Commonwealth National Intelligence Organisation
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The Commonwealth National Intelligence Organisation (CNIO) is the combined intelligence agency of the Freethinker Commonwealth. It is generally referred to as the Know or the Org both externally and internally. It is comprised of various sub-agencies which mirror the traditional setup of other country's intelligence communities. The respective divisions include the self-descriptive Internal, External and Research agencies, and there are also seperate HQ, Administrative, Special Operations and 'Audit' (internal investigation) functions.
The CNIO operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence, originally functioning as a seperate command of the Freethinker Royal Armed Forces in terms of overarching administration, though following the events of the Fargon Crisis, it was integrated in a broader 'Shadow Forces' organization alongside the Special Forces Command. Its officers hold military rank, and frequently deploy alongside conventional forces in the field. Unlike other branches of the FRAF (with a few exceptions), the CNIO does not accept National Service candidates, recruits either sign up on a professional basis or are drawn from other branches of the armed forces.