Halo Spartan Companies... What's the deal?

[Prod]

So, as has become rather common of late, this afternoon I switched on my xbox, started up Halo 5, and I was greeted by a message. Today's message is/was about something I haven't previously seen or heard anything about: Spartan Companies. Now I'm too lazy to research for myself so I thought it would be nice if you guys could elaborate.

So my questions are as follows:

What are their purpose?
Why is there a member limit?
Do they help with finding games, or are they purely aesthetic?
Are there plans for more HaloCustoms companies, perhaps by genre (as the alpha one is for CTF) or a different system?
How do I join?
​

I feel like I'm very late to the party and I've arrived sober with a 2L bottle of fanta lemon instead of a crate of beer.

 

[hybridhavoc]

So far the Spartan Companies are an incredibly incomplete seeming feature. I hope that they plan to do more with them than give the companies their own forum on HaloWaypoint.com. Most "companies" (aka clans) tend to have their own forums once they get to a certain size, so the Waypoint forums are next to useless.