
More than 13 years have passed since we first took control of Halo’s Oribital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST’s) with the release of Halo 3: ODST. Being the first Halo where not the main character Master Chief stood in the spotlight but an unknown ODST-rookie. A play also used in the plot of Halo: Reach.
The Rookie is beloved by many and known to all as the silent soldier we are more than accustomed to in the Halo franchise. But with the 2022 release of the new Halo Encyclopedia on Amazon things are about to change. As much as we would like, he can no longer remain in the mystery cloud he has been for over a decade. The Rookie seems to be Jonathan Doherty, Lance Corporal Jonathan Doherty to be precise.

The preview of the Halo Encyclopedia reads: “The ODST often referred to by his squad as “The Rookie” was integrated into Alpha-Nine just prior to the Covenants siege of New Mombasa, where he assisted in securing the Tier-1 asset ONI was looking for. He remained with Alpha-Nine after the war when the team was redeployed to engage a myriad of new threats, including rebels on Draco III, where he tragically died while fighting alongside his team. His dead was a decisive moment for the team, creating deep wounds that would not be quickly healed.”.
A long time is was believed that the initials J.D. stood foor ‘John Doe’. Standing just over 6ft and weighing 194lbs we finally see a detailed description of our protagonist.
Another day, another mystery solved.