Editing Colonial Administration Authority

{{Status|Canon}}

|branch=*[[Colonial Military Authority]]{{Ref/Reuse|wf}}

The '''Colonial Administration Authority''' ('''CAA'''), also known as the '''Colonial Administration'''<ref name="dirt">"[[Dirt]]" – ''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', p. 107</ref> or '''Colonial Authority''',<ref name="ch74">''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'', p. 74</ref> is an organization under the ultimate control of the [[Unified Earth Government]]. Formed alongside the [[Colonial Military Authority]] in [[2310]],{{Ref/Reuse|evg}} the CAA acted as a secondary governing body that helped the UEG regulate the various colony worlds of humanity.<ref name="HSP">[http://halostory.bungie.org/oconnor_mclees_080508.html '''Halo Story Page''': ''Frank O'Connor/Robt McLees Interview - August 2008'']</ref>

The seal of the Colonial Authority is described as a looming profile of an iconic eagle in a circle of seventeen bright stars. The eagle's wing shelters a group of colonists, their hopeful eyes watching a fleet of sleek [[colony ship]]s flying along the eagle's upturned beak—an image that suggested expansion through unity.{{Ref/Reuse|ch74}}

The Colonial Administration Authority was established by the [[Unified Earth Government]] in [[2310]], alongside the [[Colonial Military Authority]].{{Ref/Reuse|evg}} Formed two decades after the invention of the [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]], the CAA was tasked with planning for [[human]]ity's extra-solar settlement and colonization, spending the following decades preparing for the inevitable exodus from the [[Sol system]] that would occur. The ''[[Domus Diaspora]]'' began as [[colony ship]]s left Sol to settle worlds in other systems, beginning with [[Reach]] and [[Tribute]] in the [[Epsilon Eridani system]].<ref>''[[Halo Mythos]]'', p. 54-55</ref><ref name="tribute">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/tribute '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Tribute'']</ref>

Prior to the onset of the [[Insurrection]], many individuals felt sympathy for the [[Insurrectionist|rebels]], blaming the Colonial Authority's heavy-handed bureaucrats for their increasingly poor understanding of the unique challenges among the [[Outer Colonies]]. However, as more radical insurgent factions abandoned politics, negotiations, and protesting for violence, targeting military infrastructure and key CAA supporters, support for the rebels soon died out as their actions grew more extreme.<ref name="ch61">''Halo: Contact Harvest'', p. 61</ref> CAA buildings and personnel were heavily targeted by rebels late in the war.{{Ref/Reuse|dirt}} In [[2497]], the CMA was reorganized and absorbed into the [[United Nations Space Command]], following a series of scandals throughout the Insurrection.{{Ref/Reuse|wf}}

Over the course of the [[Human-Covenant War]], the Unified Earth Government granted substantial authority to the UNSC as a result of emergency powers and breakdown of interstellar governance.<ref name="ueg">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/ueg '''Halo Waypoint''': ''UEG'']</ref> The CAA was more resistant to the takeover than the UEG proper, and thus it was stripped of most of its power.{{Ref/Reuse|HSP}} Despite this, the [[CAA Factbook]] was still being updated as late as [[2550]].{{Ref/Reuse|factbook}} Following the Covenant War, power was restored to the UEG{{Ref/Reuse|ueg}} and the CAA returned to its administrative duties as a division of the UEG, although the CAA's influence has become marginal.{{Ref/Reuse|wf}} During the [[Created conflict]] in [[2558]], [[Jiang]], the Colonial Authority [[AI]] of [[Erdenet]], defected to the [[Created]].<ref>''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', campaign level, "[[Guardians]]"</ref>

The Colonial Administration Authority serves as the administrative body for the [[Human colonies|colonies]] of the [[Unified Earth Government]].{{Ref/Reuse|wf}} In this capacity, the CAA governed the colonies in the UEG's name,<ref name="enc">''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'', p. 43 (2011)</ref> its bureaucrats aiding in the management of population and employment,{{Ref/Reuse|ch61}} providing power for new colonies,<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', p. 183</ref> and ensuring the quality of colonial infrastructure.<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', p. 179</ref> However, colonies maintained sovereignty to some degree, as mandated by the Colonial Authority's own charter.<ref>''Halo: Contact Harvest'', p. 121</ref> In recent years, the Colonial Authority's influenced has become marginalized.{{Ref/Reuse|wf}} The CAA kept extensive files on every colony, world, and city under its care. The document containing these files was referred to as the [[CAA Factbook]].<ref name="factbook">[http://halo.bungie.net/projects/reach/article.aspx?ucc=intel '''Bungie.net''': ''CAA Factbook'']</ref> These files contained everything from topographic maps to the information on the materials the city sewer system was built from. The CAA provided this information to UNSC military forces upon request, and it could be very helpful when defending colonies from [[Covenant]] attack.<ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', p. 177</ref> In addition, the CAA oversaw the [[Outer Colony vaccination program]] which held the largest DNA database of the human population.<ref>''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', "February 15, 2511"</ref>

The [[Colonial Military Authority]] served as the military and policing arm of the CAA, until it was folded into the [[United Nations Space Command]] in [[2497]].{{Ref/Reuse|wf}} While the CMA maintained its own [[fleet]], its strength eventually shrunk as the UNSC encroached on the CMA's power and influence before absorbing the organization entirely.{{Ref/Reuse|enc}} The CAA formerly housed its own intelligence agency, the [[Department of Colonial Security]]. When the CAA lost its power, the DCS was incorporated into the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].{{Ref/Reuse|md}} The CAA was also responsible for the colonization of worlds, as evident by the "CAA" [[Wikipedia:Ship prefix|ship prefix]] on their [[colony ship]]s, such as {{CAAShip|Butterworth}} and {{CAAShip|Casbah}}.{{Ref/Reuse|tribute}}