Resources Development Administration

The Resources Development Administration, or RDA, is the main antagonistic organization in the Avatar franchise.
The RDA is the largest single non-governmental organization in human space. Its power is such that it outmatches most Earth governments in wealth, political influence, and military capability. Due to its vast capabilities, the RDA is a leading figure in many aspects of human society (defense, energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, commerce, etc) The RDA has monopoly rights to all products shipped, derived, or developed from Pandora and any other off-Earth location. These rights were granted to the RDA in perpetuity by the Interplanetary Commerce Administration (ICA), with the stipulation that they abide by a treaty that prohibits weapons of mass destruction and limits military power in space.
The RDA first arrived on Pandora for varying reasons including the extraction of rare resources such as unobtanium for uses back on Earth. The organization soon came into contact with the native species of Pandora, the Na'vi and had numerous interactions with them. Unfortunately, the RDA soon became engaged in a violent war with the Na'vi after failed attempts to make peace with them and find a diplomatic solution to prevent any conflict, and resorted to using forceful methods. The war ended with RDA's defeat by the Na'vi and expelled from Pandora with the majority of humans returning to Earth.
However, worsening conditions on Earth led the RDA to return to Pandora fourteen years later in 2168 to establish a permanent colony base there and restart the war with the Na'vi. The RDA now seeks to claim Pandora and make it the new home for humanity, and oppose the Resistance.
==History==
===Background===
With 263 million shareholders, the RDA is the oldest and largest of the quasi-governmental administrative entities (QGAEs), but its origins are far more modest. The entity that would become the RDA was little more than a Silicon Valley garage startup in the early 21st century, when its two founders borrowed money from friends and family to begin the company.James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide, page 15
After only a few decades, with its enormous shareholder base and massive influence, the company vastly expanded its branches, giving it the capital and stature for numerous global technological and urban development projects. One of these iconic developments included the construction of a world-spanning rapid transit system that would allow entire population groups to conveniently commute hundreds or even thousands of miles to perform work where it was needed, without impinging on the cultural values of host populations. The success of the venture led to the current global network of maglev trains that require the superconductor material known as unobtanium for their continued operation.
Additionally, the RDA expanded to the skies, creating hundreds of orbiting factories on Earth's moon, Mars, and the solar system's asteroid belts. However, these factories somehow caused a pollution of toxins to frequently rain down on Earth.James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide The RDA's successful expeditions into space also eventually lead to terraforming and mass colonizing operations on Mars and possibly other celestial bodies in the Sol System.
===Colonization and mining of Pandora (2120s)===
The company's early expeditions to Pandora were seen as a colossal risk; the construction of the ISV Venture Star in the late 21st century alone put enormous strain on capital resources. However with exclusive monopoly rights to unobtanium (which is valued at 20 million dollars per kilogram raw and 40 million dollars processed), and other resource products extracted from Pandora, along with potential profits and revenue streams from exotic items such as countervirals, energy, cosmetics, furniture, textiles, and electronics, the enormous capital investment has paid off.Pandorapedia - RDA article The RDA then began to suppress Terran alternatives for unobtanium and other Pandora-extracted substances, which created a black market which helped to fund terrorist groups.James Cameron's Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide pg. 18
Despite this, with the investment paid off and newfound, unprecedented influence, the organization then began rapidly conducting mass resource extraction operations (mining, drilling, lumber, land-clearing, etc) that resulted in those immense profit streams that allowed the RDA to further expand themselves.
===Interactions and conflict with the Na'vi (2130s-2153)===
During the RDA's time on Pandora, they set up bases and started various operations on Pandora. They eventually came into contact with the dominant species native to Pandora known as the Na'vi, namely a clan known as the Omatikaya. 
Events between the RDA and the Na'vi were generally peaceful at first, with negotiations having been established and former introducing their various advancements and knowledge to the latter. However, tensions formed due to the organizations more harmful operations and practices to the environment, one of them being the mining of unobtanium which the RDA had largely been in pursuit of. The Na'vi were against this goal though they did not interfere and interactions went on with Grace Augustine having founded a schoolhouse to help the two species learn more about each other and strengthen diplomatic ties.
The Avatar Program was developed by RDA scientist Dr. Cordell Lovecraft. Avatars, a hybrid species of the Na'vi mixed with human DNA, were created. Originally created for more efficient workers on Pandora, the Avatar Program was then repurposed to improve communication with the Na'vi, with xenolinguists bridging communication due to the Na'vi's unique language.
At one point, there was an incident involving the accidental contamination in the water which resulted in an ailment in the Na'vi and Avatars later on. This threatened to damage relations between the Na'vi and the RDA but fortunately, this was resolved thanks to the efforts of Grace Augustine.
The murder of the Na'vi Sylwanin te Tskaha Mo'at'ite acted as the catalyst for the RDA's relationship with the Na'vi to worsen. Sylwanin was the tsahìk-in-training for the Omatikaya clan, the sister of Neytiri, and was betrothed to the apprentice clan leader, Tsu’tey te Rongloa Ateyitan. 
Tragedy occurred when Sylwanin along with several other students were killed by RDA soldiers at Grace's school after they had attacked and destroyed a bulldozer in protest of the organizations deforestation. As a result, the Omatikaya clan forbid further contact between their clan and the humans, and Grace's school was abandoned. Despite this, the RDA continued its operations though conflicts continued to escalate until both sides were on the brink of war.
===The Ambassador Program (c.2138-2154)===
Throughout the 2140s, the RDA had a program known as The Ambassador Program (TAP) which was meant to create Na'vi diplomats and negotiators for the organization. This would help build peaceful relations and allow for easier access to Pandora's resources from the Na'vi without the financial expense of a prolonged conflict. TAP was created by John Mercer and Alma Cortez, the latter believed the program could be used for good while the former aimed to use it to win the admiration of the organization by any means necessary.
Unbeknownst to the RDA and other Na'vi clans, however, children had been abducted for the program. Some were from the nomadic Sarentu clan who Mercer had executed with the aid of Sec-Ops soldiers led by Angela Harding. The truth of how the children were obtained was hidden from the RDA through fabricated reportsWorld Knowledge entry and a corrosive acid was used to destroy the corpses of the clan while also inadvertently creating a poisonous gas which prevented anyone from investigating.
The children taken from the clan were kept and raised at TAP's residential school. During their time there, they were pressured lose their Na'vi identities, customs, and belongings. They were further subjected to various forms of abuse at the hands of Mercer and Harding, while Cortez did what she could to protect them.
As Na'vi and human relations on Pandora soured, the program started leaning towards military and covert skills to be used in a more confrontational landscape. The goal turned to having Na'vi children at the program be raised as humans and eventually turn them against their own kind.
===First Pandoran War (2154)===
In 2154, the RDA's mining operations on Pandora continued while met with resistance with the Na'vi, no longer able to interact with them peacefully. The ancestral Hometree of the Omatikaya resided over one of the largest deposits of unobtanium and so, the RDA needed the clan to move to extract this resource from the area. 
thumb|250px|The RDA bulldozing the Tree of Voices
Upon Jake Sully's arrival on Pandora, the RDA made one last attempt to find a diplomatic agreement with the Omatikaya and convince them to leave the Hometree, so the organization could mine the unobtanium without interference. This unfortunately failed, however, when Jake revealed that the clan would never be willing to move. With this, the RDA resorted to more forceful means to achieve its goals. 
RDA bulldozers arrived at the Tree of Voices but were halted by Jake Sully who was later reprimanded for his actions. Sometime later, a war party of Na'vi led by one known as Tsu'tey attacked the bulldozers and destroyed them, killing six RDA employees. 
After this, the RDA came with aeriel forces to remove the Omatikaya clan from the Hometree. In an initial attempt to do so non-lethally, teargas canisters were deployed first. This, however, led to retaliation from the clan who quickly started fighting back using arrows which were ineffective against the aircrafts. The RDA responded to this with lethal force and fired incendiary missiles to topple the Hometree. Many Na'vi such as the clan leader Eytukan lost their lives in this traumatic incident. The ones that survived were forced to take refuge at the Tree of Souls.
These events were the tipping point which resulted in a war between the RDA the native Na'vi. The Omatikaya clan refused to allow their land to be subjugated by the organization anymore and together with other clans and like-minded humans, they aimed to drive the RDA away. Jake Sully along with his allies helped the clan prepare to attack Hell's Gate and meanwhile, the chief of security Miles Quaritch anticipated this and convinced the organization to lead a preemptive strike. In order to "fight terror with terror" and "blast a crater in their racial memory so deep they won't come within a thousand klicks" of Hell's Gate ever again, the RDA planned to destroy the Tree of Souls which would sever the Na'vi's main connection to Eywa and inflict long-lasting fear and inter-generational trauma, and would also silence the growing uprising.
A massive battle was fought in the skies of the Hallelujah Mountains and on the ground beneath. Although the RDA appeared to be winning against an Na'vi, a large amount of Pandoran animals started to attack which was believed to be Eywa's retaliation. The organization ultimately lost the battle against the Na'vi and Quaritch lost his life as well. 
Around this time, Hell's Gate came under attack. John Mercer and the others at TAP were ordered to evacuate and reinforce Hell's Gate. Considering the facility a loss, Mercer ordered the execution of the Na'vi students but by luck, they were rescued by Cortez who put them in cryosleep. Mercer then destroyed TAP in an explosion as a cover up attempt.
After the conflict, the RDA was driven off Pandora with a majority of them being sent back to Earth. About 90% of the RDA were forced off Pandora while a select group of human defectors were allowed to remain.Pandorapedia: Neytiri During the RDA's absence from Pandora, the company stated that its employees were the victims who were mistreated by the Na'vi and great things were also said about Quaritch.Seen in Frontiers of PandoraFrances Ardmore in The Way of Water
===Return to Pandora (2168) ===
14 years later, in 2168, the RDA returned to Pandora for a full-blown recolonization. They aimed to claim Pandora and make it the new home for humanity since Earth was reaching inhospitable levels with numerous human lives trapped there. The organization arrived in ten heavily armed spaceships. The new head administrator Charles Stringer along with general Frances Ardmore threatened the occupants of Hell's Gate to surrender and be given amnesty, or die. This worked for most of the humans on Pandora, as more than half of them complied. Instead of doing nothing, Jake along with the Na'vi and humans who were willing to fight attempted to once more drive the RDA away.
The group piloted a spaceship directly to the RDA's fleet, and threatened to destroy the unobtanium and the various structures as leverage to get the organization to surrender peacefully. When negotiations were attempted, Jake claimed the RDA would simply never hold their end of a treaty and Ardmore simply replied "we're done here" showing that the organization no longer had interest in any sort of diplomatic solution. However, what Jake and his team did not expect was that a human in their group had been secretly working to sabotage the plan.
After a violent conflict with the Na'vi on their spaceship, the RDA reclaimed Hell's Gate and began re-colonizing Pandora. Their ships landed in the forests of Pandora, setting it and the animals ablaze with their exhaust. The surrounding area was destroyed in a matter of moments as troops disembarked and allowing the RDA to set up in this part of the land.
===Second Pandoran War against the Resistance (2169-early 2170s)===
The colonization of Pandora resumed and the RDA constructed a coastal city known as Bridgehead in under a year using advanced technology and tools. These consisted of advanced 3D printers, swarms of spider-like drones, and other massive construction machines. The organization established bases, factories, and other such facilities of varying sizes across Pandora, determined to extract resources and claim Pandora, combating any who oppose them. They developed powerful weaponry and vehicles, and enlisted numerous soldiers to protect their assets. Other products such as food and drinks were created, some of which using Pandora and its natives species as inspiration like Viperwolf Ale. 
The Avatar Program had also been restarted with plenty of more avatars produced. Their use expanded from the Sci-Ops branch of the RDA to other branches including Sec-Ops with some joining their ranks as soldiers. A new variation known as Recombinants or Recoms was also created. These were originally human soldiers who were killed during the first war but prior to this, had their minds copied and uploaded into clone Na'vi bodies. 
The RDA at some point discovered that the tulkun, a highly intelligent whale-like species. They soon learned of the yellow liquid called amrita contained within this species and that it had the power to halt aging. This made it the most wanted resource on the moon since unobtanium and the RDA began whaling operations in order to kill the tulkun and harvest their amrita.
Opposing the RDA, are the Resistance which consists of Na'vi and like-minded humans. Their goal is to prevent the colonization of Pandora by the RDA and once more drive the organization away from the moon. They lead a series of guerilla operations against the RDA, attacking their bases, transports, and supply lines. The efforts of the Resistance have managed to deal at least some damage to the operations of the RDA and in response to this, the organization had labeled them as eco-terrorists and aims to neutralize them. The RDA also sought to kill Jake Sully due to his role as leader of the Resistance and influence with the Na'vi.
===Colonization of the Western Frontier===
By 2169, the RDA had expanded its operations into the Western Frontier.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=difL_diHo2o&t=1s Meanwhile, John Mercer also returned to seek revenge and spearheads this branch. Under his leadership, the RDA constructed numerous bases across this part of Pandora, many of which were shown to be polluting the environment with plant life around the region becoming shriveled and dying out. A member of the Sarentu clan would fight with a division of the Resistance and allied Na'vi clans in the Western Frontier would actively fight against the RDA, eventually shutting down their operations and repelling them from the region.
==Operations==
===Science Operations===
:Main article: Science Operations
The Science Operations (SciOps) is comprised of current and former scientific, scholarly and other intellectual personnel from Earth, whether seasoned or newly trained, now serving as a research group on Pandora. They once handled the Avatar Program.
=== Mining Operations===
The Mining Operations (abbreviation unknown) is comprised current and former mining and construction personnel from Earth, now serving as a labor force on Pandora. They handle extraction of resources on Pandora such as fuel, certain bio-materials, and unobtanium, although they have also been engaged in mining to create materials such as steel and concrete in order to continue their re-colonization. Their mining vehicles are the Bucket Wheel Excavator, the bulldozer, and many other vehicles.
=== Security Operations ===
 
:Main article: Security Operations
The Security Operations (Sec-Ops) is now serving as the company's private security company on Pandora. They are comprised of former military personnel from Earth and civilians with/out prior training or tactical/combat background recruited and trained by the company itself through Sec-Ops programs. The RDA's Sec-Ops strength and operational capabilities significantly surpass most other military forces on Earth, and includes large interstellar ships, walkers, and heavily armed infantry.
Some of its ships include the Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson, Scorpion Gunship, Dragon Assault Ship, Valkyrie shuttlecraft, and many other vehicles. Its ground forces include Amplified Mobility Platforms and infantrymen. They receive their supplies from Earth by interplanetary supply ships, such as the ISV Venture Star ship, and even bigger vehicles. Their fast and lightly armored vehicles include the Swan, the Buggy, and the ATV Grinder vehicle. Their water-related vehicles include the Gator and the RDA Boat. 
Weapons and equipment for Sec-Ops is provided to the RDA by Hirte and Fahl Arms Manufacturing Ltd., Masa-Cirre Ltd. and the Matanza Arms Corporation. 
Despite these hardwares and softwares, Sec-Ops couldn't use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) such as nuclear weapons due to a treaty prohibiting these weapons as well as limiting an regulating the RDA's military space power, in the Outer Space Treaty mandate set by the United Nations.
===Cetacean Operations===
thumb|250px|The S-76 SeaDragon, an RDA marine vessel 
:Main article: Cetacean Operations
The Cetacean Operations (Cet-Ops) is the marine arm of the RDA's presence on Pandora. Its fleet consists of various vessels for marine and submarine operations and commercial whaling used to fund the RDA's colonization effort during its return to Pandora and extraction of amrita from tulkun.
===CON-DEV===
:Main article: CON-DEV
CON-DEV is an administrative entity of the RDA established after 2154, whose role is to strengthen cooperation between construction companies and other entities working on the construction of the city base in Bridgehead. CON-DEV is responsible for all construction work on the territory of Bridgehead City, in charge of hexbots, robotic cranes and construction airships.
==Equipment==
===Weapons===
When the RDA first came to Pandora, weapons were brought to allow for self-defense against the native fauna and other such threats. However, events eventually caused the RDA to take a more offensive approach which ultimately led to the Pandoran War.
Upon the company's return to the moon and the second war, the RDA started to develop far more powerful armaments to use against the Na'vi.
=== Vehicles ===
The RDA designed and manufactured numerous vehicles for traversing the environment on Pandora. All kinds of vehicles were created and adapted for the many different terrains of Pandora.
====Interstellar Vehicles====
The Interstellar Vehicles, or ISVs, are the only known way to travel between Earth and Pandora. There are at least twelve ships transporting cargo and crew between Pandora and Earth, seven at the same time.Pandorapedia.com - ISV Venture Star However, the later task force of General Frances Ardmore used ten in its invasion to establish Bridgehead. By then, every vessel was armed to the teeth, making them de facto warships.Avatar: The High Ground part 2
*Interstellar Vehicle Venture Star
*Interstellar Vehicle Bradbury
*Interstellar Vehicle Manifest Destiny
*Unnamed ISV (destroyed)
*ISV Vindicator
==Treatment of Animals==
Apart from treating the Na'vi and environment poorly, the RDA has been involved with ethically controversial practices regarding Pandora's animals which involve animal cruelty, abuse and neglect:
*When the RDA first landed on Pandora during its return, its ships likely roasted thousands of animals to death in the forest fires they caused.
*After its return to Pandora, the RDA legalized poaching across the Western Frontier.
*The organization is known to abduct animals from their families and cage them for undisclosed lengths of time in claustrophobic cramped cages.
*In an audio log by John Mercer, it is mentioned the RDA aims to make Pandora safe for new settler, and as such, intends to cull predators. However, it is also mentioned the RDA wants to make leisure hunting an activity.
*The RDA is involved with animal testing and has cruelly experimented on animals; they had a project known as the Feral Project in an attempt to train animals to be vicious killers that could be controlled. For example, thanators and viperwolves had traumatic surgeries performed on them. Their kuru, their sensitive neural whips, were forcefully removed.Frontiers of Pandora entry: Feral thanator This has resulted in them exhibiting erratic behavior, not only severing their connection to Eywa but also with other animals. (See also: Controlled Animal)
===In non-canon media===
:Note: This section contains information from the non-canon 2009 video games.
*When humans arrived on Pandora, animals began to mysteriously die of a virus dubbed Earth Syndrome, causing mass suspicion that the virus was spread by bacteria on humans themselves. Despite the potential danger that humans could pose to the wildlife, Parker Selfridge told Conrad Olson they would choose not to report on the virus until it was known for sure what the cause was, endangering the lives of many animals.
* It is said that tapirus often ends up on the Hell's Gate cafeteria menu, suggesting the RDA may be breeding them in slaughterhouses.
*Sec-Ops is shown to be blunt and lacking humane protocols; when Tan Jala asked a group of sturmbeest to be euthanized, Able Ryder, a new RDA member, "euthanized" them by firing dozens of bullets at them which goes against the point of euthanasia (seen here). Trinity Harper also brutally killed a Hammerhead Titanothere.
*Some RDA members openly slaughter Pandora's animals. Angela Henrick, for example, killed a titanothere and posted a selfie of her with its corpse to her social media.
==Notable Members==
===Avatar===
Name 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
Miles Quaritch 	Deceased (human)
Alive (Recom clone)	Chief of Security 	
Parker Selfridge 	Alive 	Former head administrator 	
Lyle Wainfleet 	Deceased (human)
Alive (Recom clone)	Mercenary 	
Sean Fike 	Deceased	Mercenary 	
Trudy Chacón 	Deceased	Formerly Samson pilot 	
Venture Star Crew Chief 	Unknown 	Warrant officer 	
Dragon Gunship Pilot 	Deceased	Dragon Pilot 	
Shuttle Pilot 	Deceased	Valkyrie shuttle pilot 	
Tractor Operator 	Unknown 	RDA Bulldozer Operator Tractor	
Dragon Gunship Co Pilot 	Deceased	Dragon co-Pilot 	
Shuttle Co-Pilot 	Deceased	Valkyrie shuttle co-pilot 	
Lock Up Trooper 	Unknown 	Cell surveillance soldier 	
Dragon Gunship Navigator	Deceased	Dragon Navigator 	
=== Avatar: The Way of Water===
Name 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
Frances Ardmore 	Alive 	General 	
Mick Scoresby 	Alive 	SeaDragon captain 	
Ian Garvin 	Alive 	Xenomarine researcher 	
Ward 	Unknown 	SeaDragon pilot 	
Charles Stringer	Alive 	Current head administrator	
Jocelyn 	Alive 	Former RDA employee 	
Neytiri's Victim	Deceased (Killed)	Cet-Ops employee 	
===Comic===
Name 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
Nash McCosker 	Unknown 	Former RDA employee 	
Katherine Hale	Unknown 	Former RDA employee 	
Earl 	Unknown 	Former RDA employee 	
Shad 	Unknown 	Former RDA employee 	
Paz Socorro 	Deceased	Scorpion pilot 	
Mary 	Unknown 	Former RDA employee 	
Wu Mingxia 	Alive 	Former Valkyrie pilot	
Meg Elkins 	Deceased	Former RDA employee 	
Josh Winslow 	Deceased	Former RDA employee 	
===James Cameron's Avatar: The Game - Wii/PSP - DS - iOS/Android (non-canon)===
Name 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
Able Ryder 	Alive 	Signal specialist 	
Karl Falco 	Deceased 	Commander 	
Kendra Midori 	Alive (Na'vi route)
Deceased (RDA route)	Officer 	
Victor Monroe 	Deceased (RDA route) 	Senior science officer	
Winslow 	Deceased (Na'vi route)	Captain 	
Batista 	Alive 	Explosive specialist 	
Dalton 	Unknown 	Private 	
Jezik 	Unknown 	Infantryman 	
Fulson 	Unknown 	Commander 	
Savoy 	Unknown 	Quartermaster 	
Welles 	Unknown 	Operations specialist 	
Cheevers 	Unknown 	Specialist 	
Kensington 	Unknown 	Occupation unknown 	
Magnusson 	Unknown 	Occupation unknown 	
Buckland 	Unknown 	Occupation unknown 	
Olewski 	Unknown 	Samson pilot 	
AMP suit pilots 	Unknown 	AMP suit pilots 	thumb|180x180px
Field medics 	Unknown 	Field medics 	thumb
Hell's Gate medics	Unknown 	Hell's Gate medics 	thumb|180x180px
Miners 	Unknown 	Miners 	thumb|180x180px
Scientists 	Unknown 	Scientists 	thumb|180x180px
Technicians 	Unknown 	Technicians 	thumb|180x180px
Conrad Olson 	Deceased 	General 	
Sean Wallen 	Deceased 	Major 	
Anthony Ossman 	Unknown 	Scientist 	
Lawrence 	Unknown 	Private 	
Mel 	Unknown 	Private 	
Ryan Lorenz 	Deceased 	Formerly Captain 	
John Cage 	Deceased 	Major 	
===Avatar: Pandora Rising (non-canon)===
Name 	Occupation 	Portrait
Abel Stojack 	Occupation unknown 	
Alejandra Castro 	Mining engineer, mineralogist	
Alexis Riviera-Jones	Supply chief 	
Angela Henrick 	Occupation unknown 	
Bill Onozuki 	Occupation unknown 	
CJ 	Occupation unknown 	
Chizue Sakai 	Occupation unknown 	
Danielle Casey 	Occupation unknown 	
Dele Balogun 	Occupation unknown 	
Eliza Drennek 	CEO 	
Jeremiah Smith 	Occupation unknown 	
Kamath 	Doctor 	
Katherine Hale 	Captain 	
Kevin Michaels 	Captain 	
Marcus Freeman 	Warrant officer 	
Maria Leon 	RDA Archeologist 	
Mason Williams 	Flamethrower operative 	
Murat Buldan 	Occupation unknown 	
Nadine Reza 	Zoologist 	
Nasier Dubois 	Major 	
Nic Alihatar 	Master sergeant 	
Rick Connors 	Mining operation boss 	
Trina Shen 	Robotics engineer 	
Victor Morgado 	Occupation unknown 	
Wei Chang 	Self proclaimed nerd 	
Zoey Kung 	Commander 	
===Avatar: Reckoning (canonicity unknown)===
Names 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
Trinity Harper 	Alive 	Administrator 	
Edmund Langford	Alive 	Professor 	
Lily Reese 	Alive 	Assistant 	
Spencer 	Alive 	Member of the RDA's field staff	
Eaton Roberts 	Unknown (possibly deceased)	Mining base administrator 	
Ashley Sloane 	Alive 	Sniper 	
Austin Finlay 	Alive 	Occupation unknown 	
Blake Lawson 	Alive 	Researcher 	
Hercules 	Deceased 	AMP suit pilot 	
Nathan Gomez 	Alive 	Guard trainer 	
Reid 	Unknown 	Samson pilot 	
Scott 	Alive 	Samson pilot 	
Titus McMahon 	Alive 	Quartermaster 	
Vince Anderson 	Alive 	Occupation unknown 	
Victor Rogers 	Alive 	Scout trainer 	
Will Murphy 	Alive 	Captain 	
Wolfe 	Alive 	Captain 	
Zeke Hodge 	Alive 	Gun instructor 	
===Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora===
Name 	Status 	Occupation 	Portrait
John Mercer 	Presumed deceased	Formerly TAP Administrator
Executive Vice President of Frontier Operations	
Angela Harding 	Alive 	Sec-Ops Colonel 	
Alma Cortez 	Alive 	Formerly TAP teacher	
Priya Chen 	Alive 	Formerly 	
Alexander Tremayne	Alive 	Formerly 	
Anqa Salaam 	Alive 	Formerly 	
==Trivia==
*In the franchise, there have been differing views about the RDA and their practices. Some support them, while others are against them.
**Many members of the organization believe they are benefiting humanity and are fighting for Earth's future to save their kind.
**However, the RDA still becomes involved with controversial matters such as genocide, theft, child abduction, environmental damage and animal cruelty in doing so.
*According to Grace Augustine, the bulldozing of the Tree of Voices on August 18th was supposedly an act intended to provoke the Na'vi and make them the RDA's enemy which could be used to justify further force against them. Grace Augustine commented "You know, they never even wanted us to succeed. They bulldozed a sacred site on purpose to trigger a response. They're just fabricating this war to get what they want." Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition Whether this was actually true is unclear.
*Despite their propaganda, it is unknown if the human population on Earth is aware of their more controversial and unethical operations. In Avatar, Parker states the following "There's one thing that shareholders hate more than a bad press..." which would indicate that if they were exposed back on Earth, it would cause a certain degree of outcry.
**However, in the deleted scene, Jake narrates "I don't want your pity, you want a fair deal, you're on the wrong planet", which would somewhat indicate that humanity has fallen deep into apathy due to the constant degraded conditions and that people by now have gotten numb to the social and geopolitical degradations with it.
*At an unknown point in time, the RDA collaborated in order to create the Pandoran Research Foundation.
*In Avatar: The Way of Water, one of the Cet-Ops members has a cartoonish pin-up girl of a recombinant or Na'vi on his vehicle.
**Some viewers have pointed out that it seems the pin-up is wearing handcuffs.
* In Avatar: Reckoning, Sec-Ops have some anime girl skins for weapons. This hints the RDA may be trying to use anime girls in order to entice people to join their cause. However, it is unclear if this is canon since the game was cancelled.
*The RDA can be compared to the Shinra Electrical Power Company from Final Fantasy VII. Both are ethically dubious organizations with similar environmentally harmful practices.
**Their harvesting of unobtanium and mako energy respectively is seen as controversial.
**Both are corporations whose activities harm a world where the deceased return to after death (Eywa and the Lifestream).
**Both the RDA and Shinra have their own city with a circular design: Bridgehead and Midgar.
**The two groups possess as a bio-engineered army (SOLDIER and Recombinants).
**An army member kills a main character by a fatal torso injury, who is then given a water burial.
**Quaritch can be compared to Sephiroth. They burned villages (Ta'unui and Nibelheim) and were once thought to be killed by the main characters via torso injuries (Neytiri shoots Quaritch in the chest using arrows, and Cloud impales Sephiroth with a sword), but they are able to return from death by cloning their consciousness (Recoms use Soul Drives and Sephiroth has Jenova clones).
**Both companies killed people by dropping their own home during a massive crush (Hometree, Sector 7).
**Despite all the damage, Gaia is healed by its own Lifestream while Eywa sends the wildlife to keep its nature alive at the end of Avatar; this is suggested to be the result of two women who are within Eywa/the Lifestream (Grace and Aerith). Both Grace/Aerith were also shown to love plants/flowers, and were killed by Quaritch/Sephiroth via torso injuries.
**Midgar is shown to be covered in moss and greenery in the ending, but voices of children can be heard. This is similar to Hell's Gate being portrayed similarly in the beginning of The Way of Water with child Spider.
*The RDA can also be compared to the conglomerate Buy n Large from the film WALL-E, another Disney environmentalist film set in the future and involving a dying Earth.
*The RDA's animal experiments in the video games (attempting to control their minds and behavior using technology) foreshadowed, in reality, Elon Musk's Neuralink Corporation nearly a decade in advance, as sites have claimed the corporation caused over 1500 animals to suffer and die via surgeries and brain implants.The Guardian article on Neuralink
*While many members of the Avatar fandom dislike the RDA, the RDA is respected by many members of the Warhammer 40,000 fandom.
==References==
de:RDA
nl:RDA
pl:ZPZ
fr:Resources Development Administration
es:RDA
ru:RDA
Category:Avatar
Category:RDA
Category:Corporations