James Ackerson (Earth-4001)

James Ackerson was a colonel in the UNSC Army employed by the Office of Naval Intelligence during the Human-Covenant War. Known for his ruthless and ambitious persona, he was the mastermind of the SPARTAN-III program and the most formidable rival of Dr. Catherine Halsey. His Career Service Vitae was impressive, as he had survived at least three battles against the Covenant. Early in the war, he received a promotion and volunteered for a dozen black operations. Ackerson was employed by ONI as a liaison officer, likely maintaining the relationship between ONI and the Army.

History
The history of James Ackerson is the same as his mainstream counterpart.

Personality & Traits
Ackerson was cunning but shortsighted and often mixed personal glory with more humanitarian goals. For example, his creation of the SPARTAN-III program was an effort to "trade lives for time", but it was also an attempt to out-do his rival, Catherine Halsey. He was rather savage at times, eager to put his own petty revenge before the betterment of mankind. During a field test of the Mark V MJOLNIR armor with Cortana and John-117, Ackerson exceeded the testing parameters, nearly causing the deaths of the SPARTAN and the AI through use of automated turrets, ODST squads, anti-tank mines, and even an airstrike.

He was arrogant and condescending to most other people in ONI, even top-ranking brass such as Major General Nicolas Strauss. He frequently belittled and mocked Dr. Halsey and the SPARTAN-IIs and was very open with his views on them even in formal meetings. Ackerson openly ridiculed even John-117 during the Spartan's debriefing concerning the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV in Camp Hathcock. This attitude ultimately provoked the ire of Fleet Admiral Hood, who harshly rebuked him for his disparaging remarks about Halsey and her Spartans during the Security Council's debriefing of Lieutenant Wagner.

However, Ackerson was not completely unsympathetic. When he was captured by the Covenant, he created a story to mislead the Covenant in an attempt to save his brother's life, which led to the Covenant capturing Cleveland instead of outright destroying it.

Trivia

 * After her capture on High Charity in November 2552, Cortana regretted her failure to have Ackerson killed, after the Gravemind repeatedly mentioned him.