Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Encyclopedia
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary security
, counter-intelligence
, counter-terrorism
, and law enforcement agency
of the United States Department of the Navy
. It is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS).
Roughly half of the 2,500 NCIS employees are civilian
special agent
s who are trained to carry out a wide variety of assignments at locations across the globe. NCIS special agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators, who frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics
, surveillance
, surveillance countermeasures, computer investigations, physical security, and polygraph
examinations.
, Secretary of the Navy, which established the Office of Naval Intelligence
(ONI). Initially, the ONI was tasked with collecting information on the characteristics and weaponry of foreign vessels, charting foreign passages, rivers, or other bodies of water, and touring overseas fortifications, industrial plants, and shipyards.
In anticipation of the United States
' entry into World War I
, the ONI's responsibilities expanded to include espionage
, sabotage
, and all manner of information on the Navy's potential adversaries; and in World War II
the ONI became responsible for the investigation of sabotage, espionage and subversive activities that pose any kind of threat to the Navy.
in 1950, and continued through the Cold War
years. In 1966 the name Naval Investigative Service (NIS) was adopted to distinguish the organization from the rest of ONI, and in 1969 NIS special agents were reclassified from contract employees and became Excepted Civil Service
.
The early 1970s saw an NIS special agent stationed on the for six months which was the beginning of the "Deployment Afloat" program, (now called the Special Agent Afloat program). In 1972, background investigations were transferred from NIS to the newly formed Defense Investigative Service
(DIS), allowing NIS to give more attention to criminal investigations and counter-intelligence
. The first female agent was stationed at Naval Air Station Miramar
, California
, in 1975.
In 1982, NIS assumed responsibility for managing the Navy's Law Enforcement and Physical Security Program and the Navy's Information and Personnel Security Program. Additionally, in 1982 two classes of NIS Special Agents were trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Glynco, GA, in an assessment of FLETC's capability to train military investigators. Prior to this and subsequently until 1984 NIS Special Agent Training was in ONI Headquarters, Suitland, MD.
Two months after the October 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut
, the agency opened the Navy Antiterrorist Alert Center (ATAC). The ATAC was a 24-hour-a-day
operational intelligence center that issued indications and warnings on terrorist activity to Navy and Marine Corps commands. ATAC was the facility at which Jonathan Pollard
was working when he committed the acts of espionage for which he was convicted in 1987. In 2002 the ATAC became the Multiple Threat Alert Center
(MTAC).
In 1984, special agents began training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
(FLETC) in Georgia
, the training facility for most other federal investigative agencies except the FBI
, the DEA
, and the United States Postal Inspection Service
.
In 1985, Cathal L. Flynn became the first admiral
to lead NIS. The command took on the additional responsibility of Information and Personnel Security. In 1986, the Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility
(DoN CAF) was established and placed under the agency, as the agency was now once again responsible for adjudicating
security clearance
s (although not the actual investigations). DoN CAF renders approximately 200,000 eligibility determinations annually for the Department of the Navy
.
In 1991, the NIS was responsible for the Tailhook scandal
investigation involving sexual misconduct and harassment by Naval and Marine Corps officers in Las Vegas
, Nevada
.
(USSS) executive, was appointed as the first civilian director and the name changed from Naval Investigative Service to Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Nedrow oversaw the restructuring of NCIS into a Federal law enforcement agency with 14 field offices controlling field operations in 140 locations worldwide. In 1995, NCIS introduced the Cold Case Homicide Unit.
In May 1997, David L. Brant was appointed Director of NCIS by Secretary of the Navy
John Howard Dalton
. Director Brant retired in December 2005. He was succeeded by Director Thomas A. Betro
who was appointed Director of NCIS in January 2006, by Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter
. Betro retired in September 2009. On September 13, 2009, Deputy Director of Operations Gregory A. Scovel was appointed Acting Director by Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work. He served concurrently as Deputy Director for Operations until the new Director was selected.
In 1999, NCIS and the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division
(CID) signed a memorandum of understanding
calling for an integration of Marine Corps CID into NCIS. (USMC CID continues to exist to investigate misdemeanors and felonies and other criminal offenses not under NCIS investigative jurisdiction.)
In 2000, Congress
granted NCIS civilian special agents authority to execute warrants and make arrests. Virtually all NCIS investigators, criminal, counterintelligence, and force protection personnel are now sworn civilian personnel with powers of arrest
and warrant
service. The exceptions are a small number of reserve
military elements engaged in counter-intelligence support.
A growing appreciation of the changing threat facing the Department of the Navy in the 21st century, culminating with the terrorist bombing
of the in Yemen
and the attacks on September 11, 2001, led NCIS to transform the Anti-terrorist Alert Center into the Multiple Threat Alert Center
(MTAC) in 2002
NCIS agents were the first U.S. law enforcement personnel on the scene at the USS Cole bombing, the Limburg bombing and the terrorist attack in Mombasa, Kenya
. NCIS's Cold Case unit has solved 50 homicides since 1995 — one of which was 33 years old.
NCIS has conducted fraud investigations resulting in over half a billion dollars in recoveries and restitution to the U.S. government
and the U.S. Navy since 1997. NCIS investigates any death occurring on a Navy vessel or Navy or Marine Corps aircraft or installation (except when the cause of death is medically attributable to disease or natural causes). NCIS oversees the Master at Arms programs for the Navy, overseeing 8800 Masters-At-Arms and the Military Working Dog program. NCIS's three strategic priorities are to prevent terrorism, protect secrets, and reduce crime.
Current missions for NCIS include criminal investigations, force protection
, cross-border
drug enforcement
, anti-terrorism, counter-terrorism, major procurement fraud, computer crime
and counter-intelligence
.
NCIS Special Agent Peter Garza
conducted the first court-ordered Internet
wiretap in the United States.
Cynthia Sommers was convicted of murdering her husband due to a bad lab test during the investigation. The conviction was eventually overturned.
Jonathan Jay Pollard was an NCIS analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel after being caught by NCIS and FBI. He received a life sentence in 1987.
On February 14, 2010, Mark D. Clookie became the fourth civilian Director of NCIS, having been appointed to the position by the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus
. Mr. Clookie leads an agency composed of some 2,500 civilian and military personnel that has a presence in over 150 locations world-wide. He is responsible for executing an annual operating budget of approximately $460 million.
The purpose of the program is to provide professional investigative, counterintelligence, and force protection support to deployed Navy and Marine Corps commanders. These special agents are assigned to aircraft carriers and other deployed major combatants. Their environment can best be described as a "floating city." The assignment offers many of the same investigative challenges found by any criminal investigator working in a metropolitan city. A special agent assigned to a carrier must be skilled in general criminal investigations including: crime scene examination, expert interview techniques, and use of proactive law enforcement procedures to stop criminal activity before it occurs. The special agent afloat also provides guidance on foreign counterintelligence matters, including terrorism. It is also the mission of the special agent afloat to offer Navy and Marine Corps leadership advice and operational support on security issues which might threaten the safety of ships, personnel and resources.
.
Military Criminal Investigative Organizations
Federal law enforcement
JAG Corps
Intelligence
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
, counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
, counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism
Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
, and law enforcement agency
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
of the United States Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
. It is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS).
Roughly half of the 2,500 NCIS employees are civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
special agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
s who are trained to carry out a wide variety of assignments at locations across the globe. NCIS special agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators, who frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies. NCIS special agents are supported by analysts and other experts skilled in disciplines such as forensics
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
, surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
, surveillance countermeasures, computer investigations, physical security, and polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
examinations.
Origins
NCIS traces its roots to Navy Department General Order 292 of 1882, signed by William H. HuntWilliam H. Hunt
William Henry Hunt was the United States Secretary of the Navy under President James Garfield and briefly under President Chester A. Arthur.-Biography:...
, Secretary of the Navy, which established the Office of Naval Intelligence
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
(ONI). Initially, the ONI was tasked with collecting information on the characteristics and weaponry of foreign vessels, charting foreign passages, rivers, or other bodies of water, and touring overseas fortifications, industrial plants, and shipyards.
In anticipation of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the ONI's responsibilities expanded to include espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
, sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
, and all manner of information on the Navy's potential adversaries; and in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the ONI became responsible for the investigation of sabotage, espionage and subversive activities that pose any kind of threat to the Navy.
NIS and the Cold War
The major buildup of civilian special agents began with the Korean WarKorean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in 1950, and continued through the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
years. In 1966 the name Naval Investigative Service (NIS) was adopted to distinguish the organization from the rest of ONI, and in 1969 NIS special agents were reclassified from contract employees and became Excepted Civil Service
Excepted service
Most civilian positions in the federal government of the United States are part of the competitive service, where applicants must compete with other applicants in open competition under the merit system administered by the Office of Personnel Management. However, some agencies are excluded from...
.
The early 1970s saw an NIS special agent stationed on the for six months which was the beginning of the "Deployment Afloat" program, (now called the Special Agent Afloat program). In 1972, background investigations were transferred from NIS to the newly formed Defense Investigative Service
Defense Security Service
The Defense Security Service is an agency of the United States Department of Defense . Within areas of DoD responsibility, DSS is tasked with facilitating personnel security investigations, supervising industrial security, and performing security education and awareness training. It is not a...
(DIS), allowing NIS to give more attention to criminal investigations and counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
. The first female agent was stationed at Naval Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar , formerly Naval Air Station Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the aviation element of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, in 1975.
In 1982, NIS assumed responsibility for managing the Navy's Law Enforcement and Physical Security Program and the Navy's Information and Personnel Security Program. Additionally, in 1982 two classes of NIS Special Agents were trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), Glynco, GA, in an assessment of FLETC's capability to train military investigators. Prior to this and subsequently until 1984 NIS Special Agent Training was in ONI Headquarters, Suitland, MD.
Two months after the October 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut
1983 Beirut barracks bombing
The Beirut Barracks Bombing occurred during the Lebanese Civil War, when two truck bombs struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces—members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon—killing 299 American and French servicemen...
, the agency opened the Navy Antiterrorist Alert Center (ATAC). The ATAC was a 24-hour-a-day
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
operational intelligence center that issued indications and warnings on terrorist activity to Navy and Marine Corps commands. ATAC was the facility at which Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan Jay Pollard worked as a civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel. He received a life sentence in 1987....
was working when he committed the acts of espionage for which he was convicted in 1987. In 2002 the ATAC became the Multiple Threat Alert Center
Multiple Threat Alert Center
United States Department of the Navy's Multiple Threat Alert Center provides indications and warning for a wide range of threats to Navy and Marine Corps personnel and assets around the world....
(MTAC).
In 1984, special agents began training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for 90 United States government federal law enforcement agencies.-Location:...
(FLETC) in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, the training facility for most other federal investigative agencies except the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, the DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
, and the United States Postal Inspection Service
United States Postal Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. Its jurisdiction is defined as "crimes that may adversely affect or fraudulently use the U.S...
.
In 1985, Cathal L. Flynn became the first admiral
Admiral (United States)
In the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, admiral is a four-star flag officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below Fleet Admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health...
to lead NIS. The command took on the additional responsibility of Information and Personnel Security. In 1986, the Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility
Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility
The Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility , a Naval Criminal Investigative Service organization, is responsible for determining who within the Department of the Navy is eligible to hold a security clearance, to have access to Sensitive Compartmented Information , or to be assigned...
(DoN CAF) was established and placed under the agency, as the agency was now once again responsible for adjudicating
Adjudication
Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved....
security clearance
Security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information, i.e., state secrets, or to restricted areas after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is also sometimes used in private organizations that have a formal...
s (although not the actual investigations). DoN CAF renders approximately 200,000 eligibility determinations annually for the Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...
.
In 1991, the NIS was responsible for the Tailhook scandal
Tailhook scandal
The Tailhook scandal refers to a series of incidents where more than 100 U.S. Navy and United States Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted at least 87 women, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada...
investigation involving sexual misconduct and harassment by Naval and Marine Corps officers in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Recent NCIS history
In 1992, the NIS mission was again clarified and became a mostly civilian agency. Roy D. Nedrow, a former United States Secret ServiceUnited States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
(USSS) executive, was appointed as the first civilian director and the name changed from Naval Investigative Service to Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Nedrow oversaw the restructuring of NCIS into a Federal law enforcement agency with 14 field offices controlling field operations in 140 locations worldwide. In 1995, NCIS introduced the Cold Case Homicide Unit.
In May 1997, David L. Brant was appointed Director of NCIS by Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
John Howard Dalton
John Howard Dalton
John Howard Dalton is a U.S. administrator and banker. Dalton was Secretary of the Navy from July 22, 1993 to November 16, 1998.-Education and Navy service:...
. Director Brant retired in December 2005. He was succeeded by Director Thomas A. Betro
Thomas A. Betro
Thomas A. Betro is the former director of Naval Criminal Investigative Service.Betro earned a bachelor's degree in government from Colby College and a masters degree from the Naval War College in Newport, R.I...
who was appointed Director of NCIS in January 2006, by Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter
Donald C. Winter
Donald Charles Winter is an American businessman who served as United States Secretary of the Navy. A former top executive of Northrop Grumman, he was nominated in 2005 by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the United States Senate, and took the oath of office on January 3, 2006...
. Betro retired in September 2009. On September 13, 2009, Deputy Director of Operations Gregory A. Scovel was appointed Acting Director by Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work. He served concurrently as Deputy Director for Operations until the new Director was selected.
In 1999, NCIS and the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division
United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division
United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is a federal law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against persons and property within the United States Marine Corps. CID agents operate under the Provost Marshal's Office...
(CID) signed a memorandum of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
calling for an integration of Marine Corps CID into NCIS. (USMC CID continues to exist to investigate misdemeanors and felonies and other criminal offenses not under NCIS investigative jurisdiction.)
In 2000, Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
granted NCIS civilian special agents authority to execute warrants and make arrests. Virtually all NCIS investigators, criminal, counterintelligence, and force protection personnel are now sworn civilian personnel with powers of arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
and warrant
Warrant (law)
Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
service. The exceptions are a small number of reserve
Military reserve force
A military reserve force is a military organization composed of citizens of a country who combine a military role or career with a civilian career. They are not normally kept under arms and their main role is to be available to fight when a nation mobilizes for total war or to defend against invasion...
military elements engaged in counter-intelligence support.
A growing appreciation of the changing threat facing the Department of the Navy in the 21st century, culminating with the terrorist bombing
USS Cole bombing
The USS Cole Bombing, or the USS Cole Incident, was a suicide attack against the United States Navy destroyer on October 12, 2000 while it was harbored and refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden. Seventeen American sailors were killed, and 39 were injured...
of the in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and the attacks on September 11, 2001, led NCIS to transform the Anti-terrorist Alert Center into the Multiple Threat Alert Center
Multiple Threat Alert Center
United States Department of the Navy's Multiple Threat Alert Center provides indications and warning for a wide range of threats to Navy and Marine Corps personnel and assets around the world....
(MTAC) in 2002
NCIS agents were the first U.S. law enforcement personnel on the scene at the USS Cole bombing, the Limburg bombing and the terrorist attack in Mombasa, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. NCIS's Cold Case unit has solved 50 homicides since 1995 — one of which was 33 years old.
NCIS has conducted fraud investigations resulting in over half a billion dollars in recoveries and restitution to the U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
and the U.S. Navy since 1997. NCIS investigates any death occurring on a Navy vessel or Navy or Marine Corps aircraft or installation (except when the cause of death is medically attributable to disease or natural causes). NCIS oversees the Master at Arms programs for the Navy, overseeing 8800 Masters-At-Arms and the Military Working Dog program. NCIS's three strategic priorities are to prevent terrorism, protect secrets, and reduce crime.
Current missions for NCIS include criminal investigations, force protection
Force protection
Force protection or FP is a term used by the US military to describe preventive measures taken to mitigate hostile actions in specific areas or against a specific populous, usually Department of Defense personnel , resources, facilities, and critical information.-See also:*Pentagon Force Protection...
, cross-border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
drug enforcement
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
, anti-terrorism, counter-terrorism, major procurement fraud, computer crime
Computer crime
Computer crime, or cybercrime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network. The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target. Netcrime refers to criminal exploitation of the Internet. Such crimes may threaten a nation’s security and financial health...
and counter-intelligence
Counter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
.
NCIS Special Agent Peter Garza
Peter Garza
Peter Garza is a United States computer forensics expert and cybercrime investigator.As a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Peter Garza conducted the first court-ordered Internet wiretap in the United States while investigating the Julio Cesar Ardita hacking case. ...
conducted the first court-ordered Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
wiretap in the United States.
Cynthia Sommers was convicted of murdering her husband due to a bad lab test during the investigation. The conviction was eventually overturned.
Jonathan Jay Pollard was an NCIS analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel after being caught by NCIS and FBI. He received a life sentence in 1987.
On February 14, 2010, Mark D. Clookie became the fourth civilian Director of NCIS, having been appointed to the position by the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus
Ray Mabus
Raymond Edwin "Ray" Mabus, Jr. is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy. Mabus served as the 60th Governor of the U.S...
. Mr. Clookie leads an agency composed of some 2,500 civilian and military personnel that has a presence in over 150 locations world-wide. He is responsible for executing an annual operating budget of approximately $460 million.
Special Agents Afloat
The Special Agent Afloat Program of NCIS sends NCIS Special Agents aboard U.S. Aircraft carriers and other ships (e.g. Hospital Ships, Amphibious Assault ships).The purpose of the program is to provide professional investigative, counterintelligence, and force protection support to deployed Navy and Marine Corps commanders. These special agents are assigned to aircraft carriers and other deployed major combatants. Their environment can best be described as a "floating city." The assignment offers many of the same investigative challenges found by any criminal investigator working in a metropolitan city. A special agent assigned to a carrier must be skilled in general criminal investigations including: crime scene examination, expert interview techniques, and use of proactive law enforcement procedures to stop criminal activity before it occurs. The special agent afloat also provides guidance on foreign counterintelligence matters, including terrorism. It is also the mission of the special agent afloat to offer Navy and Marine Corps leadership advice and operational support on security issues which might threaten the safety of ships, personnel and resources.
Armaments
NCIS's former standard issue firearm was the 9x19mm SIG Sauer P228. Their current standard issue pistol is the SIG Sauer P229R DAK or SIG Sauer P239 DAK in .40 S&W.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
.
NCIS in media
- NCIS is mentioned various times in TV drama JAGJAG (TV series)JAG is an American adventure/legal drama television show that was produced by Belisarius Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television and, for the first season only, NBC Productions...
, based on the Navy's legal division, the Judge Advocate General's CorpsJudge Advocate General's CorpsJudge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, refers to the legal branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called Judge Advocates. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard do not maintain separate JAG Corps...
. - In 2003, the television show NCISNCIS (TV series)NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
premiered on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, based on the NCIS. This series was a "spinoffSpin-off (media)In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
" of the television series JAG. The show is still in production. - In 2009, the television show NCIS: Los Angeles premiered on CBS, based on the Office of Special Projects of the NCIS, in Los Angeles. This TV series is a "sister show" and is itself a "spinoff" of NCIS.
- In the 1992 movie A Few Good MenA Few Good Men (film)A Few Good Men is a 1992 drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore. It was adapted for the screen by Aaron Sorkin from his play of the same name. A courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two U.S...
, a marineUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
's letter to the then-NIS was the motive for the alleged homicide at the heart of the courtroom drama. - In Richard MarcinkoRichard MarcinkoRichard "Dick" Marcinko , is a retired Commander in the United States Navy and a former Navy SEAL. He was the first Commanding Officer of SEAL Team Six and Red Cell...
's book Rogue WarriorRogue Warrior (book)Rogue Warrior , by Richard "Demo Dick" Marcinko, is an account of how he founded two United States Navy counter-terrorist units, SEAL Team SIX and Red Cell. Commanding Red Cell, he was directed to use them to test the Navy's anti-terrorist capabilities...
, he details his conflict with NIS. Later an NIS investigation named "Iron Eagle" would result in a federal prisonFederal prisonFederal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
sentence. - In the 2006 CBS drama JerichoJericho (TV series)Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
a character was found with a counterfeit NCIS badge. - Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History was Brought to Justice was published in 2006. Written by retired NCIS Special Agent Ron Olive, it recounts the NIS investigation of PollardJonathan PollardJonathan Jay Pollard worked as a civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel. He received a life sentence in 1987....
, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1986 by an American court for spying for IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. - Special Agent, Vietnam: A Naval Intelligence Memoir was written by Douglass H. Hubbard about special agents during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. - NCIS is mentioned in the MonkMonk (TV series)Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
episode Mr. Monk is Underwater. - Author Mel Odom authored an NCIS series of novels entitled Paid in Blood, Blood Evidence, and Bloodlines.
- The National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
filmed a documentary entitled "Inside the Real NCIS." - Investigation Discovery filmed a 13-episode series called "The Real NCIS" highlighting thirteen different crimes solved by NCIS Special Agents.
- The Pentagon ChannelPentagon ChannelThe Pentagon Channel is a TV channel broadcasting military news and information for the 2.6 million members of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is widely available on US Public, educational, and government access cable tv channels, can be viewed FTA in most Central and Western European countries ,...
aired a documentary in June 2009 entitled "Recon: Military CSI" about crime scene investigation techniques used in the theater of war by NCIS Special Agents. - The Crisis: A Dan Lenson Novel by David PoyerDavid PoyerDavid Poyer is an American author and retired naval officer. He was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania in 1949.Poyer graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971...
details the adventures of NCIS Special Agents in the Horn of AfricaHorn of AfricaThe Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
(HOA). - In the 1997 film, G.I. JaneG.I. JaneG.I. Jane is a 1997 American action film directed by Ridley Scott, produced by Largo Entertainment, Scott Free Productions and Caravan Pictures, distributed by Hollywood Pictures and starring Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen. The film tells the fictional story of the first woman to undergo training...
, LT Jordan O'Neil is threatened with a then-NIS investigation involving an alleged lesbian relationship.
See also
Military Criminal Investigative Organizations
- United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC or CID)
- U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI, or OSI)
- United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation DivisionUnited States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation DivisionUnited States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is a federal law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against persons and property within the United States Marine Corps. CID agents operate under the Provost Marshal's Office...
(CID)
Federal law enforcement
- Special agentSpecial agentSpecial agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
- Master-at-arms
- Military policeMilitary policeMilitary police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
- Shore PatrolShore patrolShore patrol are service members that are provided to aid in security for the U.S. Navy, United States Coast Guard, United States Marine Corps, and the British Royal Navy while on shore...
- U.S. Coast Guard
- Coast Guard Investigative ServiceCoast Guard Investigative ServiceThe Coast Guard Investigative Service is a division of the United States Coast Guard that investigates crimes where the Coast Guard has an interest...
- Coast Guard Investigative Service
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law EnforcementNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law EnforcementThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement is a federal police part of the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland...
(OLE) - U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), State DepartmentDiplomatic Security ServiceThe U.S. Diplomatic Security Service is the federal law enforcement arm of the United States Department of State. The majority of its Special Agents are members of the Foreign Service and federal law enforcement agents at the same time, making them unique...
- United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation DivisionUnited States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation DivisionUnited States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is a federal law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against persons and property within the United States Marine Corps. CID agents operate under the Provost Marshal's Office...
- Criminal Investigation Task Force (CITF)
JAG Corps
- Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. NavyJudge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. NavyThe Judge Advocate General's Corps also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG" is the legal arm of the United States Navy. Today, the corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 730 Judge Advocates, 30 limited duty officers , 500 enlisted members and nearly 275 civilian personnel, serving...
- U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate DivisionU.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate DivisionThe Judge Advocate Division is the United States Marine Corps's legal arm, and is subordinate to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. The head of the Division is the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the Marine Corps...
Intelligence
- U.S. Army Counterintelligence Corps
- Office of Naval IntelligenceOffice of Naval IntelligenceThe Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...
(ONI) - Marine Corps Intelligence ActivityMarine Corps Intelligence ActivityThe Marine Corps Intelligence Activity , is a field activity of Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps and a member of both the Defense Intelligence Enterprise and the United States Intelligence Community...
- USMC Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence