Rezzy47:

I made an account specifically to reply to this....ODSTs were being produced as quickly as possible already, due to the fact that the ODST outfit is an all volunteer program.  They put them through as quickly as they get them.  The events on Alpha Halo would have ended in catastrophe for the entire galaxy had John not destroyed it.  The Covenant knew how to activate the Halo rings and if you recall the campaign, as he took the index, the Covenant were right behind him.

I don't remember that. I do remember that the Covenant were there when you got to the control room, but they were nowhere near the Index. And, lest we not forget, only humans can activate the Halo array.

Rezzy47:

The NAV data in space wasn't doable by ODSTs, all available troops were being used in the ground war.  They didn't have the man power or shuttle space to send up the hundreds of ODSTs to complete that mission.  If you recall, I believe a Spartan or two died on that mission.  The other reason they chose Spartans for that mission is they needed to do it quietly, do you really think sending up a dozen or so Pelicans is doing it quietly?

Remember, without the Spartan II program, more soldiers would have been available.

And saying that hundreds of ODSTs would have been needed to take out a single NAV database is absurd. Three squads could have done it, which were present and deployable on the PoA.

Rezzy47:

On the ground war of Reach....that was just a waste of resources all the way around.  They shouldn't have bothered defending Reach with all of the remaining Spartans, due to the fact that the Covenant were just going to glass the planet anyways.

It wasn't the only thing the UNSC did that didn't make sense...

Rezzy47:

I also wanted to reply to an earlier post....the original one I believe.  The reason that Elites have less armor isn't due to their superior technology, but because of the Elites natural toughness and mostly, their pride.

I can't argue that.

Rezzy47:

Yes, the Spartans were expensive.  Even if they didn't make the Spartans and could have produced another fleet of ships, do you think it would have mattered?  The only major space victory in the war, as I'm sure most of you know, is when Admiral Cole destroyed a Covenant fleet that he outnumbered 3-1 and even then, he lost the majority of his fleet. Also, as many of you Starcraft players know, it isn't just having the resources to field an army, its having the means to build them.  I'm almost 100% positive that every single bit of dock space was being used 100% of the time to pump out the various fleet ships in an effort to slow the advance of the Covenant.

And again, there's room for expansion, and money for expansion. You produce a dozen battlecruisers, you won't have the resources to build enough factories to mass produce Siege Tanks and Goliaths.

Rezzy47:

The Spartan II project had two goals: to create a Super Soldier to quietly put down the uprisings that were happening in the outer colonies, and as the Human-Covenant war started, to become a beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless war.

Let me restate my position. The Spartans, although they had their uses, were not quite integral to the war, and actually extended the war by a few months.

Lethe:

Then you should be pretty happy with the game; it's a lot of fun.
Even if a squad of marines out of dozens of units on a battle field has shoulder pads .25" too thick for a fanboy's tastes :)