ONI Directive 930

"Spartans never die, Jorge. They're just Missing in Action."

— Carter-A259

ONI Directive 930 is a UNSC regulation regarding the reporting of SPARTAN-II fatalities. It created a tradition which eventually extended to the SPARTAN-IIIs as well. However, the protocol is no longer applied to members of the SPARTAN-IV program and the Spartan branch, the UNSC opting to honor their sacrifices accordingly rather than maintaining an aura of invincibility for propaganda purposes.

The protocol

To maintain morale among the forces of the UNSC, any Spartan casualties are to be listed as Missing In Action (MIA) or Wounded In Action (WIA), but never Killed In Action (KIA).

Background

When the UNSC went public with the SPARTAN-II program, the Office of Naval Intelligence feared that reports of Spartans losses would cause a crippling loss of morale throughout the UNSC. To prevent this, Section Two of ONI issued a directive requiring the falsification of any circumstances regarding the deaths of Spartans, specifically, it banned the application of KIA status to SPARTAN-II personnel. The protocol created and maintained the myth that Spartans never die, and led to the common use of the bitterly ironic phrase "Spartans never die" among the Spartans themselves. This has not gone unnoticed by the Covenant, whose members (including Prophets) often refer to Spartans as "demons", due to their ability to kill thousands of Covenant infantry at a time without death.

A notable exception to the directive was the Master Chief, whose supposed death was publicly announced in 2558 when his death was claimed by ONI to cover up his having gone AWOL.

Application to SPARTAN-IIIs

At least three Spartan-IIIs have been listed under this protocol. Kat-B320 was listed MIA following her death by a Sangheili sniper during the Fall of Reach. Additionally, just before his death, SPARTAN-II Kurt Ambrose listed the status of two deceased SPARTAN-IIIs as MIA, "adhering to the tradition of never listing a fallen Spartan as 'killed in action'". However, his action was likely more sentimental than official, as ONI Directive 930 was specific to the SPARTAN-IIs' publicity. In fact, the SPARTAN-III program was never even intended to go public due to concerns about a negative effect on morale and faith in the UNSC. Kat, however, was likely a special case, as her status as part of NOBLE Team put her on a standing equal to the Spartan-IIs. It is likely that her treatment as MIA carried over to the rest of NOBLE Team's S-IIIs.

Trivia

In Halo 5: Guardians, John may occasionally say: "Spartans never die" when reviving a teammate.

List of appearances

• Halo: First Strike (First appearance)
• Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
• Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
• Halo: Reach
• Halo 4
• Halo: Escalation
• Halo 5: Guardians (Mentioned only)