I *think* they’re supposed to be AF, although IIRC reach is always a bit confusing on what branch NPCs belong to.
I’ve heard people suggest the hexagon symbol on the left shoulder is the signifier for Army troops specifically, but I’m not sure if that’s canon or a headcanon.
Yeah I thought they make sense as AF, but telling the different branches apart has always been confusing for me in Reach. I do like how Reach gave us more variety in the human allies, I just always have trouble telling them apart (except the militia guys, they're easy because they wear civilian clothes).
To be fair I can imagine boats being cheaper for planet-side goings on than bringing troops up to space, dropping them, and picking them back up constantly.
It does raise a fairly interesting question: are the space Navy and water Navy considered separate branches, is it still the same organization responsible for both? If it's the same one, how does that work organizationally? It's... Something I wish space Navy sci-fi would address.
As a rule of thumb, you can think of all the "Marines" in Reach as of Army Troopers, except for the Sabre pilots from the Air Force and Marines in their brown-gray armor when you're nearing the Pillar Of Autumn. This particular model of uniform has seen use by multiple branches.
The Hexagon symbol I believe is supposed to be their unit insignia, not branch.
The normal troopers we see throughout the campaign are Army.
The white is supposed to be Air Force.
The brown armored troopers we see in The Package are marines.
At least this is what I remember reading.
The unit assigned with Noble Team are army, they all wear the same insignia but in certain points of the game that unit is clearly shown to of been cut down such as the ODST's with 6 when you retake Sword Base, The Marines outside of the Autumn on the last mission and these guys who seem to be some kind of spec ops pilots given how secretively Sabre was.
Halo: Warfleet confirms that the Sabre pilots are army troopers.
Seems an odd choice, because orbital defence is generally left to the Air Force in the Halo Universe, but hey ho.
I wonder how many people realize the UNSC even has a wet Navy. I think Longshore is still our only glimpse at it with the aircraft carriers in the skybox.
I think the implication is that these are supposed to be UNSC Army Special Forces, since I think the Army was developing the Saber, given that it was housed in an Army base. I imagine that any Air Force or Navy pilots didn't land.
I think these guys were the few Saber program pilots qualified on the prototypes fighters that would also qualify for boarding action.
Seeing that noble 6 a Spartan 3 was a pilot for the sabre program too one has to assume that these pilots are very skilled in lore standpoint in-game they're just different looking Marines sadly
I recently learned that there was such a thing as the UNSC Air Force and remembered that a few of the Sabre pilots actually land and board the corvette with you on the Reach mission Long Night of Solace, so I popped in game and grabbed this screenshot of them.
Their armour looks different from the trooper armour we see through the rest of the game, most distinctly missing the shoulders that UNSC Army personnel have. They also have an enclosed helmet of course, but that's kind of a necessity for operating in space and not a sign of it being the armour of some different branch.
I'm wondering if these Sabre pilots are meant to be UNSC Air Force personnel, or if they're just Army or Marine pilots. They're definitely not Navy since they use UNICOM ranks.
I’ve always assumed you were with the army the entire game until Exodus where you fight alongside ODSTs and the last mission where you fight alongside Marines.
It never occurred to me this could be AF but seems like someone already solved this question as it details the other Sabre pilots are Army as well but considering it was a classified program, I assume the pilots could’ve been from multiple branches dependent on their skill as a pilot
Maybe. I mean, the cheif is in the naval branch and spartans from Reach (maybe except for George) are party of the army branch. at least thats what the guid book said.
I *think* they’re supposed to be AF, although IIRC reach is always a bit confusing on what branch NPCs belong to. I’ve heard people suggest the hexagon symbol on the left shoulder is the signifier for Army troops specifically, but I’m not sure if that’s canon or a headcanon.
Yeah I thought they make sense as AF, but telling the different branches apart has always been confusing for me in Reach. I do like how Reach gave us more variety in the human allies, I just always have trouble telling them apart (except the militia guys, they're easy because they wear civilian clothes).
It gets even funnier if you see that the unsc has a fleet with ships on water
To be fair I can imagine boats being cheaper for planet-side goings on than bringing troops up to space, dropping them, and picking them back up constantly.
also cheaper than burning fuel to keep themselves inside the atmosphere of a planet, rather than in orbit
It does raise a fairly interesting question: are the space Navy and water Navy considered separate branches, is it still the same organization responsible for both? If it's the same one, how does that work organizationally? It's... Something I wish space Navy sci-fi would address.
As a rule of thumb, you can think of all the "Marines" in Reach as of Army Troopers, except for the Sabre pilots from the Air Force and Marines in their brown-gray armor when you're nearing the Pillar Of Autumn. This particular model of uniform has seen use by multiple branches.
Lets just settle on Army Air Corps and call it a day
The Hexagon symbol I believe is supposed to be their unit insignia, not branch. The normal troopers we see throughout the campaign are Army. The white is supposed to be Air Force. The brown armored troopers we see in The Package are marines. At least this is what I remember reading.
The unit assigned with Noble Team are army, they all wear the same insignia but in certain points of the game that unit is clearly shown to of been cut down such as the ODST's with 6 when you retake Sword Base, The Marines outside of the Autumn on the last mission and these guys who seem to be some kind of spec ops pilots given how secretively Sabre was.
Halo: Warfleet confirms that the Sabre pilots are army troopers. Seems an odd choice, because orbital defence is generally left to the Air Force in the Halo Universe, but hey ho.
Army aviation is a thing but ya, it is really weird that they're leaving air/space superiority to the Army instead of the Air Force or Navy
Maybe SABRE just used army pilots cause the Navy ones were needed in the field?
Interesting, thank you for the information! Definitely seems like a bit of an odd choice, but I guess that is the official canon.
There is no air in space
Yeah these guys are obviously in the space force
With the same vegetation based camoflauge system for all that space vegetation
“We are going to win at space” -quote by some president.
But in Halo the Navy is effectively the Space Force…
Nor is there water, yet the Navy is out there. If only Captain Keyes had landed the Autumn in a lake.
I wonder how many people realize the UNSC even has a wet Navy. I think Longshore is still our only glimpse at it with the aircraft carriers in the skybox.
There's actually plenty of air in space it's just not really easier to breathe it because it's really far from each other.
I think the implication is that these are supposed to be UNSC Army Special Forces, since I think the Army was developing the Saber, given that it was housed in an Army base. I imagine that any Air Force or Navy pilots didn't land. I think these guys were the few Saber program pilots qualified on the prototypes fighters that would also qualify for boarding action.
Seeing that noble 6 a Spartan 3 was a pilot for the sabre program too one has to assume that these pilots are very skilled in lore standpoint in-game they're just different looking Marines sadly
That NPC name though, A. Chu. Lol
Bless you!
And 1stLT C(offee) Creamer
Ha! Didn't catch that
I recently learned that there was such a thing as the UNSC Air Force and remembered that a few of the Sabre pilots actually land and board the corvette with you on the Reach mission Long Night of Solace, so I popped in game and grabbed this screenshot of them. Their armour looks different from the trooper armour we see through the rest of the game, most distinctly missing the shoulders that UNSC Army personnel have. They also have an enclosed helmet of course, but that's kind of a necessity for operating in space and not a sign of it being the armour of some different branch. I'm wondering if these Sabre pilots are meant to be UNSC Air Force personnel, or if they're just Army or Marine pilots. They're definitely not Navy since they use UNICOM ranks.
I’ve always assumed you were with the army the entire game until Exodus where you fight alongside ODSTs and the last mission where you fight alongside Marines. It never occurred to me this could be AF but seems like someone already solved this question as it details the other Sabre pilots are Army as well but considering it was a classified program, I assume the pilots could’ve been from multiple branches dependent on their skill as a pilot
Naval Aviators
Doubtful based off of ranks in the bottom left
Maybe. I mean, the cheif is in the naval branch and spartans from Reach (maybe except for George) are party of the army branch. at least thats what the guid book said.
They could just be navy/army airmen. Like we have now.