Legend

"But if there's one thing I learned during my early military days, is that a good soldier never leaves a man behind."

- Legend to Dax and Jason (Planning Ahead)

Gunnery Sergeant Cogburn, or Legend, is a main character in the machinima Sandguardians. He first made a vocal appearance in Welcome to Sandbox!, speaking with Dax. He then made a full physical appearance in It Came From Above.

Legend is presented as the strong and disciplined leader of the Sandbox Blue Team, having gained the respect of his men from the start of the series. Due to his service in the Human-Covenant War, Dax, Icky, and Jason, refer to their sergeant as "The Legend", seeing him as having a "legendary" status amongst other ONC commanding officers. In addition, Legend is seen and portrayed as a father amongst his men, being very protective of his squad's well-being. This even extends to the Red Team, as they grow to see him as a protective leader in Season 3, despite being former enemies.

One of Legend's flaws, however, is his strong dislike and distrust of Elites, due to their former allegiance with the Covenant and actions of trying to wipe out all humans. Even after the War's end and the treaty between Elites and humans, Legend remains distrustful of them and is willing to kill one onsite. Due to his conflicting views with others on this matter, Legend struggles to keep an open-mind on accepting Elites as equals.

Overall, Legend has shown capabilities of compassion, respect, and heroism, willing to put himself in danger in order to keep others safe. Legend is also creative, strategic, and holds strong leadership skills. While stubborn at times, Legend stands by his morals and decisions, builds others up instead of tearing them down, and shows many characteristics of a good man.

Personality
Being the Blue Team leader and sergeant, Legend has a typical gruff attitude, where his form of discipline usually involves screaming at his soldiers. However, he has been known to be capable of having decent conversations with his squad, as seen in The Mysterious Beyond.

Legend also seems to be the most strategic of all the Sandbox soldiers, usually being able come up with a plan very quickly. It has also been hinted that Legend has a history fighting alongside Master Chief & other soldiers against the Covenant during the Great War, as according to Episode 4, he has a complete hatred of aliens. Because of this, Legend also shows a great amount of bravery (a characteristic many of the other soldiers in Sandbox don't have) usually being the first person to step into danger, but for the right reasons. In Beyond the Mysterious Beyond, Legend quickly answered Dax's cries for help. In Reese's Pieces, Legend courageously walked inside the base to find the alien, despite the danger.

Skills
Because of his experience in the Great War, Legend is very skilled in combat in both brains and brawns. He has been seen to have exceptional skill maneuvering a Hornet as he did in It Came From Above and Truth of the Legend. Legend's bravery and quick thinking also pays a price for his skill. In Season 2, Legend was able to set up his base efficiently and in Episode 25, he was able to stand up to the Guy in White and fight him off.

Dax
Dax seems to respect Legend greatly, mostly due to Legend's experience in the Great War, and Legend seems to get along with Dax the most. Dax is also slightly intimidated by Legend's demanding attitude, but can occasionally stand up to him; such as in Another One Down, during an argument about Seal. Dax also may have lost some respect for Legend, due to the heated argument, but eventually gained it back when the latter helped them build an escape tunnel. In Planning Ahead, Dax became happy when he believed that Legend would be joining them on their journey and even considers himself as "Legend's favorite private", along with Jason.

Jason
Much like Dax, Jason has a great amount of respect for Legend. Coincidentally, Legend told Jason, "Good work, private." in The Mysterious Beyond, for contacting an engineer without having to be told to do so. Legend also helps Jason and Dax in building a tunnel for their escape with Seal. During that time, Legend scolds Jason for his miscalculations and calls him "pointdexter".

Ichabod
Similar to his other teammates, Ichabod greatly respects Legend, but on a much lower degree. Icky is occasionally seen disobeying him, mostly because of his own selfish reasons. In Another One Down, Icky took sides with Legend during an argument about the alien. Although he thinks the alien is dangerous, he did not share the same hatred of it like Legend did.

Throughout Season 2, Legend is greatly annoyed by Icky's attitude; so much to the point where Legend physically hits him in Service Unavailable. Despite this, Legend believed Icky could have been a role model to Dax and Jason, and also went to apologize to him in Insight to the Past. In Secrets Revealed, after Icky was attacked by the Guy in White, he told Legend to save himself rather than help him, but Legend did the opposite and healed Icky with the Life Saver.

Seal
Legend did not trust Seal during his first encounter with him, but managed to provide him with an escape route out of Sandbox. Seal replies to Legend with a thank you, but is currently unknown if Legend trusts Seal. In White Light, Legend admits that he was never able to get Seal out his head, ever since the disappearance of the Guy in White, and considered the latter as clever.

Guy in White
Legend sees the Guy in White as an enemy and constantly keeps his guard up while he's near him. The two are very similar in skill, but Legend is slower and less agile than the Guy in White and was shot twice by him in Truth of the Legend. However, unlike the Guy in White's previous victims, Legend does not show fear in his presence.

Trivia

 * Legend's nickname, the "Legend", derives from the fact that he fought during the Great War.
 * Legend's last name is based on the fictional character Rooster Cogburn, from the novel True Grit.
 * It is revealed in Another One Down that Legend fought, or was involved, in the Great War.
 * Legend is the only member in Sandbox to have a different chest plate than the standard Mark VI everyone else wears. This difference may mean his rank of sergeant is higher than that of Wilbur's.
 * During It Came From Above, Legend wears a CQB chest plate. However, from Episode 6 and beyond, he wears an EVA chest plate.