Synth Retention Bureau

The Synth Retention Bureau, or S.R.B. as the division is colloquially known as, is a branch of the Institute tasked with the recovery of of escaped or lost synths, intelligence gathering, and combat operations in the Commonwealth. It is effectively the military arm of the Institute.

Background
Synths are the primarily labor force of the Institute, but the more advanced their processing becomes, the more inevitable that the synth will attain consciousness and attempt escape. As third generation synths are indistinguishable from normal biological humans, the Synth Retention Bureau specializes in the capture of runaways.

Organization
The primary instrument of the SRB is the Courser, a third-generation synth assigned to operate on the surface. Coursers hunt down and reclaim synths that have escaped the Institute. They are highly self-sufficient, trained in combat, infiltration and tracking. In a word, Coursers are relentless. Coursers are selected from the general third generation synth population. Due to the variability of the manufacturing process, the SRB constantly monitors the third generation population looking for tenacity, fearlessness, and independence. Synths selected undergo a rigorous training regimen. They are taught armed and unarmed combat, investigative techniques, psychology and mechanical skills. Those who pass a final evaluation become Coursers, re-registered as X synths (eg. X6-88). The rest have their memories wiped and return to their former duties.

Synths are usually recovered by using a recall code to wipe their memories and render it inert. Once returned to the Institute, the delicate process of restoring the neural pathways to their original configuration begins. In those cases where the procedure is successful, the synth returns to duty with no memory of its time on the surface. All too often, the SRB staff is unable to repair the damage and is forced to dispose of the unit entirely.

Technology
As part of the Institute, the SRB has access to the most advanced technologies in the wasteland, including Courser uniforms with ballistic armor, mass-produced energy rifles, swarms of last-generation synthetics, and of course, a nigh-impenetrable security system based on the revolutionary Code Defender pioneered before the Great War.

Their secondary asset is the Watcher Initiative, a Commonwealth-wide surveillance network using synthetic avians as observers.

Appearances
The S.R.B. first makes its appearance in Fallout 3, through the introduction of Armitage, Harkness, and Dr. Zimmer. In Fallout 4, the S.R.B. and all of its glory appears, within its headquarters at the Institute.