SPARTAN-III Program (Earth-5875)

"Make the units better with new technology. Make more of them. And make them cheaper."

- - Colonel James Ackerson

The SPARTAN-III Program was a top-secret project jumpstarted by Office of Naval Intelligence Section Three whose main purpose was to produce and cheaper and expendable super soldiers to even the odds against the Covenant's onslaught through the Outer Colonies through the First Contact War. Active from 2536 to 2552, the SPARTAN-IIIs were able to turn the tide on numerous battles through the war. After the conflict ended, the surviving SPARTAN-IIIs joined the N7, supplementing the Spartan-IVs.

Background
After the tremendous success of the SPARTAN-II Program for the UEG, their effectiveness in combat being told as tales by civilians and soldiers alike seeing them tearing down Covenant soldiers in combat and how they turned the tide in crucial battles. However, there were too few Spartan-IIs, as the result of Dr. Catherine Halsey's specific criteria of selection and the many deaths of candidates during the augmentation procedures.

The high mortality rate and kidnappings was also a massive problem for the Office of Naval Intelligence, as well as the funding of training and MJOLNIR armor, which costed as much as an entire battle group. However, despite the SPARTAN-II Program officially remaining a secret until 2547, their exploits and feats in battle had became public knowledge and highly revered within the UNSC, proving a huge morale boost in the face of annihilation. This proved to be a problem for ONI, who preferred working in secrecy.

Conception
The SPARTAN-IIIs were devised by Colonel James Ackerson as cheap and expendable super soldiers, with training consisting of 300 men and women at the same time in much tougher and dangerous environments compared to that of the SPARTAN-IIs. The IIIs were sent on highly dangerous, classified missions that the UNSC was unable to accomplish even with ODST squads. Despite the casualty rate for SPARTAN-IIIs being at 100% on various missions, ONI saw all operations as strategic successes, as despite the deaths, these missions resulted in victories against the Covenant, for the most part, and were seen as trading expendable lives against the Covenant war machine. ONI believed that enough Spartan-IIIs would survive to train future Spartans. However, this was never fully realized duo to budgetary restrictions and the fact that the augmentation procedures were only compatible with a fraction of the human population.

Alpha Company
On December 27th, 2531, Alpha Company, the first group of Spartan-IIIs, was moved to Camp Currahee, on Onyx, to be trained by Spartan-II Kurt Ambrose. Of all the 497 candidates conscripted, only 300 graduated. They all survived the augmentations, and began their work in November 3rd, 2936, becoming exemplary soldiers, seeing action against Insurrectionists on Mamore, New Constantinople, and the Bonanza Asteroid Belt. Nine months later, they were deployed on Operation PROMETHEUS, with the intent of destroying a Covenant shipyard on the asteroid K7-49, where all of them were killed, although the mission was a success.

Some of them, however, were moved from Alpha Company by Ambrose and Franklin Mendez before Operation PROMETHEUS, being assigned to other units, both in the UNSC Navy and other branches of the UNSC Armed Forces. Most of them were equipped with MJOLNIR. Six of them were still active as of early 2952; Carter-A259, Jun-A266, Emile-A239, and Thom-A293 (all serving on Noble Team), and Rosenda-A344 and Kevin-A282.

Beta Company
Soon after Operation PROMETHEUS, Beta Company was approved in 2937, with 418 candidates being conscripted in 2939, and with 300 graduating. Because he was still disheartened with the loss of Alpha Company, Kurt focused on a tougher training program, focusing on unit cohesiveness. Even though Beta had superior training compared to Alpha, they were all slain by the Covenant during Operation TORPEDO in 2937. Only two Spartan-IIIs survived, Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091.

Much like Alpha Company, some members of Beta Company were deemed too valuable to waste in suicide missions by Kurt, Mendez, and Ackerson, and were thus pulled out from Operation TORPEDO. Some of them were assigned to cover roles, despite Ackerson's insistence on the contrary. These Spartans, which included a select few, such as Kat-B320 and David-B312 (both who became members of Noble Team), were issued with special equipment, such as MJOLNIR.

Gamma Company
Gamma Company was conceived months after Operation TORPEDO, and its candidates were trained by the only surviving Spartan-IIIs from Beta Company, Tom and Lucy. Despite their smaller numbers, Kurt regarded Gamma Company as the finest of all Spartan-IIIs companies, with 330 candidates being selected, on average only six years old, with 280 graduating. Gamma Company received orders to deploy to Reach during the Fall of Reach, where most of them perished. Fifteen Spartan-IIIs remained on Onyx, only to fend of for their lives during the Onyx Conflict, with Team Saber, who fought alongside Spartan-II Blue Team, being the only survivors, successfully being able to defeat the Covenant. They were ultimately able to escape from the shield world.

Following the end of the First Contact War, the survivors of Gamma Company were integrated into the newly formed UNSC branch, the N7. Team Saber was recovered by ONI, and continued to serve alongside Blue Team until July 2556, with Margaret Paragonsky reassigned them to the top-secret Ferret unit. They were listed as KIA so their illegal augmentations would remain a secret. Samira-G059 was one of the SPARTAN-IIIs to remain active in the N7, being sent on a covert operation to assassinate the leader of the Servants of the Abiding Truth Avu Med 'Telcam.

Non-company teams
Aside from the normal formations, multiple Spartan-IIIs were pulled out from their respective companies to serve in specialist units, usually falling into the command of the UNSC Navy and the UNSC Marine Corps. ONI's Beta-5 Division considered such a thing a helping matter and bargaining chip between the UNSC Armed Forces and their internal politics.

Alpha and Beta Companies had 497 and 418 candidates, with 300, in each company, becoming Spartan-IIIs. Those pulled out from each company became drill instructors for their successors, although there still was a recruitment pool from which member to draw for specialist teams. Six Spartan-IIIs were removed from Alpha Company - Carter-A259, Jun-A266, Emile-A239, and Thom-A293, Rosenda-A344, and Kevin-A282, while two were removed from Beta Company - Kat-B320 and David-B312. Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose believed that 1.08% of Beta Company would be able to be folded into base personnel before Operation TORPEDO. David-B312 was effectively immediately pulled out after his training and deployed in numerous secretive missions against Covenant and Insurrectionist cells by an unknown superior, while Kat was, with difficulty, extracted after Operation CARTWHEEL and sent to Noble Team. Mendez attempted to have Lucy-B091 sent on to serve independent missions much like David, but was unable to do it. Rosenda-A344 served in similar operations, being considered as a possible replacement for Emile in Noble Team as Noble Four duo to the latter's hostility.

Headhunters
Only the very best Spartan-IIIs, who had survived two or more classified missions, were able to join the Headhunters, teams of two Spartan-IIIs who were sent on missions far behind Covenant lines, expected to die in combat, with their existence being kept a secret even from their own peers. These Spartan-IIIs, once selected, were separated from their teams and sent to specialized training camps in remote locations on Onyx, where they were evaluated physically and mentally, undergoing several physiological tests, most in order to ensure the two super soldiers had an effective bond with one another. Contingents of six two-man teams, alongside five other Headhunters, were maintained to guarantee their numbers would remain sizable following their losses. Spartan-IIIs Jonah-B112 and Roland-A278 were equipped with advanced SPI armor which included stronger energy shielding, motion trackers, and VISR technology. Following the end of the SPARTAN-III Program and the establishment of the N7, the Headhunter program continues to exist, however, with organizational modifications and the addition of SPARTAN-IVs.

MJOLNIR teams
Most of the Spartan-IIIs pulled from their companies were equipped with MJOLNIR armor and deployed on missions akin to those of the Spartan-IIs as opposed to stealth based operations. They played key roles through the battles of the First Contact War through multiple branches of the UNSC. Most of the public and even members of the UNSC were unaware of the distinction between Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IIIs, and though these Spartans were much like one another.

Most of the MJOLNIR Spartan-III users were stationed on Reach to defend the planet against the Covenant, with many of them being deployed to the city Casbah, on Tribute, helping civilians rush aboard transport escape crafts before they were killed by Covenant forces, something which was later honored by Spartan-IVs in a War Game simulation. Thirteen Spartan-IIIs were slain by the Covenant in the Aszod shipyards, the last evacuation point on Reach, with David-B312 dying soon after in a last stand.

Noble Team
Noble Team served as a special operations fireteam for the UNSC Special Forces. However, unlike the Headhunters, Noble was completely separate from the SPARTAN-III Program, and consisted of soldiers taken out of Alpha and Beta Companies to serve under the UNSC Army.

It was composed of five SPARTAN-IIIs and one Spartan-II, Jorge-05, and its members were equipped with MJOLNIR armor instead of the traditional SPI. They served through the beginning to mid-2552, with the Fall of Reach being their most notable battle. Commanded by Carter-A258 and Kat-B320, they all died during the Fall of Reach, with the exception of Jun-A266, who went on his way to become one of the figureheads of the SPARTAN-IV Program. Their sacrifice to ensure the defense of the planet was later commemorated with a statue in Hősök tere in the ruins of New Alexandria.

Training and psychology
Spartan-IIIs are dedicated and oriented towards their goal, with their training emphasizing duty and the importance of victory, much like the training of the SPARTAN-IIs, However, unlike the Spartan-IIs, the IIIs were motivated to destroy the Covenant, which only amplified through the indoctrination and the training, which built from their background as war orphans.

SPI Armor
Semi-Powered Infiltration armor (SPI) was the main armor system issued by SPARTAN-IIIs, being much more advanced than an ODST armor, although significantly less advanced than the MJOLNIR armor. Its main quality was its cheapness to produce and refit.

The SPI armor features a ballistic layer of liquid nano-crystals, providing its users more protection than a normal battle dress uniform, however, it is design with stealth as a focus, instead of strength. It features photoreactive panels, able to mimic the surrounding environment and give the Spartan-III something akin to the sangheili's cloak. It features energy shielding, although weaker than that of MJOLNIR, and a single plasma hit can render the camouflage useless. The SPI have mostly been rendered obsolete with the introduction of GEN2 MJOLNIR armor.

MJOLNIR Armor
Select few SPARTAN-IIIs whom were moved from their companies were equipped with MJOLNIR Armor in order to increase their combat capabilities, as their missions and tactical value required more expensive equipment. Most notably, these included Noble Team, who used the first versions of Mark V in 2552. A special MJOLNIR variant, Mark V, was designed for SPARTAN-IIIs serving in the UNSC Marine Corps's SPECWAR/Group Three.

Augmentation
The SPARTAN-IIIs underwent augmentation procedures known as Project CHRYSANTHEMUM, not dissimilar to those of of the SPARTAN-IIs.