (''"The only constant in the universe"'')</ref> They had great respect for him, perhaps even to the extent of seeing him as a father figure, much as they regarded [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]] as a mother figure.

After the Spartan-IIs' training was completed, Mendez was reassigned to train the next class of [[SPARTAN program|Spartans]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 99''</ref> John-117 never saw him again, though Mendez returned the [[quarter]] that Dr. Halsey had given John during their first meeting. He recalled that John broke a few of the trainers' fingers when they tried to take the coin from him.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 101''</ref>

===SPARTAN-III training===
As the next class of the SPARTAN-II program was delayed by Dr. Halsey due to issues with viable candidates, ONI eventually diverted her funding to other projects and Mendez requested reassignment to active duty. Over the next six years, he fought the Covenant on five worlds, won two more [[Purple Heart]]s, and was promoted to [[Senior Chief Petty Officer]]. Mendez was then recruited by [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] to assist [[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Kurt Ambrose]], formerly Spartan Kurt-051, in administrating the [[SPARTAN-III program]]. He trained three SPARTAN-III companies at [[Camp Currahee]] on [[Onyx]] from [[2531]] until [[2552]]. He was originally skeptical of the job, comparing the behavior of the trainees to that of the schoolchildren in the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Lord of the Flies|Lord of The Flies]]''.{{Ref/Reuse|Onyx69}}

===Onyx Conflict===
{{Main|Onyx Conflict}}
While training the final batches of [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] on [[2552#October|October 31, 2552]], Mendez and the other UNSC forces on Onyx came under attack by [[Forerunner]] [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]]. He, along with SPARTAN-III [[Team Saber]], [[Tom-B292]], [[Lucy-B091]], and Ambrose were virtually alone on the planet, and were forced to hide from Sentinels for several days. Eventually, Spartan-II [[Kelly-087]] and Dr. Halsey arrived, followed shortly by Spartan-II [[Blue Team]]: [[Frederic-104]], [[William-043]], and [[Linda-058]]. Mendez assisted them in fighting their way to the [[core room antechamber|core of Onyx]], where he eventually evacuated to [[Trevelyan|Shield World 006]], held in a [[slipspace bubble]] in Onyx's core, along with the other survivors. Onyx, actually an artificial planetary shell covering the shield world, was then disintegrated by the Sentinels.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 365-366''</ref>

===Shield world and retirement===
[[File:HM EscapeFromOnyx3.png|thumb|200px|Mendez and Halsey (right) inside Shield World 006.]]
At the funeral for the Spartans who had died on Onyx, Mendez read an excerpt from his favorite book: an account of the [[Rain Forest Wars]] called ''[[A Soldier's Tale: Rainforest Wars]]''.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 378-379''</ref> While inside the shield world, Mendez began to reflect upon his role in training the Spartans.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 73''</ref> He also took note of Halsey's apparent discomfort with the Spartan-IIIs he had helped train, confronting the doctor about this on several occasions.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 37-40''</ref>

After Mendez and the other survivors had reconnoitered the sphere for some time and established a base camp in a [[Citadel (Trevelyan)|Forerunner city]], [[Lucy-B091]] discovered several [[Huragok]] which helped the human survivors contact the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] ships outside the slipspace bubble and eventually bring the sphere into normal space.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 382-389''</ref> Mendez and the others were then taken to a debriefing in [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6]] aboard the {{UNSCShip|Port Stanley}}.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 401-403''</ref> Mendez, along with the surviving Spartan-IIs, was present at the [[Voi Memorial]] unveiling ceremony on [[2553#March|March 3, 2553]].<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 414''</ref> Shortly after this, Mendez retired from UNSC service, a result of personal introspection of about his role in training child soldiers as well as pressure from the UNSC.{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}

===Onyx United Research Project===
{{Quote|Well, when I think of all the things we had to do to win the war... Let's just say it's nice to have an opportunity to do some unalloyed good.|Mendez to [[Tom-B292]] and [[Lucy-B091]] on his new post.{{Ref/Reuse|lessons}}}}
Mendez was ultimately not comfortable with his retirement and by early [[2554]], he had been appointed as head of security for the [[Onyx United Research Project]] within [[Shield World 006]], with the Sangheili [[Kasha 'Hilot]] as his second-in-command. While still nominally a civilian, Mendez had authority over the UNSC forces within the facility. Around April 2554, he welcomed [[Lucy-B091]] and [[Tom-B292]] to the shield world, the two [[Beta Company]] Spartans having been assigned under him as part of the project's security staff. Following an incident in which a UNSC soldier assaulted Kasha 'Hilot, Mendez dismissed the offender and his comrades, intending to talk with the facility's director [[Hugo Barton]] regarding the vetting standards for the facility's personnel.<ref name="lessons">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', "[[Lessons Learned]]"</ref>

===Interview with Benjamin Giraud===
In [[2558]], ONI had a man claimed to be Mendez provide an interview regarding the Master Chief for journalist [[Benjamin Giraud]] in ONI's [[Boston]] headquarters. Like the other sources ONI had provided for Giraud, "Mendez" adhered to the sanitized public version of the Spartan-IIs' background, centered on glorifying John's heroism and omitting any mention of his age or life before his [[SPARTAN-II training|training]]. When Giraud attempted to approach the topic from a more critical angle, his interviewee rather unambiguously advised him not to press the issue so as to avoid turning the conversation "decidedly unpleasant".<ref>'''[[Hunt the Truth]]''', ''Episode 5: OUT OF TIME''</ref>{{Ref/Note|It is suspected that the man interviewed by Giraud was not, in fact, the real Mendez, but likely an ONI stand-in. ''[[Lessons Learned]]'' and ''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'' establish that Mendez was consistently stationed at Onyx as part of his role as the facility's head of security during the emergence of the Guardians in 2558. Additionally, ''Legacy of Onyx'' shows Mendez remained troubled over his part in the Spartan programs, making it questionable he would so readily perpetuate ONI's narrative regarding the Spartan-IIs - or that ONI would summon him to Earth from his duties at Onyx only to have him provide a relatively brief interview in the first place.}}

===Second Onyx conflict===
{{Main|Second Onyx conflict}}
{{Expand-section}}

==Personality and traits==
Mendez is a strict, by-the-book military man and thus has a solid sense of duty and honor. He also rarely allows himself to display his emotions (for example, [[John-117]] very rarely had seen him smile). When he heard of the destruction of the [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]] of Spartan-IIIs, he kept his face stony, holding his feelings to himself. His total need for discipline and order off-sets many of his new acquaintances, however those who know him well (namely the Spartan-IIs, particularly John-117 and [[Kurt Ambrose]]) have a respect and relationship with him that can be compared to that of the connection between father and child.

Mendez's stringent sense of military discipline extends to himself, and he is known to devote considerable attention to his physical fitness even with age. When he arrived to train Alpha Company, Lieutenant Commander Ambrose noted that Mendez had aged very well, that he had a trim chiseled body from "ironwood", with hair that was now silver, deep creases around his eyes and that a set of ragged scars that ran from brow to chin.{{Ref/Reuse|Onyx69}} By 2552, Kurt still found Mendez to be surprisingly fit and agile, noting he moved like a soldier thirty years younger and wondered what kind of Spartan he would have made.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 129''</ref>

He is known to enjoy [[Sweet William cigar]]s.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 69''</ref>

==Decorations==
Mendez is a battle-hardened veteran who has won numerous decorations, including multiple Gold Stars, [[Silver Star]]s, [[Bronze Star]]s, three [[Purple Heart]]s,<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 95''</ref> and the [[Legion of Honor]].

==Production notes==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
Mendez is portrayed by American actor [[Wikipedia:Stacy Keach|Stacy Keach]] in ''[[Hunt the Truth]]'',<ref>[http://news.xbox.com/2015/05/games-hunt-the-truth-podcast-episode-8 '''Xbox Wire''': ''Halo 5: Guardians #HuntTheTruth - Has the Master Chief Gone AWOL?'']</ref>, Richard Cansino in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]'', and [[Wikipedia:Jim Meskimen|Jim Meskimen]] in ''[[Halo Infinite: Memory Agent]]''.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bloodline_Chief_Mendez.png|Mendez in ''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''.
File:Mendez_Journal.jpg|Mendez, as drawn by Dr. Halsey. 
File:Xbox Daily E3 Trailer - John as a child.jpg|Mendez in his office with Dr. Halsey and John-117.
File:FoR_Mendez.png|Mendez bestows John-117 the rank of Petty Officer Third Class.
File:Mendez2.jpg|A possible appearance of Mendez in ''Birth of a Spartan''. 
File:FoR TAS Mendez full.jpg|Mendez as he appears in [[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]].
File:FoR TAS Mendez.jpg|Mendez in his [[UNSC Navy Dress Uniform|Navy dress uniform]].
File:FoR TAS - Mendez.jpg|Mendez in 2517.
File:Enc22_Mendez.jpg|Mendez in the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[Pariah]]''
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]''
*''[[Remember Reach]]
**''[[Birth of a Spartan]]'' {{C|Possibly}}
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''
**''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant]]'' {{C|Flashback only}}
*[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Hunt the Truth]]''
*''[[Halo: Last Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo Fractures]]''
**''[[Lessons Learned]]''
*''[[Halo: Envoy]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Retribution]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]''
*''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Oblivion]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Infinite: Memory Agent]]''
*''[[Halo: The Television Series]]''
**''[[Homecoming (TV Series)|Homecoming]]''

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|2}}

[[Category:Human characters|Mendez, Franklin]]
[[Category:UNSC Navy enlisted personnel|Mendez, Franklin]]