Hieronymus Michael Stanforth (Earth-4001)

Vice Admiral Hieronymus "Harold" Michael Stanforth (service number 00834-19223-HS) was a flag officer of the UNSC Navy. He served as the head of the Office of Naval Intelligence's Section Three, its clandestine operations group, in the early years of the Human-Covenant War. Aiding with the planning and implementation of the SPARTAN-II program, Stanforth had command of all Spartan-field operations early in the Covenant War. As the war continued, Stanforth left ONI to become the Commander of FLEETCOM Sector Three to aid in the defense of the Inner Colonies. After his victory at Sigma Octanus IV, Stanforth was charged with the defense of Reach, where he was ultimately killed when the Covenant broke through his final line of defense.

History
The history of Michael Stanforth is the same as his mainstream counterpart.

Personality & Traits
Michael Stanforth was a competent fleet commander who did not fear leading the ships under his command from the front. Stanforth displayed a cold and distant demeanor before his subordinates. Nonetheless, Stanforth was considered to be a truly selfless leader who always put the interests of his troops ahead of his own. Considered a humanist at heart, he had a close, personal friendship with Jacob Keyes. Stanforth held respect for Keyes and John-117, believing both to be remarkable individuals. Keyes noted that Stanforth was known for being reasonable and intelligent. Stanforth also held close working relationships with Margaret Parangosky and Preston Cole. When he realized that Cole's wife, Lyrenne Castilla, was an insurgent, he broke regulation and warned him to prevent ONI from giving Cole a court martial. He respected Doctor Catherine Halsey and had been one of the few to notice her potential when she was young. He would often help her by protecting her projects from competitors, including Colonel James Ackerson. When Operation: RED FLAG was deemed appropriate for initiation at Reach, Stanforth was willing to include Dr. Halsey in it—despite Admiral Parangosky's reluctance.

Name
Though Stanforth is referred to by his middle name, Michael, in Halo: The Fall of Reach, the novel lists his service number as 00834-19223-HS, indicating his first name begins with the letter H. The ONI memorial in Halo 3: ODST gives Stanforth's first name as "Hieronymus", while The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole identifies him as "Harold". This was likely due to a lack of communication between Bungie and the short story's author, Eric Nylund. The Data Drop written by 343 Industries reiterates his first name as Harold on one occasion, yet he is otherwise consistently referred to as Hieronymus. His service number is listed consistently across these different media, indicating that "Harold" Stanforth in The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole is indeed meant to be the same person as Michael Stanforth in The Fall of Reach and the ONI memorial plaque.

Age
The ONI memorial lists Stanforth's date of birth as July 3, 2486. The 2010 edition of Halo: The Fall of Reach was modified to accommodate this; whereas Stanforth was originally mentioned as being ten years Dr. Halsey's senior, he is stated to be six years older than Halsey in the new edition. If the timeline of his life from Halo: Evolutions were taken at face value, this would mean he reached the rank of full admiral (O-10) at 17 years old. Despite the discrepancy, 343 Industries have reiterated the date of birth given in the memorial as being canonical. Even if Harold Stanforth were treated as a separate character, Michael's date of birth would nonetheless mean that he had reached the rank of captain (O-6) by the age of 21.

According to the short story, Admiral Stanforth commanded a vessel known as the Leviathan in June 2503. However, as the Marathon class was designed as a replacement for the Halcyon class, (itself designed in 2510) this particular vessel was likely the namesake of Stanforth's later flagship: see here for more information.

As mentioned above, it is difficult to consider the 2486 figure as factually accurate, as it would make Stanforth far too young. His biological age would be further reduced by the extensive spans of cryosleep during slipspace jumps. However, his visual depictions in the Halo: Fall of Reach comic series, Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series, and Halo: Fleet Battles suggest an age decades greater than his purported chronological age of 39. If he were an admiral in 2510, he would most likely have been middle-aged at the time. If this were the case, Vice Admiral Stanforth would have been nearly a century old near the end of the Human-Covenant War. This is not out of the question, however, as 26th-century medical advances and cryosleep during slipspace travel may very well extend human longevity decades beyond what modern science allows. For example, Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the former Commander in Chief of ONI, served at least until the age of 92, and the combination of medical science and cryosleep have been mentioned as being capable of pushing back the effects of aging for at least two decades.

Rank
The strangest incongruity in Stanforth's background is his rank. Even if he were reduced in grade between 2503 and 2507, it is extremely unlikely that his rank would be reduced four grades (from O-10 to O-6) for any reason. No source suggests a disciplinary infraction of any kind, and even if his rank of admiral were temporary (perhaps due to holding a position that required an O-10 rank) he probably would not have received such a prominent ad hoc position in the first place. Dr. Halsey's personal journal makes no mention of Stanforth's past as a flag officer: he is referred to as "the Captain" in entries dated between 2507 and December 2510, after which he is called "the Vice Admiral".