Michael Gronseth

Rear Admiral Michael Gronseth is a retired flag officer of the UNSC Navy. He served in the UNSC Navy Cyber Fleet and Bravo-9 Division as a Cyberwarfare Engineer throughout the Human-Covenant War and later conflicts in various leadership positions. Initially retiring in 2582, Michael returned to active duty service under personal request during the Excession Conflict and retired after completing his special duty post in 2585.

Following his retirement, Michael joined IronShield, a cybersecurity company on Tribute, as a senior advisor and board member to handle communicating contracts with the United Nations Space Command. He then joined Aperture Group where he works as the Chief Product Officer.

Military career
Commissioning into the UNSC Navy after his graduation from Mare Erythraeum Naval Academy, Michael completed additional training at the UNSC Navy Cyber School and joined the UNSC Navy Cyber Fleet. Assigned to the UNSC Naval Command, UNSC Navy Cyberwarfare Fleet Department, Michael deployed to the Seventh Fleet to serve as a Fleet Cyber Team Assistant Officer-in-Charge in 2544. He then completed another tour with the Seventh Fleet as a Cyber Liaison Officer to the capital ship to inform the fleet commander of cyber and electronic warfare activities during 2546. Michael was assigned to Reach where he served in the Naval Cyberwarfare Defense Department, NAVCOM Regional Cyber Center - Reach as a Defensive Cyber Team Officer-in-Charge as a Lieutenant between 2550 and 2551. He participated in the Battle of Reach in 2552 where he worked to destroy the REACH DOC NET and Gamma Station cyberinfrastructure. Following the Fall of Reach, Michael was assigned to the UNSC Home Fleet, Cairo Station as a Fleet Cyber Team Officer-in-Charge where he participated in the Battle for Earth. Michael utilized various methods to prevent the Covenant from attacking Cairo Station's cyber networks.

Following the end of the Human-Covenant War, Michael was assigned to a Cyber Fleet Task Unit as an Operations Officer to support Operation: FORTRESS SIEGE and ran defensive cyberwarfare missions during the operation. Once completing his education at UNSC Naval Postgraduate School, Luna, Michael was assigned to the Bravo-9 Division, Cyberwarfare Group, as an Operations Officer in 2555. During his time, he ran successful cyber espionage campaigns against Insurrectionists cyberinfrastructure and infiltrated various home-grown networks between 2555 and 2559. By 2560, Michael returned to the UNSC Navy Cyber Fleet to serve as a Task Unit Commander and later as a Group Assistant Operations Officer at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He led a wargames exercise in 2564 as a Red Team Commander to infiltrate UNSC cyberinfrastructure on a colony to help protect against future cyber attacks. Michael was later assigned to the UNSC Navy Cyber School, Mars as a Red Team Instructor in 2567 as a Commander to assist incoming cyber personnel in becoming red team members to strengthen the UNSC Navy Cyber Fleet. He then returned to the Bravo-9 Division, Cyberwarfare Group to serve as a Squadron Commander and Group Executive Officer till his promotion to Captain in 2572. As a Captain, Michael served as the Group Commander of Bravo-9's Cyberwarfare Group and as a Task Group Commander within the UNSC Navy Cyberwarfare Fleet Department. He later served as the Chief of Staff for the Fleet Department till he attended the UNSC Naval War College, Tribute in 2578.

Promoted to the rank of Commodore Admiral in 2579, Michael took the position of Deputy Commanding Officer (Operations) for the Navy Cyberwarfare Defensive Department. During his time, he worked towards the buildup of the Excession Conflict and preparing the Sol system for defensive cyber operations. Following the successful invasion by Jul 'Mdama, Michael was relieved from his post for his failure to protect vital FLEETCOM cyberinfrastructure within the Sol system and reassigned as Commandant of the UNSC Navy Cyber School on Cascade. In 2582, he retired from the UNSC Navy as a Commodore Admiral, and moved to Tribute.

In 2583, the Commanding Officer of the UNSC Navy Cyber Fleet approached Michael with a special duty post within her staff as the Chief of Staff. Promoted to Rear Admiral, he served as the Chief of Staff for the Commanding Officer. Utilizing his experience from the Human-Covenant War, Michael worked to bring in private sector contractors and companies to support the offensive and defensive capabilities to win back the Sol System. He worked closely with the Commanding Officer on bringing in senior subject matter experts to support the Fleet's ability to engage in multi-warfare domain operations. Following the completion of his special duty post, Michael retired from the UNSC Navy as a Rear Admiral in 2585.