STOLEN GAUNTLET

This article is about the protocol. For the achievement, see Stolen Gauntlet.

Upon the declaration of STOLEN GAUNTLET, special agents such as Jameson Locke are tasked with tracking down rogue Spartans.

"Attention, all personnel. STOLEN GAUNTLET protocol has been activated. Spartan Edward Buck is reported AWOL."

— Leonidas

STOLEN GAUNTLET is a red alert fail-safe protocol developed by the Office of Naval Intelligence in the event that any Spartans were to operate subversively outside mission parameters and operations protocol. The protocol provides training and permissive rules of engagement for special agents tasked with tracking down and swiftly neutralizing rogue Spartans.

Overview

STOLEN GAUNTLET became a necessary creation with the advent of the SPARTAN-IV program. Unlike the prior SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III initiatives, SPARTAN-IV followed the ORION Project's protocols of recruiting experienced personnel from the various branches of service of the Unified Earth Government. This means that candidates in the program are not children indoctrinated into loyalty to the UEG From childhood, but instead experienced operators with preexisting philosophies and loyalties.

While the SPARTAN-IV program's recruitment guidelines are viewed as ethically superior to those of prior generations, this does mean that individual Spartans represent a significant security threat if their loyalty is compromised, with a generally higher probability of deviation within the candidate pool.

A handful of rogue Spartans, including Michael Crespo, were imprisoned in the Spartan-IV training station after arrest.

History

STOLEN GAUNTLET has been invoked a number of times, including:

• The defection of Michael Crespo to the Insurrectionist cause.
• John-117 and Blue Team's intention to steal ONI Acrisius from Argent Moon, resulting in Fireteam Osiris being deployed to track them down.
• A faux-declaration by Leonidas in an attempt to prevent Edward Buck from relaying the truth of the Created uprising to the Spartans of the Spartan-IV training station.

It is unclear whether the defections of Spartan-IVs Ilsa Zane, Rudolf Schein, and Vladimir Scruggs invoked the STOLEN GAUNTLET protocol.

Non-canon and dubious canon appearances

Silver Timeline

Main article: Silver Timeline

STOLEN GAUNTLET was asset retrieval\denial protocols. In 2552; John-117 was put under this protocol when he departed the Epsilon Eridani system with Kwan Ha, with Jacob Keyes coordinating the crisis action team stand-up for it.

A modified version of STOLEN GAUNTLET existed for Soren-066 called the SOREN PROTOCOL.

List of appearances

• Hunt the Truth
  • Hunt the Signal (First appearance)
• Halo 5: Guardians (Mentioned only)
• Halo: Bad Blood
• Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual (Mentioned only)
• Halo: The Television Series