The agency operates about 50 field agents worldwide in small 4-5 person teams of military operatives and scientists. Since before it was even called the Department of External Services, the agency has been commanded by James MacGyver, a legendary science operative. From then on, the Foundation has been led by Matilda Webber, a renowned operative from the CIA. spy until she was exposed as a mole and imprisoned. Up until 2016, the agency was led by Patricia Thornton, a legendary U.S. The Head of the Foundation is the highest-ranking official in the agency and has the final say on everything from finances to recruitment to disciplinary measures. The Director is essentially the COO and principally conducts field operations and decides which agents go on which missions and what projects to undertake. The Foundation is helmed by a Field Director who in turn is commanded by the Head of the Foundation who wields supreme authority in all matters. Additionally, the agency operates with what is essentially blank-cheque funding that allows it to purchase or develop advanced equipment, weapons and technology that is normally out of reach of government agencies. The Foundation's greatest strength is its off-the-books invisibility that allows it a certain latitude in regards to protocol and red tape and gives it the ability to be proactive in its efforts to stamp out threats worldwide before they grow too powerful. Limited people know about the agency's true nature, some senators, people high up in the intelligence community, high ranking government officials and military personnel, and any enemies that have spent lots of time fighting against The Foundation. Anything that would shatter the reputations of agencies like the FBI, CIA, and the NSA, as well as anything that could violate any peace treaties, like in Ruler, spying on allies will be passed to the agents at the Foundation. Within the walls, it is a intelligence agency that has the best agents the US has to offer. To the public eye, The Phoenix Foundation is a government Think Tank. It is this science-oriented approach that makes Phoenix agents so successful. armed forces with equally brilliant scientists for the purpose of creating covert ops teams with the perfect combination of military skill and scientific knowledge. Like its predecessors, the Phoenix Foundation has upheld the unique practice of pairing the finest soldiers in the U.S. In 2016, the agency was forced to rebrand itself once more when one of its agents turned against them and it became the Phoenix Foundation. Before 2016, it was known as the Department of External Services and before the new millennium the OPI. According to James MacGyver, it has existed under a number of different names however its mandate has remained unchanged. The origins of the Foundation can be traced all the way back to the Second World War, indicating that it began in the 1940s and making it the oldest intelligence agency in U.S. After discovering that the US Government was responsible for Nano-Trackers, The Phoenix Foundation removed all connections to the US Government. Russ Taylor would go on to buy the Phoenix foundation and reassemble the core agents with Matilda Webber as the new Oversight and Taylor as HQ Building Manager and new Head of Operations in order to establish a privately funded and government sanctioned task force.

The logo found in the Phoenix Foundation LobbyДЄfter Elliot Mason infiltrated the Phoenix Foundation, the government decided to defund the agency and blacklist the agents. The agency itself handles missionsВ that are too politically sensitive or too potentially embarrassing or damaging, too absurd for the NSA, too sensitive for the CIA or too complex for the DIA.

Disguised as a government think-tank, the Foundation's true nature is classified above top-secret and operates as the hidden fourth arm of the US intelligence network along with the NSA, CIA and DIA. national interest both at home and abroad. The Phoenix Foundation, formerly the Department of External Services and before that the OPI, is an privately funded government operation, tasked with defending the U.S.

' In ancient mythology the Phoenix rose from the ashes, stronger than it ever was' Official: 'Scientia Omnia Vincit' (Science Conquers All) Department of External Services (Formerly)

Who is in the order of the phoenix