SUMMARY
Operation: RED FLAG was a planned operation by both the Office of Naval Intelligence and the UNSC to use Spartans to capture a Covenant ship, use it to penetrate into Covenant space, and capture a Hierarch, with the intent of using the Prophet to broker a cease-fire. Though the operation was never put into action due to the Fall of Reach, Operation: RED FLAG is responsible for most of the UNSC fleet being unaware of the Covenant invasion of Reach until weeks after the Covenant arrived.