Unified Intelligence Taskforce

"The acceptable face of intelligence-gathering on aliens."

- Jack Harkness (TOR: "Reset")

The Unified Intelligence Taskforce, or United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (UNIT) was an independent intelligence organisation that operated under the auspices of the United Nations. UNIT investigated incidents outside the normal security pattern. (DW: "The Invasion", "Doctor Who and the Silurians")

Seal of UNIT (1990s - 2010s)

Alternative seal of UNIT (2000s - 2010s)

Alternative seal of UNIT (2010s)

Seal of UNIT (1970s)

History

United Nations Intelligence Taskforce

Formed in response to events on the London Underground in 1967, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce specialised in un-territorial matters. The service quickly expanded, making its presence felt in a golden period that spanned the 1960s, the 1970s, and, some would say, the 1980s. UNIT quickly established itself at peace conferences, power stations, and on weapons disarmament programmes. UNIT also worked closely with the United Kingdom's space expeditions. (SJA: "The Lost Boy")

In 1997, the bulk of the European commitment of UNIT were handling the Azanian ceasefire. The Czech engineering group were responsible for flood relief in the Low Countries, while the British branch took part in a nuclear missile convoy. (DW: "Battlefield")

Unified Intelligence Taskforce

By 2004, the organisation was known as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. (TOR: "Fragments") In 2009, the United States government sent UNIT's Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Calvin and the submarine Octopus Rock to investigate an alien signal emitting from the Mariana Trench. (LF: "Submission")

Organisation

Geneva

UNIT Central Command in Geneva was the overall headquarters of UNIT. (DW: "The Invasion") It was typically under the command of a general. ("The Paradise of Death", DW: "The End of Time")

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom's national HQ was based in London, and was typically under the command of a British Army colonel or brigadier. (DW: "Spearhead from Space", "Day of the Daleks" et al) By 1997, it formed part of the European commitment. (DW: "Battlefield") Other British facilities included UNIT Base 5, the Black Archive, a radar tracking station, a prison facility, a base in Belfast and a South London safe house. (SJA: "Death of the Doctor", "Enemy of the Bane", DW: "Spearhead from Space", TOR: "Fragments", DW: "The Stolen Earth", "The Zygon Invasion") From 1973 through 1975, UNIT personnel also served in numerous positions at the British Space Defence Establishment in Devesham. (DW: "The Android Invasion")

United States

The United States's HQ was based in Washington, D.C. (DW: "The Claws of Axos") By 2009, there was a headquarters in New York City under the command of a United States Army lieutenant general, as well as a base in Washington. (DW: "The Stolen Earth", TOR: "Children of Earth: Day One") UNIT also had facilities in Los Angeles, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Alaska. (DW: "The Stolen Earth", "The End of Time")

Other countries

By 1997, the Czech engineering group formed part of the European commitment. (DW: "Battlefield") UNIT personnel manned Osterhagen Station 1 in Germany, Osterhagen Station 4 in Liberia and Osterhagen Station 5 in China. A fourth station was located in Argentina. (DW: "Journey's End") UNIT operated Trap 002 in Tokyo and Pahi 002 in Novosibirsk. (DW: "The End of Time") By 2015, UNIT had a command base in Turmezistan. (DW: "The Zygon Invasion")

UNIT also had facilities in Vancouver, Berlin, Cairo, Perth, Moscow, New Delhi, Beijing, Madrid, Adelaide, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Winnipeg, Shanghai, Rome, Auckland, Durban, Nairobi, Warsaw and Mexico City. (TOR: "Children of Earth: Day One", DW: "The Stolen Earth", "The End of Time")

Appendices

Appearances

A list of all appearances of UNIT (excluding appearances of the Doctor, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, Jo Grant, Mike Yates, Sarah Jane Smith, Harry Sullivan and Martha Smith-Jones).

• Doctor Who:
  • "The Invasion"
  • "Spearhead from Space"
  • "Doctor Who and the Silurians"
  • "The Ambassadors of Death"
  • "Inferno"
  • "Terror of the Autons"
  • "The Mind of Evil"
  • "The Claws of Axos"
  • "The Dæmons"
  • "Day of the Daleks"
  • "The Time Monster"
  • "The Three Doctors"
  • "The Green Death"
  • "The Time Warrior"
  • "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"
  • "Planet of the Spiders"
  • "Robot"
  • "Terror of the Zygons"
  • "The Android Invasion"
  • "The Seeds of Doom"
  • "The Five Doctors"
  • "Battlefield"
  • "Aliens of London"
  • "The Christmas Invasion"
  • "The Sound of Drums"
  • "Last of the Time Lords" (voice)
  • "The Sontaran Stratagem"
  • "The Poison Sky"
  • "Turn Left"
  • "The Stolen Earth"
  • "Journey's End"
  • "Planet of the Dead"
  • "The End of Time"
  • "The Power of Three"
  • "The Bells of Saint John"
  • "The Day of the Doctor"
  • "Death in Heaven"
  • "The Magician's Apprentice"
  • "The Zygon Invasion"
  • "The Zygon Inversion"
  • "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"
  • "Survivors of the Flux"
• "The Paradise of Death"
• Torchwood:
  • "Fragments"
  • "Children of Earth: Day One"
  • "Children of Earth: Day Three"
  • "Children of Earth: Day Five"
• "Lost Souls"
• The Sarah Jane Adventures:
  • "Enemy of the Bane"
  • "Death of the Doctor"
• The Lost Files: "Submission"
• Serpent Crest:
  • "The Hexford Invasion"
  • "Survivors in Space"
• Destiny of the Doctor: "Vengeance of the Stones"
• "Ace Returns!" (archive footage only)

References

• Doctor Who:
  • "Colony in Space"
  • "The Sea Devils"
  • "Frontier in Space"
  • "Pyramids of Mars"
  • "Time-Flight"
  • "Mawdryn Undead"
  • "World War Three"
  • "The Runaway Bride"
  • "The Doctor's Daughter"
  • "Under the Lake"
  • "Before the Flood"
  • "Face the Raven"
  • "The Pyramid at the End of the World"
  • "Resolution"
  • "Spyfall"
  • "The Vanquishers"
• "Global Conspiracy!"
• Torchwood:
  • "Ghost Machine"
  • "Greeks Bearing Gifts"
  • "End of Days"
  • "Reset"
  • "Dead Man Walking"
  • "The New World"
  • "The Blood Line"
• The Sarah Jane Adventures:
  • "Revenge of the Slitheen"
  • "Warriors of Kudlak"
  • "The Lost Boy"
  • "The Last Sontaran"
  • "The Mark of the Berserker"
  • "Prisoner of the Judoon"
  • "The Man Who Never Was"
• Hornets' Nest:
  • "The Stuff of Nightmares"
  • "Hive of Horror"
• The Adventure Games: "Blood of the Cybermen"
• Class:
  • "The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo"
  • "Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart"
  • "Brave-ish Heart"
  • "The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did"
• "Farewell, Sarah Jane"
• "Return of the Autons"

See also

• UNIT personnel