In the span of just three episodes, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has dropped several major reveals about the CRM, its history, and its goals.

Within just three episodes, The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has already offered a multitude of new reveals about the CRM. Characterized thus far as the primary villains of The Walking Dead franchise, the Civic Republic Military has cast a long shadow on the various shows in its universe. Even so, The Walking Dead has managed to maintain a degree of mystery when it comes to the CRM, what they want, and what their history is.

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond’s two-season story took several steps in lifting the veil off the CRM and explaining who they are. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live has continued what World Beyond started by formally introducing Major General Beale and diving deep into what Rick Grimes has been up to since Jadis handed him over to the organization. In doing so, Rick and Michonne’s spinoff has exposed several of the CRM’s secrets.

10How The CRM Divides A & B Survivors In The Walking Dead

It’s been understood for a while that the CRM classifies some survivors as As and some as Bs, and though there have been hints about the meaning of the two labels, a thorough explanation was held back until The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live series premiere. Donald Okafor, a high-ranking officer in the CRM, explained that an A is a person “willing to die for what they believe in,” or someone capable of becoming a leader. The B designation, on the other hand, represents “everyday people who are just trying to survive.” The CRM actively recruits Bs but either kills or experiments on As.

9The Civic Republic Is Still Using Dollars As Currency

In The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’s opening scene, Jadis can be seen purchasing french fries from a street vendor in Philadelphia with American money. This confirms that despite the changes the CRM has made to how society works, it’s still using the U.S. dollar as its currency. It hasn’t held much value in previous shows due to the state of the world, but the CRM – like the Commonwealth – has advanced to a point where money matters again.

8The CRM Used To Be The Pennslyvania National Guard

A history lesson from Major General Beale confirmed that Operation Cobalt from The Walking Dead season 1 is directly related to the origin of the CRM. As explained early on in the main series, the military conducted Operation Cobalt, which saw them launch bombs at their country’s own cities in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. Beale claimed that after the military laid waste to Atlanta and Los Angeles it turned its attention to Philadelphia, which was being defended by what ultimately grew into the CRM, the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Okafor, then acting as a member of the Air Force, turned on its allies and dropped bombs on the military instead. With the military’s forces destroyed, Philadelphia was able to survive Operation Cobalt. Okafor’s heroics effectively paved the way for the Pennsylvania National Guard to transform into the CRM.

7The CRM Isn’t Aware Of A Military Force Stronger Than Them

There might be an organization stronger than the CRM hiding somewhere in The Walking Dead’s universe, but if there is, the CRM doesn’t know about it. That was confirmed by a conversation between Rick Grimes and Beale, who described the CRM as “what is likely the most powerful military on the planet.” In other words, Beale knows enough about the outside world to believe that there isn’t any force out there with greater manpower and resources than them. Whether it’s true or not, the CRM sees itself as the strongest force in the zombie apocalypse.

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live releases new episodes on Sundays on AMC.

6Rick Survived For So Long Because Of A Secret Plan To “Change” The CRM

Rick’s escape from the CRM, as shown in The Walking Dead’s ending, raised an important question: why doesn’t the CRM just kill Rick? There was no reason to think he’d be more of an asset than a liability. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live addressed this mystery through the introduction of Donald Okafor, who turned out to be the person behind Rick’s continued presence in the franchise. As an A, Rick isn’t someone the CRM would typically welcome, but Okafor used his clout to keep Rick around, all in a plot to eventually place him in a position of authority so that he can facilitate “change” for the better within the CRM.

5The CRM Has A 500-Year Plan To Rebuild The Walking Dead’s World

The CRM knows that rebuilding civilization is not going to be a quick process. In fact, it has a 500-year plan for its future. This was explained to Rick by Jadis during episode 3’s flashback scene. According to Jadis, the CRM intends to fully eradicate the zombie threat and “remake” civilization to something even better than it was within five centuries. Based on this timeline, the CRM doesn’t exactly have any lofty ideas about restoring society; rather, it’s taking a more pragmatic and measured approach.

4Where Rick’s Cellphone In The Walking Dead Season 10 Came From

Taking a walk through Philadelphia allowed Michonne to find out firsthand where Rick’s cellphone from The Walking Dead season 10 came from in The Ones Who Live episode 3. She encountered an artist who seemingly shares an offscreen friendship with Rick. He draws pictures on old cellphones at the request of his customers and sells them. Rick described Michonne and Judith to the artist, who drew their likenesses onto one of his phones.

3The CRM Has A Secret Mountain Base

The CRM operates several facilities in the current landscape of the zombie apocalypse. In addition to its headquarters in Philadelphia, it runs a base on the United States’ west coast. Known as Cascadia Forward Operating Base, the CRM facility is hidden in the mountains. It was stated by Thorne that the leaders of the CRM would be holding a summit there. Cascadia’s placement on the Walking Dead map highlights the impressive reach of the CRM.

2The CRM Is Directly Responsible For Michonne Not Returning To Alexandria

Not only did the CRM’s actions lead to Michonne leaving home, but they’re also the reason why she hasn’t had an opportunity to return. In The Ones Who Live episode 2, an exploration of Michonne’s Walking Dead journey after season 10 revealed that she and her new group were victims of a gas attack by one of the CRM helicopters. Recovering from the long-term effects of the chlorine gas left Michonne unable to travel for a prolonged period. And when she did try to go back home, another encounter with the CRM put her behind their walls in Philadelphia.

1The CRM Doesn’t Know Alexandria Exists – Yet

For years, there have been theories about the CRM’s knowledge of the outside world, especially in connection to Alexandria. After all, Jadis – who lived there for a time – is an officer at the CRM and easily could have informed them. As it turns out, Jadis has entertained the notion of revealing Alexandria’s location and has told Rick it’ll be exposed if anything happens to her. But for now, at least, the CRM doesn’t know Alexandria exists, which means they’re safe for the time being in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.