Posted by: RKOSNAKE
The Mk. V armor was the first of the line to be equipped with energy shields (based, in part, on captured Covenant matériel). S-117 was not the first Spartan to receive the Mk. V armor, as he had been in the field when it entered service on 24 Nov 2551. The most obvious indication of this is how familiar the Marines on the UNSC Pillar of Autumn (C-709) were with the armor.
So, what was so special about 29 Aug 2552? This was the very first time a "smart" AI had "piggy-backed" in the Mjolnir Mk. V powered assault armor during "live-fire" simulated combat conditions.
Halo: The Fall of Reach and Halo Waypoint's MJOLNIR Project 2 video state that the Mark V was issued on August 29, 2552. However, a number of later sources, including the aforementioned Weekly Update, Dr. Halsey's personal journal, the 2011 edition of the Halo Encyclopedia, and Halo: The Essential Visual Guide retcon this, clearly stating that the Mark V was issued on November 24, 2551. The two latter sources reveal that the suit issued in November 2551 was a prototype of the one issued in August 2552, explaining its noticeably different appearance in Halo: Reach. While John-117 indeed tested the performance of the second-generation Mark V system, ONI was actually evaluating the Spartan-AI pairing made possible by the second-generation Mark V suit. Where does it say that in Halsey's journal? I can't find it anywhere :\