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Description
"Legionnaire activity has increased seventeen percent in core colonial space, twenty-seven percent back on Mobius. How they're able to actually draw a following is beyond me. There's plenty out there that would subscribe to the idea that to enhance one's self through technology is the way to dominance but what I don't think anybody would be keen on is to have a bomb planted in them. I sent this to you in the file you received last week, but for the sake of clarity I'll run through it again: not every Legionnaire has an implanted explosive. We thought at first that it would have been for senior command staff or even whatever passes for NCOs among that group, but, well, if our combat engagements have been anything to note, that was an incorrect assessment. It could be an entire platoon, or it could be a single individual. We took some heavy losses before we knew what we were up against.

So, how do we avoid this? Given that there's very little ways to identify whether one of these crazy bastards is about to go boom, aside from identifying what among many scars could be the sign of an explosive implant. Ranged combat is fine until the opposing force orders a charge, which as you can imagine is a real morale-breaker. I'm thinking we try something a bit unorthodox: Spartan operators attached to forward combat teams tasked with engaging with Legion forces. Some would consider this a misapplication of resources. I disagree. I think that as of late '39 we had our work cut out for us, and we have an enemy that could appear to be a friend one moment and a spy-turned-shrapnel the next. Spartans have more advanced sensor suites and their speed could designate them as a forward scout. They could potentially pick out which targets are rigged to blow and which should be avoided, feed them back to their unit, and do what comes natural after that.

I would claim that yes, this would be an inappropriate use of Navy technology, but only if we focus them in one major team. Spread them out through a whole theater of war, and now you have bang for your buck. So to speak. Even if something were to go wrong and the bomb blows, current models of energy shielding can soak the explosive force as well as the concussive blast. At worst, someone will be knocked on their can, but they'll keep fighting. That's a dozen lives we can save right there.

We've also discovered that the implanted bombs don't go off instantly, possibly as a way to have the Legionnaire move into a better position before the main event. Blunt force trauma also has been documented to stop the devices from activating let alone detonating. Whack them hard enough, and there won't be an activation let alone a explosion.

For your consideration. Do whatever you feel is necessary to bring our people home in honor, not boxes."

JTA
February 17, 3240
Excerpt from BLUE coded transmission to UNSC Joint Chiefs of Staff

Description
"Legionnaire activity has increased seventeen percent in core colonial space, twenty-seven percent back on Mobius. How they're able to actually draw a following is beyond me. There's plenty out there that would subscribe to the idea that to enhance one's self through technology is the way to dominance but what I don't think anybody would be keen on is to have a bomb planted in them. I sent this to you in the file you received last week, but for the sake of clarity I'll run through it again: not every Legionnaire has an implanted explosive. We thought at first that it would have been for senior command staff or even whatever passes for NCOs among that group, but, well, if our combat engagements have been anything to note, that was an incorrect assessment. It could be an entire platoon, or it could be a single individual. We took some heavy losses before we knew what we were up against.

So, how do we avoid this? Given that there's very little ways to identify whether one of these crazy bastards is about to go boom, aside from identifying what among many scars could be the sign of an explosive implant. Ranged combat is fine until the opposing force orders a charge, which as you can imagine is a real morale-breaker. I'm thinking we try something a bit unorthodox: Spartan operators attached to forward combat teams tasked with engaging with Legion forces. Some would consider this a misapplication of resources. I disagree. I think that as of late '39 we had our work cut out for us, and we have an enemy that could appear to be a friend one moment and a spy-turned-shrapnel the next. Spartans have more advanced sensor suites and their speed could designate them as a forward scout. They could potentially pick out which targets are rigged to blow and which should be avoided, feed them back to their unit, and do what comes natural after that.

I would claim that yes, this would be an inappropriate use of Navy technology, but only if we focus them in one major team. Spread them out through a whole theater of war, and now you have bang for your buck. So to speak. Even if something were to go wrong and the bomb blows, current models of energy shielding can soak the explosive force as well as the concussive blast. At worst, someone will be knocked on their can, but they'll keep fighting. That's a dozen lives we can save right there.

We've also discovered that the implanted bombs don't go off instantly, possibly as a way to have the Legionnaire move into a better position before the main event. Blunt force trauma also has been documented to stop the devices from activating let alone detonating. Whack them hard enough, and there won't be an activation let alone a explosion.

For your consideration. Do whatever you feel is necessary to bring our people home in honor, not boxes."

JTA
February 17, 3240
Excerpt from BLUE coded transmission to UNSC Joint Chiefs of Staff