Oni rankings

[dudeisthedog]

I've been looking everywhere to see if any evidence exists of a specialized ONI ranking system, but have found nothing.This is the only place where I've seen "Operations Commander" ever listed. I am an OPC in a halo gmod/discord rp and some people think its more of a job than a rank. My question is: evidence? Where can I find evidence? Any help would be appreciated. 

[MrKill]

The evidence lies within the Unites States' Office of Naval Intelligence. Operations Commander is a title for any officer who is in charge of an internal operation, or is overseeing a larger operation in conjunction with other branches of the military. For example, in Halo, the UNSC Army has recovered a weapons stash from the Covenant. The officer in charge of ensuring those weapons aren't being tracked would be the operations commander of that particular assignment.

[dudeisthedog]

Mm, gotcha. Doing some research, though, I can't find any US ONI rankings online either. Like where did you figure this out? And for agents it's different because of halo, so how did we come across different agent classes?

[Faclan]

This may just be me remembering from some old post we did and not actually cannon but I believe its something like this;

Leading ONI is the Commander in Chief of ONI (CINCONI). The two we know of are Admiral Margaret Parangosky who was then superseded by Serin Osman.

Under this there would be the Division Directors of the Sections; 0, I, II, and III. These would oversee their specific division and report only to CINCONI.

Under these would likely be something like Division Managers who would oversee specific departments and report to the Directions. They handle the day to day Operations and compile reports for the Directors to review. So for example Section I (Information) would have a Manager for like Human information; Insurrectionsts, 'lost' armaments, and HVT of Humans. While another Manager would do like Alien Information; Aliens of Interests, Covenant fleets, and send out missives of troop movements. Probably one for Forerunner as well.

Under them would be The Operations Commander for specific as Kill said Operations. Picked by the Directors or Managers to lead a certain mission. Like going to x location and clearing it then pulling out the objective.

Probably around this rank would also be ONI Scientists and researchers for like Covenant language and culture, Forerunner tech, and prototype Human stuff.

And under them would be Field Agents, senior and new. And all the Contractors ONI hires for specific purposes.


At least thats what my mind remembered.

[dudeisthedog]

See, that proves my point that it exists, but I can't find any information to back this up. If someone here can give me a website or a source at all that would be appreciated.

[Faclan]

I think it was something we made up as a way to explain it as the Wikis are not giving up any info for stuff like that. So I dont think there will be much actual canon info. More so a 'it would make sense like this'.

[MrKill]

The real life ONI and it's internal organization - as far as I know - isn't readily available to the public simply because ONI is an intelligence branch and their materials are generally top secret (with or without eyes only classification). If you're talking about organizational ranks... such as Ensign, (Full) Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, etc... then ONI (both in Halo and in real life) follow the naval ranking structure.

Halo's ONI is unique in the sense it recruits from other branches, but as far as we know the United States' ONI does not. In real life each branch also has their own intelligence branches (save for the USMC). Meanwhile, in Halo, ONI provides information for all of the branches. Although intelligence agencies for the Army and Airforce do exist, they're not funded in the same light as ONI and don't reach nearly the same organizational capabilities.

[dudeisthedog]

Ah, gotcha. In the RP that I'm in, I'm an OPC in ONI and a Captain in the navy. I just wanted to know for background reasons. Thanks for the quick replies all.

[Faclan]

Oh I wasn’t aware you meant like military ranks I thought you were meaning like ONI specific ones. I believe they use Navy ones like Ensign, Captain, and Admiral.

[dudeisthedog]

I was; I have a rank in ONI and one for Navy. I'm a captain in the navy, but an OPC for ONI as the OPC rank can range from all the way down Lieutenants to even Captains (according to people who don't list sources). Ranks don't really mean as much in ONI, not like they do in other branches. Also, Faclan, I have you added on Discord. Does Berry's Legendary Halo RP sound familiar? I was Northstar, lol. (Gavy)

[MrKill]

Oh, oh, okay - I see what you're saying now.

ONI doesn't have independent ranks, they have what's known as a billets (job title, essentially).

Operational Commander is a billet title, not a rank in itself, and basically means you're in charge of whatever operation you've been assigned too.

Let's say you're an ONI Officer with the rank of Lieutenant Commander (O-4). You've been assigned as the operational commander on your particular assignment, and a Naval Captain (O-6 - which would be a Army/Marine/Airforce Colonel) is then assigned to the operation as well. If ONI keeps you as the operational commander, you have operational authority over the O-6, which would mean your technically in charge of a higher ranked individual.

Billets are everywhere, in every branch, but usually the more responsibilities a billet holds the higher the rank of those who hold them.

Let's use a Marine Regiment for example. The Regiment Commander is a billet position, but also an expected responsibility from someone who holds the rank of Colonel. As such most regimental commanders in the Marines have the rank Colonel, but occasionally you'll see someone with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in command of a Regiment or - especially in war time - temporarily a Major if the regiment staff has been incapacitated/killed.

Another example: In the Navy, a ships commanding officer is typically between Lieutenant Commander (O-4) and Captain (O-6), even if it's a carrier or a destroyer. If an Admiral is aboard, they have to declare they are taking command of the ship to the commanding officer, and the commanding officer has to approve of the change of command. If an Admiral and the ships Captain are on the bridge at the same time, the Admiral will ask to take command, and if the Captain agrees they will declare that the admiral has the ship. Since the ship is technically under the command of the Captain, they have to relinquish temporary command to the admiral 'officially' anyway. If the Captain refuses, the Admiral could relieve the Captain, but their has to be some merit behind them being relieved.


Hopefully that solves some of the issues.

What you're describing is a billet, a job within ONI but not an independent rank.

Your military rank (pay grade) is O-6, as that's the rank of a navy capt. Your billet within ONI is Operations Commander of your assignment.

[dudeisthedog]

Ah, gotcha. The person I was talking to about this said it was definitely a rank, not a billet. Thanks for clarifying. Gonna show this to him, see his reaction.

[Faclan]

Can you ping me on disc? And it does. I helped him stress test his PvP server, but with my new job dont really have a lot of time to join him on the normal server anymore D:

And thats a good was to describe it Kill and very well may be true. Sucks we dont know for sure :<

[dudeisthedog]

Faclan, it's shut down now. I and a group of people from the server are in the process of making a new one. Anyways, Kill, would I then have my title as "OPC Jack (for example)" or "Captain
Jack" ?

[MrKill]

Traditionally you'd just be called 'Captain Jack' if Jack was your characters last name, but if someone was being a little more 'loose' they may just call you Skipper (nickname for someone with the rank Captain) or perhaps OPC/OP or a variation of operations commander. Some may just call you 'sir' due to the rank alone.

Is Jack the last name of your character?

[dudeisthedog]

No, I was just using Jack as an example. My character's alias is Monarch, so generally should I set his name as OPC Monarch or Captain Monarch? Personally, I think OPC would be better. That's probably what I'm going to do.

[MrKill]

No, you wouldn't go by an alias when you're addressed by your rank. Rank earned through any NATO (which Halo uses as its basis) military is presented and represented in an official capacity, officers are usually promoted with a promotion ceremony if they're not engaged on a war front. An alias in the military would be close to a call-sign, so if your alias is Monarch, your call sign over the radio would be 'Monarch' to everyone under your command instead of 'Captain Baylin' or something like that.

When addressed by rank you'd almost always be called 'Captain Baylin' over 'OPC Baylin' as OPC isn't a rank, it's a job.

If people were addressing you by job title, it would be similar to other billets, usually by you being indirectly referred to.

"That's our OPC, go get your answers there." / "That's our platoon leader, go get your answers there."
"Take it up with your OPC." / "Take it up with your platoon leader."
"F*** if I know, orders from the OPC." / "F*** if I know, orders from the platoon leader."
"Let me radio the OPC." / "Let me radio the Platoon Leader."

If they're directly talking to you and using the title, it'll be almost always void of any rank.

"Thanks for the info, OPC."
"OPC won't listen to me."
"OPC, Five, are those still standing orders?"
"OPC, Five, interrogative:"

Now if they're in person and addressing you, it'll almost always be either rank - or rank and name. If you just use the rank, you can replace it with 'sir' most of the time, similarly if you use name and rank. Depends on the context. Typically a superior officer will use both your rank and name, while a junior officer will just use your rank or 'sir'.

"Morning, Captain." / "Morning, sir."
"Captain Baylin? Lieutenant Fong reporting for duty." / "Lieutenant Fong reporting for duty, sir!"
"Enjoying the weather, Captain Baylin?" (Superior Officer addressing you)

Make any sense?

[dudeisthedog]

Ah, yes I understand. Thanks for making it clear. Though, when I say alias, I mean that is the name he solely goes by. But thanks for clearing everything up.