| rdfs:comment | - The United Nations Space Command was the armed force of the Unified Earth Government, and consisted of the UNSC Navy, UNSC Army, UNSC Marine Corps and UNSC Defence Intelligence. The uniformed services of the UNSC were responsible for defending the territorial integrity of the UEG, maintaining peace and order through armed presence, deterring and dealing with internal and external armed threats and otherwise supporting the UEG. With the exception a long period during the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC was civilian-controlled, and acted to further aims dictated by civilian governance in areas such as foreign policy. This was handled by the civilian Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of Defence, although ultimate authority lay with the UEG President. Military command was the responsib
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| abstract | - The United Nations Space Command was the armed force of the Unified Earth Government, and consisted of the UNSC Navy, UNSC Army, UNSC Marine Corps and UNSC Defence Intelligence. The uniformed services of the UNSC were responsible for defending the territorial integrity of the UEG, maintaining peace and order through armed presence, deterring and dealing with internal and external armed threats and otherwise supporting the UEG. With the exception a long period during the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC was civilian-controlled, and acted to further aims dictated by civilian governance in areas such as foreign policy. This was handled by the civilian Ministry of Defence, headed by the Secretary of Defence, although ultimate authority lay with the UEG President. Military command was the responsibility of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the armed forces. The UNSC was formed in 2163 as a fusion of most of the worlds' leading military forces. This was a result of the tumultuous Interplanetary War, which caused the merging of most Earth governments out of sheer necessity. The combined forces of the UNSC ultimately triumphed over Communist and Fascist forces on Earth and throughout the Sol system, and in the post-war years its stabilising presence overcame the difficulties of expanding and entrenching a global, unified government. In the following decades, the UNSC swelled in manpower and fighting strength in the midst of a general economic and colonisation boom within the Sol system, but also an increase in fringe lawlessness. Following the proliferation of FTL (faster-than-light) propulsion technology, the UNSC found itself increasingly stretched in attempting to police newly colonised, sparsely populated and often remote regions. A new sub-command, the Colonial Military Administration, was established to deal with these remote areas. Over time, animosity festered between outer colonists, who felt a strong affinity with an increasingly independent CMA, and inner colony civilians, who aligned with the UNSC, whose large presence reassured them against perceived threats. This was compounded by social and economic inequalities between the inner and outer colonies, caused by an unequal distribution of economic sectors, trade, infrastructure and wealth. The turn of the century marked a time of dramatic increases in civilian uprising against UNSC rule, and terrorist atrocities committed under the banner of colonial independence from Earth. This was the start of a wider insurrection that would consume the UNSC's attention until the sudden emergence of a far greater, far more terrifying threat on Harvest in 2525. With the outbreak of the Great War, the UNSC's priorities and threats changed literally with a single incident, and combating the insurrectionists took a secondary role. During this time, all Humanity was threatened with annihilation by the genocidal Covenant Empire. In response, the UNSC progressively assumed more emergency powers, eventually making it the de facto governing body of most of Humanity. This was necessary to for the economy to be refocused entirely on the war effort, and to allow colonies, resources and populations to be managed for a state of total war. Most historians agree this was a key factor in extending the Human race's long campaign for survival. Many of these emergency powers remained in effect until the latter stages of the Remnant War, after which time increasing public pressure saw day-to-day governance fully return to the Unified Earth Government.
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