He joined the Coalition of Ordered Governments army on Emergence Day, and soon after met Augustus Cole, who became his best friend. Fourteen years later he was a member of Alpha Squad during the Lightmass Offensive, but joined Delta Squad along with Cole after the rest of the squad was killed. After the successful conclusion to the offensive, he was assigned to lead Sigma-One with Cole, taking part in several battles against the Locust. During Operation: Hollow Storm, he once again rejoined Delta, and fought through the campaign to sink Jacinto. He joined the rest of the COG in its evacuation to Port Farrall and later Vectes, where the COG was forced to deal with the Stranded Insurgency, and later the Lambent Pandemic, during which Baird was often on the front lines helping formulate plans