PLNB PRIORITY TRANSMISSION [CLASSIFIED]
ENCRYPTION CODE: [CLASSIFIED]
PUBLIC KEY: N/A
FROM: CODENAME SURGEON
TO: CODENAME COALMINER
CLASSIFICATION: ELEVENTH HOUR [3/5]
SUBJECT: THE NEW SOLDIER
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Realistically, the pervasiveness of the modern soldier will never
be on the decline, at least not in our time . But ubiquity and
numbers don’t always guarantee operational success, something
Naval Intelligence recognized long ago. Rather than drown out our
enemies in an avalanche of bodies, we saw the value intrinsic in
the specialization and refinement of a very select number of
soldiers - a remarkably select number , actually.
This is how the Spartan branch came to be .
By reverting back to ORION protocols, the sins of the previous
administrations have been averted this time around. Unlike
SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III , which will likely face severe ethical
scrutiny in the years to come, the SPARTAN -IV project was
centered on properly screened recruits, both career military
veterans and young soldiers who showed significant promise. After
passing a rigorous series of tests, admission to the program was
a matter of discretion, not compulsion.
From a psychological perspective, the coalescent solidarity of
these men and women has been nothing short of astonishing ,
particularly over a relatively short period of time . Many have
even adopted some of the colloquial pejoratives used by S-II
operatives years ago [i.e. ‘alpha bravo’ (‘alien bastard’)].
Behavioral shifts like these have and will continue to
differentiate S-IVs from the others who serve alongside them. It
clearly suggests that the Spartan branch has rapidly and
unapologetically become its own thing... almost overnight.
But what value is a warrior without a war? What good is weapon
without a threat to give it purpose? You know as well as I that
these are the very questions that were asked just before the
beginning of the last civil conflict we faced and these are the
same questions that are being asked now - asked by those who feel
they have the most to lose.
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