DHS-PIG
The Department of Homeland Security - Paranormal Investigation Group is a not-publicly-known sub-group of the DHS. They are responsible for investigating and often dealing with paranormal threats within and to the USA.
For their own safety due to the number of monsters out there who can read - or mess with - thoughts, a given DHS-PIG agent seldom knows too many others. They often work with their own network of consultants to handle things that the agency needs handled. That said, they still have the budget of Homeland Security. For the right job, you can get the right equipment. Maybe even something confiscated from an agent's previous missions like that weather control device or a "natural sun grenade" or two. In addition, the agency has leveraged the broad oversight afforded by being part of the Department of Homeland Security to be able to provide various cover identities to it's agents.
Because the agency is still part of the great bureaucracy that is the US Governments, reports are written in a way that is coded so other non-PIG agents won't be exposed to what is actually out there.
Known DHS-PIG branch offices include Detroit and New Orleans
Structure
Branch offices across the US, within offices of the actual DHS. The function under the Science and Technology Directorate. The Deputy Under Secretary of Science and Technology handling all day-to-day operational calls, with a Director of Extraordinary Scientific Investigation being top-ranking individual who is actually fully assigned to DHS-PIG. Under the Director, there are Deputy Directors for various regions of the country, each leading a branch office. The Regional Director for the Midwest leads the Detroit office, and the Regional Director the the Southeast leads the New Orleans office - note that both have responsibilities for large areas around their office, as do other Regional Directors. There are often Deputy Regional Directors who oversee specific parts of a Regional Director's purview.
Under these Deputy Regional Directors are the agents themselves. Agents are only acquainted with each other if they have been on specific missions together. Similarly. Deputy Regional Directors are sometimes in the dark about who each other are. This cell-like approach prevents one compromised individual from compromising all other members of the organization.
Culture
The DHS-PIG organization views the supernatural in two very distinct ways: Things that are a threat to humans and therefore potentially national security and things that are not. As such, they have two core classifications for supernatural creatures: Monsters and Cryptozoological Creatures, or "Cryptos" for short. Some agents tend to spell "Krypto" with a K as a joking reference to Superman's dog. Cryptos are supernatural creatures that are not naturally predatory towards humans, like the glawackus. Monsters on the other hand include creatures like the Wendigo.
There is a third category which are creatures that are sentient and not driven by their supernatural natures to be predatory, but could either be good or evil. These were originally called Individually Categorized Entities, which has since been shorted to ICat Entities, and once some agents started calling Cryptos "Kryptos" it was only a matter of time for "ICat Entities" to become "ICat Ents," to "CatEnts," to "Kents." This has further led to an agency shorthand for the two categorizations of Kents: Clark is used to denote a supernatural entity who is on the side of the heroes, and Bizarro for those who are on the side of the enemies of Humanity/the State. Kents in the service of other governments are sometimes referred to as Red Sons. No agents have yet been observed using a Superman pun for Monsters.
This word play denotes two important parts of the DHS-PIG's culture. First is that they try to keep what they do hidden. In order to maximize their ability to do so, they often speak and write their reports in veiled terms, many of which were created by people with a sense of humor, it seems. The second is that they do tend to see themselves as heroes, standing against the onslaught of things that other people couldn't handle even knowing about, and they understand the danger they are taking on being "merely" human standing against these threats - some of which can feel as overwhelming as a Superman villain. Many DHS-PIG agents have a certain gallows humor about them.
Public Agenda
Obfuscated behind bureaucracy, the DHS-PIG has no public agenda.
Assets
The DHS-PIG has access to one of the world's greatest collections of Weird Science devices. Due to their mania for secrecy, there isn't exactly a catalog of what they have, but agents in good standing can often get some assistance from the Department in the form of weird science.
In addition, as part of a Department that has a budget in the 10s of millions and has wide-ranging responsibilities and authority, reasonable non-supernatural assistance can be secured as well. Black SUVs, private planes to get to a location if needed, support from local authorities are all available if needed by a DHS-PIG agent.
Founding Date
2003
Type
Government, Law Enforcement
Alternative Names
PIGgies
Predecessor Organization
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Organization Vehicles
DHS-PIG is a secret sub-department of the DHS
DHS-PIG sometimes chafes under the rules of the DHS proper, but can avail themselves of resources and capabilities that they wouldn't have otherwise.
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