Editing United Nations Space Command

However, the most important consequence of the anti-totalitarian campaign was of both political and military nature. The United Nations itself did not control a dedicated space military prior to the Mars Campaign, a lacking element which it would replace with a special emergency military force that would come to represent humanity's overall military might. In the wake of the success of the UNSC Marines on Mars, the UN used its growing influence to not only take control of Earth's national governments, but also absorb Earth's national military organizations into a single, organized force; the United Nations Space Command was created.{{Ref/Reuse|xbox}}

===Interplanetary War===

{{Main|Interplanetary War}}

As of [[2164]], psychological results of the campaign on Mars were formidable; civilian trust in the newly-formed UNSC military was boosted by massive televised propaganda, providing the UNSC with large waves of enthusiastic volunteers from all military services around the world. A sense of urgency, courage and hope helped UN forces scramble extraordinary divisions of Marines, infantry and fliers for a final campaign to annihilate remaining communist and fascist outposts and strongholds on Earth as well as throughout the inner planets and beyond Jupiter. The final campaign for peace lasted from 2164 to [[2170]] in a series of brutal crackdowns on Frieden and Koslovic hardliners. The result of this war gathered strong civilian support for some sort of powerful international military that could repel revolts and uprisings wherever they may occur. The UNSC emerged as the leading force to further those goals.{{Ref/Reuse|xbox}}

Coincidentally, the war formally ended where it had begun: in the Jovian Moons. The [[Callisto Treaty]] was signed in 2170 by commanders of Koslovic and Frieden forces in the presence of [[United Nations colonial advisers|UN colonial authorities]], definitively ending the 10-year-long conflict with a victory of UNSC forces and democratic leadership.{{Ref/Reuse|xbox}}

During the Covenant War, the success of the Spartan-IIs would convince the ONI leadership to use similar methodologies to create hundreds of supersoldiers in the [[SPARTAN-III program]]. Despite various refinements in their training and augmentation processes, most of the Spartan-IIIs would be less well-equipped than their predecessors for budgetary reasons, and the majority of them would ultimately perish on strategically important, high-risk deployments.<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 76''</ref> Following the end of the war, the [[SPARTAN-IV program]] marked a return to ORION's recruitment protocols, drawing candidates from the UNSC's extant military forces; additionally, technological advances and the relegation of equipment manufacturing to the private sector allowed each operator to be issued with the previously prohibitively expensive Mjolnir armor. With Spartans being created in increasing numbers, their presence across UNSC-controlled space would become far more established and publicized in the years that followed than ever before.<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 128''</ref>

===Human-Covenant War===

{{main|Human-Covenant War}}

[[2525]] marked the most important turning point in human history. It would mark the beginning of the great technological advancement, the unification of a divided and fractured human race, and the [[First Battle of Harvest|first contact]] between humanity and extraterrestrial intelligence; the [[Covenant]]. It would also see a majority of the UNSC's colony worlds destroyed, with billions killed by orbital plasma bombardment, a technique latter known as [[glassing]]. The most important war in the history of the human race began with a disastrous first contact at the distant colony of [[Harvest]].

====First contact====

[[File:HWG SecondBattleOfHarvest.png|thumb|250px|Admiral Cole's victory at Harvest.]]

Stemming from the chance encounter of human and Covenant forces at [[Harvest]], the first contact made between humanity and the Covenant involved the ship ''[[Minor Transgression]]'', and was less peaceful than the second contact made between the two factions. A meeting between representatives of the two factions took place on the fields of Harvest, but the attempt at diplomacy soon turned into a bloodbath. The Covenant claimed the planet for the numerous "[[Forerunner]] relics" their [[Luminary|luminaries]] had detected, and slaughtered most of the colony's population.{{Ref/Reuse|xbox}} The vast majority of the Covenant remained unaware that the humans they were sworn to annihilate, were in fact the very [[Reclaimer]]s (mistranslated as "Reclamation") their ancient texts spoke of.<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', p. 274-278</ref>

{{Clear}}

===Reconstruction and new conflicts===

{{Main|Post-Covenant War conflicts}}

{{Quote|For too many years, humanity was on the backfoot. Reacting to threats, rather than preventing them. Rest of the galaxy was bigger than us. Stronger than us. We were [[Rodent|mice]], hiding in the shadows, hoping the giants would not see us. No more. Humanity is no longer on the defense. ''We'' are the giants now.|[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Thomas Lasky]]<ref>'''Halo 4''', ''[[Infinity (mode)|Infinity]]'' introductory cinematic</ref>}}

The UNSC transferred its emergency governing functions back to the UEG on [[2553|January 8, 2553]], although this formal shift of power did not significantly diminish the UNSC's practical authority.<ref name="CatalogUEG">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969317_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969317 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction (Query Answer: Human records indicate transition to noncombatant administrative control <nowiki>[ref: UEG] [January 8, 2553]. No notable adjustment in military [bureaucratic tactical]</nowiki> behavior and scope of authority.)'']</ref>