UNIT

UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and The War Between the Land and the Sea. Operating under the auspices of the United Nations and initially led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, its purpose is to investigate and combat paranormal and extraterrestrial threats to Earth. Several UNIT personnel (such as the Brigadier, Sergeant Benton and Mike Yates) played a major role in the original Doctor Who series, and it was a regular feature from The Invasion (1968) until The Seeds of Doom (1976). The organization returned in the revived series, and has been led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart since 2012.

Originally referred to as the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, it was revealed in 2005 that the real-life UN was no longer happy being associated with the fictional organisation and UNIT's full name could now no longer be used (the "UNIT" and "UN" abbreviations could be used as long as it was not explained what the letters stood for). The organisation was renamed to the Unified Intelligence Taskforce in 2008, with the name first being used in the episode "The Sontaran Stratagem." Despite the series now distancing itself from the real-life UN, dialogue in the episode, and several since, indicates that the in-world fictional version of the United Nations still supports UNIT.