Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence



The Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence (CINCONI) is the leading flag officer of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) who serves as the command's administrative and operational director. In some respects, the position of CINCONI is believed to maintain one of the greatest singular powers within the entirety of the Unified Earth Government.

Background
While ONI remains a major subordinate command under the UNSC Navy, the CINCONI sits on the Security Council with equal stature and privilege to their parent service's Chief of Naval Operations. Unlike their colleagues on the council, however, the CINCONI's role is inherently operational by nature. The CINCONI oversees the day-to-day operations of the command and deploys its assets. Under the CINCONI's command exists a microcosm of the UNSC's warfighting capability with its various direct action and covert special operations units, security forces, and warships. Although ONI maintains numerous security councils and a number of checks and balances within the organization proper, the CINCONI still holds the most power within the Office of Naval Intelligence.

The Office of Naval Intelligence takes full advantage of a level of independence no other major command in the UNSC is given. CINCONI's political charge under the United Nations Space Command's former emergency government was greatly expanded from the pre-war era, and despite complete transfer to civilian control with the end of the Human-Covenant War, their power and influence still remains. The former intelligence gathering agency of the Colonial Administration Authority, the Department of Colonial Security, reports directly to the office of the CINCONI.

CINCONI's office is located in Core 5, a section of HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6 in Sydney, Australia on Earth.

History
Admiral Margaret Parangosky served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence throughout the Insurrection, the Human-Covenant War, and into the post-war era. Parangosky began to groom her protégé Serin Osman, a former Spartan-II candidate and field agent, to replace her as CINCONI, though the Section Chiefs of ONI sought to gain the office as well. By March 2555, Osman had succeeded Parangosky as Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Admiral Osman holds near-complete operational control over the Office of Naval Intelligence, and much of the UNSC as a result.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata
 * Halo: Hunters in the Dark
 * Halo: Last Light
 * Halo: Fractures
 * A Necessary Truth
 * Rossbach's World