Covenant military

The Covenant maintained a pervasive military force which it used to carry out the Hierarchs will throughout the Covenant's vast empire. Rather than being a singular organization, the Covenant's military forces were a collection of organizations under the oversight of various political bodies, which in turn carried out the edicts of the High Council.

Political oversight
The Covenant's military was made up of a variety of martial organizations under the control or influence of one or more governmental ministries. Politically, most of the military fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Resolution, while some of the more specialized military forces were overseen by different ministries, such as the Ministry of Fervent Intercession in the Zealots' case.The Ministry of Tranquility was granted military assets to aid in the ministry's function: the acquisition of Forerunner relics. However, ships of the Ministry of Tranquility rarely participated in fleet action. The Ministry of Preservation had some oversight in the military, as the ministry was tasked with quelling internal rebellions and uprisings. The Ministry of Abnegation likely had some authority in the military, as the ministry absorbed the Ascetics' guard. Like the rest of the Covenant, the Covenant military was under the ultimate jurisdiction of the High Council, formerly composed of Sangheili High Councilors.

The Council of Deed and Doctrine was a command organization within the Covenant military and aided the Hierarchs with military tactics and strategy. During major conflicts, the Council of Deed and Doctrine created a Council of Masters to directly oversee operations. The San'Shyuum and Sangheili members of the Council of Masters sent Sangheili soldiers into battle and dictated war needs. Because San'Shyuum did not hold military ranks, no San'Shyuum was truly a "member" of the military. Instead, they were responsible for strategic decision-making, but also traveled with Covenant military units as religious or political overseers.

Military organization
The Covenant military was organized based on the Covenant's caste system. The officer corps was primarily staffed by Sangheili and Jiralhanae, while the Unggoy and Kig-Yar generally filled menial or infantry roles. Ranks were denoted by the color, type of armor and accessories worn for Sangheili, Jiralhanae and Unggoy; different ranks of Kig-Yar would also be distinguished by the color of their shield gauntlets. The Covenant military was heavily naval-oriented, with fleets ranging from small battle groups to entire armadas serving as the basic unit of organization. These fleets appeared to be under the direct authority of a given ministry, and there was seemingly no meaningful distinction between service branches, such as the human notions of a dedicated "navy" and "army"; for example, field officers, including Sangheili Generals, could command ground operations as well as starships. Individual fleets operated a number of task-based groups, including the ground-oriented Occupational Forces and the Special Warfare Group, which contained the Special Operations Division.

The smallest organizational unit of the Covenant military was file, typically consisting of cannon fodder Unggoy. A lance was a small unit of Unggoy commanded by a low-ranked Sangheili or Jiralhanae, a rough equivalent to a UNSC fireteam. Jiralhanae were also organized into the tribal packs traditional of their society. Large numbers of these units comprised legions, which were organized into task-based groups within their respective naval fleets.

Species
Despite the diversity of their weapons and forces, Covenant troops are heavily segregated. Unggoy are deployed as cannon fodder, Kig-Yar are used as support and snipers, and Sangheili are commanders and fight in warrior lances. Weapons and technology are restricted by species and rank; only Sangheili receive personal energy shields and energy swords, only Kig-Yar receive point defense gauntlets, and Unggoy only receive basic weapons and armor, depending by rank.

The reasons for these restrictions are often cultural; for instance, Sangheili view wielding shield gauntlets as dishonorable and that "lesser species" do not deserve their privileged weapons. The Covenant's interspecies politics also played a large part in this segregation: while Sangheili-led mixed units existed, the Sangheili and the Jiralhanae often maintained their own individual command hierarchies largely segregated from one another to prevent conflict and authority issues from arising between the two. It was originally rare for the Jiralhanae to receive their own ships to begin with, and the ones given to them by the Sangheili were smaller and less powerful while the Sangheili maintained the bulk of the Covenant's fleet. When the Jiralhanae were made the Covenant's main military caste, their indigenous weaponry and vehicles—equally brutal in design and function—became a staple on the battlefield alongside the Covenant's more refined technologies.

This discrimination among the Covenant military is centuries old, but the dynamic is occasionally changed by violent rebellion. The Unggoy Rebellion caused Elites to mix their units with Grunts and give them better training. Likewise, the Great Schism put Jiralhanae in command of former Sangheili units, gave them personal shielded armor, and made Jiralhanae packs a prevalent unit within the military in addition to the mixed-species lance.


 * Sangheili - dominant military caste; field commanders and elite warriors
 * Jiralhanae - secondary dominant military caste; commanders and shock troops
 * Mgalekgolo - shock infantry, heavy-weapons platforms
 * Kig-Yar - scouts/snipers, police force
 * T'vaoan "Skirmishers" - shock infantry
 * Yanme'e - airborne infantry, combat engineers
 * Unggoy - majority of infantry, cannon-fodder
 * Huragok - combat engineers, medics, suicide bombers

Structure

 * High Council
 * Covenant Honor Guard
 * Ministry of Resolution — oversight of most military operations and fleets
 * Fleet — basic organizational unit
 * Occupational Forces — land-based troop contingents
 * Legion
 * Lance — formation of Unggoy led by a Sangheili or low-ranked Jiralhanae
 * File — small military formation
 * Levy — small formation of Unggoy
 * Pack — Jiralhanae tribal group; led by high-ranked Jiralhanae
 * Special Warfare Group
 * Covenant Special Operations
 * Fleet Security
 * Ossoona
 * Ministry of Fervent Intercession — oversight of the Sangheili Zealot corps
 * Sangheili Zealots
 * Ministry of Preservation — dealt with internal dissent and rebellions
 * Ministry of Abnegation
 * Ascetics

Rank structure
San'Shyuum are a political only caste. For their rank structure see: San'Shyuum