If I may, I would like to play from the stratigical view of a Colonel. His story will be no less bleak than the foot soldiers, and his end no more glorified. If needs be I can provide general naration of NPC troop movements in and around the combat zones. 

If this is incompatiable with what you want your game to play like, then I'll reroll into a lowly foot soldier. Going to sleep now though, so you wont hear from me in a good few hours.

Name: Kaj Erlend Raske
Occupation: Colonel // 53rd Static Infantry Division
Bio: Kaj was a man born of Reach; born of one of humanity's greatest military assets. His father and mother both served the UNSC before their untimely demise at the Second Battle of Harvest. Before them, his grandfather and grandmother too served the UNSC, though they made it to an honourable retirement. Yes, Colonel Kaj Erlend Raske of the 53rd Static Infantry Division is a military man through both blood and conscience. 
	He is however untested, alongside many of the army's home-grown senior officers. Whenever a planet's orbital defences would fall, then the attacking Covenant fleet would glass what UNSC ground forces may have been present. This act of perceived cowardice has blunted Kaj's pride, because even though he has risen through the ranks of the UNSC army with startling efficiency, he knows, alongside many others, that he'll probably never see true combat. No, the first sign of combat he'll see will be bright stars up in the night sky, getting larger and larger with each passing second until there is a terrible rumble followed by a searing heat. His uniform, so splendid and prestigious, would melt to his flesh and he would die in horrible anguish alongside his helpless men. 
	The UNSC Army was an impotent force in The Great War, and Kaj knew it through and through. However, it was on the wishes of his father that he not take up the family's banner and join the marines, and though Kaj came to see this as his father's pitiful attempt to protect him from the apparent inevitable, he would fulfil his duty with impeccable professionalism.
	8,000 men stand at his command; 6,000 of them combat troops. He is a soldier's General, and is not prone to the snobbery displayed by others that occupy his station. Every night, at 20:00 local time, he walks amongst his men. They know his face, and they know his spirit. He pursues the welfare of his troops with fevered ferocity; punishing officers and NCOs mercilessly alike for neglecting to enforce simple hygiene tasks, and stands chest to chest with those of higher rank that would defy his men what they deserve.
	When the Covenant come for Reach, and he knows like many other senior officers that they will, he will be at forefront of his men. He will be with them in the trenches, and he will be with them at the Covenant's landing grounds. It is an officer's duty to lead from the front, no matter his rank, and come what may, he will do exactly that.