UNSC Marine Corps

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UNSC marines

Two marines one with the Sniper Rifle the other armed with an Assault Rifle

Marines in a defensive position

A couple of helljumpers ready for action

A rugged and diverse assortment of soldiers, the Marines of the UNSC are fighting a losing war against the Covenant's superior weaponry and numbers. Under the leadership of someone like Captain Keyes, or Admiral Whitcomb, they continue to wage a furious struggle against the Covenant, even as their numbers dwindle. They're the best of the best. Unfortunately, much better is needed.

Marines are the standard infantry of the UNSC. They have few augmentations and usually wear passive camoflague uniforms. Other marines wear brown or black metal armor, intended to shield them from plasma fire, as opposed to bullets. Marine Helmets contain display eyepieces and Helmet Recorders, which give them information about their surroundings. As well as helmets they wear Boonie hats for light combat operations. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers are the special forces of the Marines.

Marine NCOs are distinguished by baseball caps carrying the symbol of the Marine Corps. They never wear helmets, even when in body armor. Sergeants are (usually) smarter, better shots, and tougher to kill, though these differences, if any, are largely unnoticed.

The UNSC Marine armor is much different in Halo 2. The fatigues under the armor are now camouflage. The armor is more efficient and is a (rough) offshoot of the original armor used by Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved. The Marines are less of a rag-tag group in Halo 2 than they were in Halo: Combat Evolved. They no longer wear boonie hats and are never in combat without their armor. In fact, in Halo 2, Marines are only seen with no armor on the first level, when they are dressed in their whites and one marine missing the armor for his arms. It should be noted, however, that the full grey marine armor with additional pockets/backpack in Halo: Combat Evolved was a medical uniform, as suggested by the letters EMP (Emergency Medical Personel) written on the back.

In the Halo Wars trailer, Marines are seen wearing full helmets and heavier armour to protect from the cold.

Combat

Halo: Combat Evolved

Battle Armour

Halo: Combat Evolved medical uniform

Marines in Halo 2

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Marines on the attack

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An armored Marine

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Marines with Master Chief

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In Halo: Combat Evolved, almost all Marines carry Assault Rifles, though occasionally they can be seen with a Sniper Rifle, Needler, Shotgun, or Plasma Rifle. They are relatively accurate with their weapons, but incidents of friendly fire are common. Marines will strafe and avoid fire but not seek cover. They will roll out of the way of a vehicle but they will not pick up different weapons, Health Packs, or additional ammo.

Marines are conscious of back stabbing. After you have killed three Humans of any type, the rest of the Marines in the level will attack you. If you kill Captain Keyes in The Pillar of Autumn, Cortana will lock the doors and summon a squad of invincible Marines to destroy you.

They will ride on Warthogs and Scorpions but are only capable of piloting Ghosts by themselves. They will get off the Scorpions when the player exits the driver seat, but they will stay in a Warthog until you order them to get out. Be careful of Marines piloting Ghosts; they are occasionally prone to running you over. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the only practical way of getting a Marines' weapon is killing them.

Halo 2

In Halo 2, the Marines are programed much more intelligently. They are able to drive the Warthog, the Ghost, the Spectre and the Scorpion (albeit a bit clumsily). They can now melee sleeping Grunts or enemies with their backs turned, since in Halo: Combat Evolved the Marines could only shoot sleeping Grunts thus waking up other grunts and alerting others of your presence. The Marines are far more interactive and more capable of independent thought and wield a greater assortment of weapons. The player can also switch weapons with the Marines to make sure that they are well armed. (Or if you want to be well armed because you want their weapon) As in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Marines are aware of backstabbing, and will attempt to kill you after you kill three of their comrades. They will seek cover behinds boxes and walls, though this mainly only happens when the marines are desperate, thus they don't use cover as the player does.

Halo 3

It is unknown what the Marine's armor and abilities will be in Halo 3. All that is known about them AI wise is that they are better drivers and more capable of surviving without the player's aid. Their armor is only seen in the Halo 3 Vid-Doc Et Tu Brute?. It is the most clearly seen at the "4:54-4:57" mark in the Vid-Doc. It appears to be a slight modification of the Halo 2 Marine armor. But acording to Bungie, since the Vid-Doc was made a while back that many things have changed since then. So, it is unknown what their current armor looks like...

List of Marines

Marine Units

405th Marine Infantry Division
- A Company
105th Shock Division
- 7th ODST Battalion
  - 1st Platoon
105th Drop Jet Platoon
Charlie Company
Tango Company

Trivia

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The Marines' faces were modeled on Bungie employees.
Bungie Studios went to great lengths to ensure that the Marines reflected the diversity of Earth; some marines look and sound Anglo-Saxon while others appear Asian, African, Hispanic, and Australian.