Deep Operations Group

During the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC found itself in an unusual position - being on the defensive in an interstellar war. While the Insurrection was spread across many dozens of star systems, they were largely localised ground-scale conflicts or small-scale space raids. Until 2525, the UNSC had yet to face an enemy that could match it in its element, and in the Covenant they found more than their match. For the first eleven years, humanity was forced to play an exclusively reactive strategy - the Covenant advanced rapidly across hundreds of worlds, giving humanity little room to regroup and make effective counterattacks. The average lifespan of a colony from initial invasion to final abandonment or glassing was usually a matter of days or weeks, compared to the months or, in rare cases, years of later campaigns.

In 2532, Brigadier General Kenneth Shaw proposed a new doctrine to counter this, tied to the near-simultaneous implementation of a wide range of assets. ONI had long been gathering as much data as they could on the Covenantk, extrapolating anything relevant that they could on the enemy's culture, politics, military structure and doctrines, and even a few Covenant-held star systems. At the same time, a number of supersoldier projects were proving themselves in the field, or were coming online, such as SPARTAN-II and SPARTAN-III. Acknowledging that the UNSC was outnumbered on the ground, and outmatched in space, Shaw proposed the creation of a specialist diversionary taskforce dedicated to spreading damage and creating confusion behind enemy lines. While the later HEADHUNTER Program would follow similar lines, the Deep Operations Group was far less localised, and less objective-oriented - rather, it was a broad-based initiative that would work on a larger scale to spread misinformation, hit vital targets, and sow rebellion among the Covenant's own ranks. Launched in 2535, the DOG, colloquially known as War Dogs, were a vital part of the UNSC's efforts to buy itself time, and would continue to operate throughout the War of Vengeance.

Participating Elements

 * Grey Team
 * Black Team
 * Indigo Team
 * Kukri Team
 * Baselard Team

Remarks

 * ""Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war." Shakespeare, Julius Caesar. Whoever let these guys off the leash isn't someone you want to mess with."
 * "Shaw? As in...Tobias Shaw? Wow. That is an illustrious family name! You'd think he'd be in the Navy, rather than the Marines."
 * "Take the Headhunters, multiply their numbers by ten, give them a couple of Prowlers, and then send them off to do their own thing behind enemy lines. That's the DOG."
 * "Jeez, what is it with people and catchy acronyms?"