Preston Cole

Admiral Preston Cole was a high ranking UNSC officer in 2531 through 2535. He is best known for his role in creating the Cole Protocol, a central UNSC law of the Human-Covenant War.

In 2531, Cole, who was a Vice Admiral at the time, led a task force to retake the Harvest System during The Battle of Harvest, after the UNSC Heracles returned to Reach, badly damaged from first contact with the Covenant. During the ensuing battle, he lost two thirds of his fleet and only achieved "victory" through a last minute tactical inspiration. The system was lost nonetheless. The decisive advantage of the superior Covenant convinced him to issue the Cole Protocol.

Cole returned home to discover that he had been promoted to Admiral and branded a hero for his victory at Harvest. After Harvest was lost, he set out to defend the rest of the Outer Colonies. Despite his strategic brilliance, the Covenant won simply because of their overwhelming numbers and superior firepower. From 2531 to 2535, Cole's fleet met defeat after defeat, until most of the outer colonies were destroyed by 2535.

His ultimate fate is unclear, although in First Strike a paint entitled "Admiral Cole's Last Stand" is described, but his protocol was a central military ideology until the Covenant eventually found Earth in 2552.