Office of Naval Intelligence

The Office of Naval Intelligence, though technically part of the UNSC Navy, seems to answer directly to HIGHCOM. Its emblem reads "Semper Vigilans," which is latin for "Ever Vigilant." Many of its functions and subdivisions, like the Beta-5 Division and the SPARTAN-III Program, are enigmatic, and its personnel are regarded as mysteries to mainline naval officers, who often refer to ONI personnel as "spooks".

Sections

 * Section 0 - The most secretive section of ONI. Almost no one knows exactly what they do, let alone know it even exists. From the records of an AI named Melissa, though, it is thought to be ONI internal affairs, charged with rooting out and eliminating illegal programs.


 * Section 1 - The main intelligence-gathering section, and the foremost provider of electronic intelligence for the UNSC. Covenant ship movements and force deployment, evacuation notices for colonies, deletion of data for secrecy purposes, and much more are all done by Section 1. Section 1 handles minimal intra-UNSC security.


 * Section 2 - The propaganda branch of ONI. They handle communication to and from colonies to reduce the level of rumors and information that would cripple morale. They were responsible for going public with the SPARTAN-II program. Even after the release of this information to the public, the SPARTANs were still viewed as near-mythological figures. Most marines and ODSTs didn't believe they even existed until they saw them for themselves. Because of the low morale among the colonies, the SPARTANs are always listed as Missing-In-Action or Wounded-In-Action instead of Killed-In-Action upon death. This gives the illusion that SPARTANs can not and do not die. Higher-than-average intra-UNSC security.


 * Section 3 - The top-secret projects division of ONI. They are responsible for the SPARTAN-II project, the NOVA project, and many other "black op" programs. The secrets possessed by ONI are the key to Earth's continued survival, for the Covenant cannot be beaten with military forces alone. Though a few of Section 3's programs are well known for their success, most of them are disdained by the Marines and brass of the UNSC, especially the SPARTANs, who are generally regarded as "freaks". It is regarded with extreme intra-UNSC security. The Beta-5 Division is the subcell of Section 3 that operates the Spartan-III project.


 * UNSC Prowler Corps - The ONI branch that handles the Prowlers and their electronic intelligence gathering.

Trivia

 * O.N.I. may be included in Halo because of a previous Bungie game called Oni.
 * The Office of Naval Intelligence is a real life existing organization within the U.S. Navy.
 * The organization's initials are often pronounced as "own-ee", which is perhaps a reference to a mythical Japanese monster called "oni."

Related Links

 * United States Office of Naval Intelligence on Wikipedia