Editing Office of Naval Intelligence

{{Status|Canon}}

|formed=[[2178]]{{Ref/Site|Id=universe|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/oni|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=ONI|D=30|M=06|Y=2021}}

**[[Serin Osman]] (255X—){{Ref/SpOps|Id=Expendable|SpOps|Expendable}}

{{Quote|no=two|Emile-A239|Kat-B320|q1=Kat, you read his file?|q2=Only the parts that weren't covered in black ink.|[[Catherine-B320]] remarks on ONIs censorship of [[SPARTAN-B312]]'s file.{{Ref/Level|HR|Noble Actual|Quote=I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to|Quotee=Carter-A259}}}}

The '''Office of Naval Intelligence''' ('''ONI''', commonly pronounced phonetically as [[Wikipedia:Help:IPA for English|/oʊni/]]) is the intelligence service of the [[UNSC Navy]]. Overtly, the agency is merely the information gathering and analysis division of the [[UNSC Naval Command]]. In reality, the operations of the Office of Naval Intelligence are far broader than simple intelligence gathering.{{Ref/Book|Id=enc67|Enc11|Page=67}}

The Office of Naval Intelligence was founded in [[2178]].{{Ref/Book|Id=vis229|H4EVG|Page=229}}{{Ref/Reuse|universe}}

One of the earliest known projects undertaken by ONI was in [[2321]]. This project, dubbed [[ORION Project|ORION]], was an attempt to increase the effectiveness of [[Colonial Military Authority]] soldiers. However this initial run was eventually postponed.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/spartans|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Spartans|D=30|M=06|Y=2021}}

In [[2491]], the [[Carver Findings]] were released and ONI began to use it as their approach to the [[Insurrectionist]]s.{{Ref/Book|Enc09|Page=44}}

In the first several months of the war, some ONI analysts believed the [[Covenant]] may have visited [[Earth]] in the past. Part of this was due to the meter and a half tall [[Unggoy]] the Covenant employed. As such, the Covenant received the nickname "LGM" or "Little Green Men".{{Ref/Novel|HSS|Chapter=1}}

Over the course of the war, ONI eliminated or gained control over most competing civilian and military espionage services.{{Ref/Book|Id=warfleetglossary|HWF|Section=Glossary|Page=90-92}}

===Postwar===

Following the war, the Office of Naval Intelligence had become the primary intelligence service of the UEG with nearly uncontested power in this field.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleetglossary}} ONI was also afforded a great deal of autonomy, due to its connections with the [[UNSC Security Council]].{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/factions/unsc|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=UNSC|D=30|M=06|Y=2021}}

During the [[Created conflict]], ONI teams sanitized data on [[Earth]].{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/log-of-war|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Log of War|D=30|M=06|Y=2021}} As well, CINCONI Serin Osman went into hiding, along with [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood]].{{Ref/Anthology|HFra|Rossbach's World}}

The Office of Naval Intelligence is responsible for UNSC [[Wikipedia:signals intelligence|signals intelligence]] (SIGINT), [[Wikipedia:Human intelligence (intelligence gathering)|human intelligence]] (HUMINT), [[Wikipedia:Counterintelligence|counter-espionage]], [[propaganda]], and top-secret research and development programs. The agency mostly operates independently of other UNSC branches, and at times it contravenes the law and UNSC protocol to complete top-secret missions. ONI's [[Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence|Commander-in-Chief]] (CINCONI), is [[Admiral]] [[Serin Osman]], successor and protegé to [[Margaret Parangosky]].{{Ref/Reuse|Expendable}}

ONI is technically subordinate to the [[UNSC Naval Command]]. In practice, however, ONI's activities extend far beyond intelligence gathering, and often receives mandates and directives from [[UNSC High Command|HIGHCOM]] itself.<ref>''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''</ref> It is also not unheard of for ONI to operate without HIGHCOM's knowledge or official authorization, as was the case with [[Kilo-Five]]'s mission; indeed, CINCONI is often considered to hold significant power within the UNSC<ref>''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', p. 44</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|mdic199}} and even the [[Unified Earth Government]] as a whole.{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} All other competing intelligence services have been snuffed out long ago to ensure ONI's supremacy; according to the ONI AI [[Black-Box]], ''"...there are no rival agencies. We castrated them all. Left them cowering in our shadow"''.{{Ref/Novel|HGla|Chapter=17}}

ONI has an unusually large amount of military equipment for an intelligence service, and has a strong [[UNSC fleet|fleet]] presence. For example, ONI maintains joint control of the Navy's postwar [[flagship]], {{UNSCShip|Infinity}},<ref>''Halo: The Thursday War'', p. 46</ref> and holds considerable sway over her crew.{{Ref/Reuse|Expendable}} ONI also maintains the UNSC's [[prowler]] fleet, a major source of [[Covenant]] deployment intelligence, under the auspices of the [[UNSC Prowler Corps]]. The Office of Naval Intelligence possesses a stealth cruiser, {{UNSCShip|Point of No Return}}, which is used as a command vessel and a secure conference location. ONI also manages field intelligence with units such as [[ONI Recon 111]] liaising with mainstream UNSC military units.{{Ref/Level|H3|Tsavo Highway}}

ONI exerts virtually complete control over the flow of information across the territories under UEG control. Over the course of humanity's [[human colonies|colonial era]], a number of scattered alien artifacts built by a long-vanished civilization later to be known as the [[Forerunner]]s were discovered. ONI secretly concealed all of these findings and maintained a monopoly on [[xenoarchaeology|xenoarchaeological]] research into them;{{Ref/Book|Id=enc43|Enc09|Page=43}} any civilian scientists studying the artifacts would be drafted by ONI.<ref>''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', "[[From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal]]"</ref> In order to prevent information from leaking to the public, ONI is capable of initiating system-wide data purges which erase all information on a given subject. A noted example of this is [[Onyx]], originally surveyed as an ideal world for human settlement but erased from all UEG databases by ONI due to the alien technology discovered there.<ref>''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', p. 124</ref>

{{Quote|Is ONI one happy family? Oh, please. We've got four divisions, officially, and only one of them knows that we've actually got more than that. There's Section Two—made up of psyops and PR, who each kid themselves they're not like the other at all—which tells the lies; Section Zero, which thinks it spies on everyone else, tells lies to Section Two, and thinks it tells lies to Sections One and Three; Section One does stuff we can almost talk about, they interface with other branches; and Section Three does the stuff we can't talk about or else it would have to kill everyone in fascinating and groundbreaking new ways. Technically, [[Kilo-Five|you're]] not a numbered section at all. You're the praetorian guard for CINCONI, in a way, and we just call CINCONI's staff Core Four, although it's actually in [[Core 5|Core Five]] of [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6|Bravo-6]], and [[Department of Colonial Security|DCS]] reports directly to it. You'll note I didn't mention [[UNSC High Command|HIGHCOM]], and that's because all ONI sections lie to HIGHCOM and tell it that it's the most powerful body on Earth, which generally works well at keeping the old buffers convinced that they make the decisions. Now, are you confused? I certainly hope so, because that's my mission.|[[Black-Box]], explaining the perceived structure of ONI to the rest of [[Kilo-Five]], and only partly joking<ref name="mdic199">''Halo: Mortal Dictata'', p. 199</ref>}}

Section One is the proper intelligence-gathering branch of ONI. As such, the section's services are most often utilized by UNSC forces.{{Ref/Reuse|enc67}} Its responsibilities include information gathering and codebreaking through military espionage.{{Ref/Reuse|universe}} Information released by Section One includes evacuation notices for colony worlds and [[Covenant]] force deployments.{{Ref/Reuse|enc67}} Section One is responsible for covering up all information on locations ONI wishes to keep hidden from the public eye, such as [[Onyx]].<ref>''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', p. 48</ref>

 

====Sub-divisions and ties====

*'''[[Materials Group]]''' is subgroup of Section Three, which is responsible for the development of advanced matériel. The group's most significant development is the Spartans' [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]], as well as the prototype exoskeletons which preceded it. The Materials Group's HRUNTING team revived the exoskeleton project, leading to the development of the [[HRUNTING Mark III (B) Exoskeleton|Mark III [B] Cyclops]]. Later, the team merged with the YGGDRASIL project to create the [[HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark I Prototype Armor Defense System|Mark I prototype]] and [[HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System|Mark IX "Mantis" armor defense systems]]. Other developments include the [[XRP12 Combat Support Vehicle|XRP12 Gremlin]] and its [[X23 Non-Nuclear Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon|X23 EMP cannon]]; the [[XM4600 Zeus plasma munition howitzer|''Zeus''-class plasma cannon]];<ref>''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'', p. 155</ref> and the planet-destroying [[NOVA bomb]].{{Citation needed}}  

*'''Watershed Division''' is a group with ties to ONI. During the war, the Watershed Division produced over 2,000 units of the [[Semi-Powered Infiltration armor]], issued to the [[Spartan-III]]s. In post-war period it developed an upgrades for the first generation of MJOLNIR armor and a number of  [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor (GEN2)|MJOLNIR [GEN2]]] armor variants issued to a very short list of people with high levels of clearance to use such rare equipment.

;[[Strategic Response Unit]]:

:A major decision-making body of three key individuals within ONI, conferring during major crises such as [[First Battle of Harvest|the onset]] of the [[Human-Covenant War]].<ref name="genesis">''Halo Wars: Genesis''</ref>

;[[ONI Signal Corps|Signal Corps]]:

:The Signal Corps is tasked with broadcasting radio signals in order to confuse [[Covenant fleet]] and troop movements, diverting attention from [[Human colonies|UEG colonies]] that are evacuating.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050308074743/www.totalvideogames.com/pages/articles/?article_id=7042&page=3 TVG Chats To The ILoveBees Operator]</ref>

;[[UNSC Prowler Corps|Prowler Corps]]:

:The Prowler Corps oversees the deployment of [[UNSC prowler|prowlers]] and their electronic intelligence gathering.<ref>''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx'', p. 326</ref>

 

;[[Reverse Engineering and Prototyping–Xenotechnology department|REAP-X]] and [[Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group|XEG]]:  

:The Reverse Engineering and Prototyping–Xenotechnology department is tasked with developing advanced technologies from alien sources, both [[Covenant]] and [[Forerunner]].<ref name="Special Report">[http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=8efbd7b88156ac5f6faed8b69&id=4fdccf0da5&e=7be5970a3b ''Mega Bloks'', Special Report: ONI REAP-X]</ref> They receive unlimited funding and resources and are unknown outside the Office of Naval Intelligence.{{Ref/Reuse|Special Report}} The department was formed from many smaller groups created during the [[Human-Covenant War]]. Like the Materials Group, it helped disseminate new weapons and shield technologies to UNSC forces as the war neared its end by way of firms such as [[Misriah Armory]].{{Ref/Reuse|Special Report}} Their activities include weapon development, technology research and analysis, reapplication of alien technology, vehicle development, and research into [[hard light]] technology.{{Ref/Reuse|Special Report}} The REAP-X department's greatest breakthrough was the discovery of a working Forerunner [[slipspace drive]] used to complete the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, the post-war flagship of the UNSC Navy. The department utilizes many variants of standard military vehicles modified for special missions.{{Ref/Reuse|Special Report}}

;[[Physical and Technical Security Office]]

:Charged with the security of UNSC military bases and information depots.{{Ref/Game|Id=HI1|HI|Armor customization (Halo Infinite)|Armor Hall|Detail=Security - Helmet Description|Quote=Defending information depots and military sites remains a critical task for Spartans detached for assignment with ONI's Physical and Technical Security Office.}}

;[[ONI Security]]:

:The main security force of the Office of Naval Intelligence, with personnel generally recruited from [[UNSC Army]] and [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine]] candidates.<ref name="Halo 4 page 34">''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]'', p. 34</ref> A detachment of ONI Security was stationed on [[Ivanoff Station]] when it was [[Raid on Ivanoff Station|attacked]] by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]].<ref>''Halo 4'', campaign level, [[Composer (level)|Composer]]</ref>

{{Main|Category:Office of Naval Intelligence personnel|l1=ONI personnel}}

*{{Class|Chiroptera|subprowler}} {{C|retired}}

**{{Class|Point Blank|prowler}}

*In reality, the [[Wikipedia:Office of Naval Intelligence|Office of Naval Intelligence]] is an agency of the United States Navy that was established in 1882. There is also an Australian intelligence agency known as the [[Wikipedia:Office of National Intelligence|Office of National Intelligence]] that was established in 2018 and shares the same acronym.

**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition dossiers|Limited Edition dossiers]]'' {{Mo}}