Franklin Mendez
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Franklin Mendez | |
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Biographical information | |
Homeworld: | |
Born: | |
Personal details | |
Species: | |
Gender: | Male |
Height: | 188 centimetres (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
Weight: | 93 kilograms (205 lb)[1] |
Hair color: | |
Eye color: | Brown |
Political and military information | |
Affiliation: | |
Rank: | Senior chief petty officer[1](retired) |
22926-11908-FM[1] | |
- "Nothing can kill the Chief."
- — A youngJohn-117 refers to Mendez
Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Mendez (service number22926-11908-FM)[1] is a retiredUNSC Navynon-commissioned officer who was involved in the training of everysupersoldier of both theSPARTAN-II andSPARTAN-III programs. His career is extensive and he has earned numerous medals and commendations fighting in theInsurrection and theHuman-Covenant War.
Biography[edit]
Early life and military career[edit]
Franklin Mendez was born on thehumancolony ofSigma Octanus IV onMarch 21, 2492. At the age of sixteen, he enlisted in theUnited Nations Space Command with the approval of his parents and he left forReach to begin his training. In2514, he transferred toNaval Special Weapons, where he participated in some of the most challenging engagements of theInsurrection occurring within theEridanus system—though the specifics of his activities during theseoperations remain highly classified. Upon being promoted to Chief Petty Officer, Mendez became heavily involved in the NAVSPECWAR training cadre, where his skills became quickly recognized by theUNSC Navy'sOffice of Naval Intelligence.[1] By2517, then-CPO Mendez was regarded as the Navy's best hand-to-hand combat and physical trainingdrill instructor, in addition to having substantial combat experience.[4]
SPARTAN-II training[edit]
Due to his skills, he was recruited to lead thetraining of the SPARTAN-II supersoldiers in2516.[1] He was the Spartan-IIs' training leader during their first years onReach from 2517 until2525. He trained them in the aspects of combat as hard as any Marine when they were only at the age of six.[5] His military training was punctuated with in-class strategy sessions with AIDéjà.[6]
At the beginning of their training, CPO Mendez and his training instructors usedelectric batons to discipline trainees.[7] However, his trainers would occasionally use rifles with tranquilizer rounds to incapacitate the trainees (those who would eventually make upGray Team) who attempted to escape. Eventually the Spartans,John-117 in particular, came to revere Mendez as a solid, unmovable force in their lives.[8] They had great respect for him, perhaps even to the extent of seeing him as a father figure, much as they regardedDr. Catherine Halsey as a mother figure.
After the Spartan-IIs' training was completed, Mendez was reassigned to train the next class ofSpartans.[9] John-117 never saw him again, though Mendez returned thequarter that Dr. Halsey had given John during their first meeting. He recalled that John broke a few of the trainers' fingers when they tried to take the coin from him.[10]
SPARTAN-III training[edit]
As the next class of the SPARTAN-II program was delayed by Dr. Halsey due to issues with viable candidates, ONI eventually diverted her funding to other projects and Mendez requested reassignment to active duty. Over the next six years, he fought the Covenant on five worlds, won two morePurple Hearts, and was promoted toSenior Chief Petty Officer. Mendez was then recruited byColonelJames Ackerson to assistLieutenant CommanderKurt Ambrose, formerly Spartan Kurt-051, in administrating theSPARTAN-III program. He trained three SPARTAN-III companies atCamp Currahee onOnyx from2531 until2552. He was originally skeptical of the job, comparing the behavior of the trainees to that of the schoolchildren in the novelLord of The Flies.[2]
Onyx Conflict[edit]
- Main article:Onyx Conflict
While training the final batches ofGamma Company onOctober 31, 2552, Mendez and the other UNSC forces on Onyx came under attack byForerunnerSentinels. He, along with SPARTAN-IIITeam Saber,Tom-B292,Lucy-B091, and Ambrose were virtually alone on the planet, and were forced to hide from Sentinels for several days. Eventually, Spartan-IIKelly-087 and Dr. Halsey arrived, followed shortly by Spartan-IIBlue Team:Frederic-104,William-043, andLinda-058. Mendez assisted them in fighting their way to thecore of Onyx, where he eventually evacuated toShield World 006, held in aslipspace bubble in Onyx's core, along with the other survivors. Onyx, actually an artificial planetary shell covering the shield world, was then disintegrated by the Sentinels.[11]
Shield world and retirement[edit]
At the funeral for the Spartans who had died on Onyx, Mendez read an excerpt from his favorite book: an account of theRain Forest Wars calledA Soldier's Tale: Rainforest Wars.[12] While inside the shield world, Mendez began to reflect upon his role in training the Spartans.[13] He also took note of Halsey's apparent discomfort with the Spartan-IIIs he had helped train, confronting the doctor about this on several occasions.[14]
After Mendez and the other survivors had reconnoitered the sphere for some time and established a base camp in aForerunner city,Lucy-B091 discovered severalHuragok which helped the human survivors contact theOffice of Naval Intelligence ships outside the slipspace bubble and eventually bring the sphere into normal space.[15] Mendez and the others were then taken to a debriefing inHIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 aboard theUNSCPort Stanley.[16] Mendez, along with the surviving Spartan-IIs, was present at theVoi Memorial unveiling ceremony onMarch 3, 2553.[17] Shortly after this, Mendez retired from UNSC service, a result of personal introspection of about his role in training child soldiers as well as pressure from the UNSC.[1]
Onyx United Research Project[edit]
- "Well, when I think of all the things we had to do to win the war... Let's just say it's nice to have an opportunity to do some unalloyed good."
- — Mendez toTom-B292 andLucy-B091 on his new post.[18]
Mendez was ultimately not comfortable with his retirement and by early2554, he had been appointed as head of security for theOnyx United Research Project withinShield World 006, with the SangheiliKasha 'Hilot as his second-in-command. While still nominally a civilian, Mendez had authority over the UNSC forces within the facility. Around April 2554, he welcomedLucy-B091 andTom-B292 to the shield world, the twoBeta Company Spartans having been assigned under him as part of the project's security staff. Following an incident in which a UNSC soldier assaulted Kasha 'Hilot, Mendez dismissed the offender and his comrades, intending to talk with the facility's directorHugo Barton regarding the vetting standards for the facility's personnel.[18]
Interview with Benjamin Giraud[edit]
In2558, ONI had a man claimed to be Mendez provide an interview regarding the Master Chief for journalistBenjamin Giraud in ONI'sBoston headquarters. Like the other sources ONI had provided for Giraud, "Mendez" adhered to the sanitized public version of the Spartan-IIs' background, centered on glorifying John's heroism and omitting any mention of his age or life before histraining. When Giraud attempted to approach the topic from a more critical angle, his interviewee rather unambiguously advised him not to press the issue so as to avoid turning the conversation "decidedly unpleasant".[19][Note 1]
Second Onyx conflict[edit]
- Main article:Second Onyx conflict
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Personality and traits[edit]
Mendez is a strict, by-the-book military man and thus has a solid sense of duty and honor. He also rarely allows himself to display his emotions (for example,John-117 very rarely had seen him smile). When he heard of the destruction of theAlpha Company of Spartan-IIIs, he kept his face stony, holding his feelings to himself. His total need for discipline and order off-sets many of his new acquaintances, however those who know him well (namely the Spartan-IIs, particularly John-117 andKurt Ambrose) have a respect and relationship with him that can be compared to that of the connection between father and child.
Mendez's stringent sense of military discipline extends to himself, and he is known to devote considerable attention to his physical fitness even with age. When he arrived to train Alpha Company, Lieutenant Commander Ambrose noted that Mendez had aged very well, that he had a trim chiseled body from "ironwood", with hair that was now silver, deep creases around his eyes and that a set of ragged scars that ran from brow to chin.[2] By 2552, Kurt still found Mendez to be surprisingly fit and agile, noting he moved like a soldier thirty years younger and wondered what kind of Spartan he would have made.[20]
He is known to enjoySweet William cigars.[21]
Decorations[edit]
Mendez is a battle-hardened veteran who has won numerous decorations, including multiple Gold Stars,Silver Stars,Bronze Stars, threePurple Hearts,[22] and theLegion of Honor.
Production notes[edit]
![]() | Browse more images in this article'sgallery page. |
Mendez is portrayed by American actorStacy Keach inHunt the Truth,[23], Richard Cansino inHalo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series, andJim Meskimen inHalo Infinite: Memory Agent.
Gallery[edit]
Mendez inHalo: Blood Line.
Mendez as he appears inHalo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series.
Mendez in hisNavy dress uniform.
Mendez in theHalo Encyclopedia (2022 edition).
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: The Fall of Reach(First appearance)
- Halo: First Strike(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
- Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
- Halo: Blood Line
- Remember Reach
- Birth of a Spartan(Possibly)
- Halo: Reach
- Halo: Fall of Reach
- Halo: The Cole Protocol
- Halo: Glasslands
- Halo 4(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Mortal Dictata(Mentioned only)
- Hunt the Truth
- Halo: Last Light(Mentioned only)
- Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series
- Halo Mythos
- Halo Fractures
- Halo: Envoy(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Retribution(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Legacy of Onyx
- Halo: Silent Storm(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Oblivion(Mentioned only)
- Halo: Shadows of Reach(Mentioned only)
- Halo Infinite: Memory Agent
- Halo: The Television Series Season One
- Halo: Empty Throne(Mentioned only)
Notes[edit]
- ^It is suspected that the man interviewed by Giraud was not, in fact, the real Mendez, but likely an ONI stand-in.Lessons Learned andHalo: Legacy of Onyx establish that Mendez was consistently stationed at Onyx as part of his role as the facility's head of security during the emergence of the Guardians in 2558. Additionally,Legacy of Onyx shows Mendez remained troubled over his part in the Spartan programs, making it questionable he would so readily perpetuate ONI's narrative regarding the Spartan-IIs - or that ONI would summon him to Earth from his duties at Onyx only to have him provide a relatively brief interview in the first place.
Sources[edit]
- ^abcdefghijHalo Waypoint:Franklin Mendez
- ^abcHalo: Ghosts of Onyx,page 69
- ^Halo: Blood Line
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,pages 28-29
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach, "chapter 4"
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 38
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 35
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 99 ("The only constant in the universe")
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 99
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 101
- ^Halo: Ghosts of Onyx,page 365-366
- ^Halo: Ghosts of Onyx,page 378-379
- ^Halo: Glasslands,page 73
- ^Halo: Glasslands,page 37-40
- ^Halo: Glasslands,page 382-389
- ^Halo: Glasslands,page 401-403
- ^Halo: Glasslands,page 414
- ^abHalo: Fractures, "Lessons Learned"
- ^Hunt the Truth,Episode 5: OUT OF TIME
- ^Halo: Ghosts of Onyx,page 129
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 69
- ^Halo: The Fall of Reach,page 95
- ^Xbox Wire:Halo 5: Guardians #HuntTheTruth - Has the Master Chief Gone AWOL?