Naval Criminal Investigative Service

History

Origins

NCIS traces its origins to Navy Department General Order 292 of 1882, signed by William H. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy, which established the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI). Initially, 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, ONI's responsibilities expanded to include espionage, sabotage, and all manner of information on the U.S. Navy's potential adversaries. The plan contemplated obtaining information by both overt and covert means, and, in the fall of 1916, the first branch office (a small undercover unit) was established in New York City under the supervision of the ONI. Heavy reliance was placed on reserve, active duty, and civilian operatives, many of the latter serving voluntarily and without pay. Rapid demobilization and the desire to return to normalcy after World War I saw investigative activity reduced to a virtual standstill. In early 1926, initiatives were undertaken to organize special groups of volunteer reserve intelligence officers who were envisioned to obtain information on persons and activities that might threaten the naval establishment, as well as provide a cadre of trained personnel in the event of a national emergency.

During the early and mid-1930s, the development of an independent professional investigative capability within the Navy was being nurtured. In Washington, D.C., the first civilian agent was employed in 1936 on a verbal basis and paid by personal check of the Director of Naval Intelligence. He was followed by a small handful of civilian special agents who were seeded throughout the naval districts beginning in 1936, although by September 1937 they numbered only 14 nationwide. In June 1939, President Roosevelt directed that ONI handle the investigation of Navy cases relating to sabotage, espionage, and subversive activities. By the fall of 1940, selective call-up of intelligence reservists for investigative and counterintelligence duties was undertaken on a broad scale and following entry into World War II, the Navy's investigative arm was staffed almost exclusively by reserve officers. Their primary tasks related to personnel security inquiries, sabotage, and espionage cases, investigation of Japanese activities in the United States, and war fraud matters. A peak was reached in 1943 when over 97,000 separate investigations were conducted by what was known as the "Naval Intelligence Service." After World War II, there was again a general demobilization, resulting in only a small corps of civilian special agents being retained. Although the Secretary of the Navy extended investigative jurisdiction in 1945, no meaningful expansion of personnel occurred until the Korean conflict when a major buildup of civilian agents took place.

NIS and the Cold War

Until the late 1950s, District Intelligence Office operations were under the command supervision of Naval District Commandants, and investigative effort was frequently parochial, fragmented, and on occasion, duplicative from one district to another. Workload, manpower, and jurisdiction in investigations and counterintelligence broadened following the Korean conflict. Several significant changes in organization and policy occurred during the 1950s and 1960s, as well as refinements in mission, which culminated in the establishment of the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) in February 1966. In the early 1970s, an NIS special agent was stationed on USS Intrepid for six months. This marked the beginning of the "Deployment Afloat" program, now called the Special Agent Afloat program, which deploys special agents for year-long assignments aboard carrier battle groups and amphibious readiness groups. 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 1970s also saw NIS' first female agent, who was stationed at Naval Air Station Miramar, California in 1975.

In October 1981, NIS became a Second Echelon Command under the Chief of Naval Operations. In August 1985, the Secretary of the Navy directed the appointment of a flag-rank naval officer to hold the position of Commander, NIS, reporting directly to the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy. Rear Admiral Cathal L. Flynn, a Navy SEAL officer, became the first admiral to lead NIS. Additionally, in 1982, two classes of NIS Special Agents were trained at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco, Georgia, in an assessment of the school's capability to train military investigators. Before this and subsequently until 1984, NIS Special Agent Training was in ONI Headquarters in Suitland, Maryland. In 1984, NIS Special Agents began training at FLETC, along with other federal investigative agencies, except for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Two months after the October 1983 bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, the agency opened the Anti-Terrorist Alert Center (ATAC), 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). On November 15, 1985, NIS was re-designated as the Naval Security and Investigative Command (NSIC) and broadened its missions to include management of the DON Security Program. These programs included naval information, physical, and personnel security; adjudication for security clearances; and Navy law enforcement and physical security. This resulted in NSIC also assuming control of the Navy's Master-at-Arms program and the military working dog program. 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 clearances (although not the actual investigations). DoN CAF renders approximately 200,000 eligibility determinations annually for the Department of the Navy. On September 27, 1988, NSIC was changed to the Naval Investigative Service Command (NISC), though the organization at large was still known as the Naval Investigative Service (NIS) and the command generally referred only to the NIS headquarters element, similarly how the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command commanded all Criminal Investigation Division (CID) elements.

Recent history

In 1993, the NCIS mission was again clarified and became a mostly civilian agency. Roy D. Nedrow, a former United States Secret Service (USSS) executive, was appointed as the first civilian director and the name changed from Naval Investigative Service Command to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). NCIS was aligned as an echelon two activity under the Secretary of the Navy, via the General Counsel. 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, the first dedicated federal-level cold case homicide unit. The unit has resolved 61 cases since 1995. 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 (USMC CID) signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the integration of Marine Corps CID into NCIS. (USMC CID continues to exist to investigate misdemeanor 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 USS Cole (DDG-67) in Yemen and the September 11 attacks, 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 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, counterterrorism, major procurement fraud, computer crime and counter-intelligence.

Organization

Rank structure

The following is a listing of the rank structure found within NCIS for Special Agents:

Notes:

†: May be sworn special agents filling civilian positions mainly at Headquarters.

Permanent NCIS credentials consist of two cards. Card A (upper credential) identifies the agency, name, seal, and bearer title. Card B (lower credential) consists of a statement of authority, bearer photograph, credential number, the Director's signature, and bearer signature.

Special Agent, issued a golden badge inscribed with the words Special Agent. Credentials and badges are only issued to 1811 Criminal Investigators and Marine Corps personnel designated as Special Agents. The bearer's authority is outlined on all Special Agent credentials as: "is authorized as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer to carry firearms and conduct investigations of violations of the laws of the United States of America for the Department of the Navy."

Agent, issued a silver badge inscribed with the word Agent. Credentials and badges are issued to qualified and approved naval reservists assigned to the NCIS Office of Military Support who perform investigative or counterintelligence duties. The bearer's authority is outlined on all Agent credentials as: "is authorized to carry firearms and conduct investigations of violations of the laws of the United States of America for the Department of the Navy."

Investigator, issued a silver badge inscribed with the word Investigator. Credentials and badges are only issued to 1810 Investigators who perform investigative and/or counterintelligence duties.

Operational Representative, issued a silver badge inscribed with the words Operational Representative when it is deemed necessary by the concerned Special Agent in Charge or deputy assistant director. The badge of an Operational Representative conveys no police powers and is only used to quickly identify the holder as a law enforcement affiliate to ensure the employee's safety or to effectively accomplish his/her assigned operational duties. Credentials are issued to personnel who actively participate as non-law enforcement officers in the operational aspects of criminal investigations and operations, counterintelligence investigations and operations, collection activity and analysis, and Department of the Navy law enforcement and security. Employees who qualify for these credentials include but are not limited to the following series: intelligence specialist/intelligence operations specialist (0132), investigations specialist (1801), foreign national investigator (FN pay grades), investigative computer specialist (2210), physical security specialist (0080), training specialist (1712), forensic scientist (1301), evidence custodian (0303), and Department of Defense military security personnel under the operational control of the Protective Operations Field Office.

Organizational structure

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is headed by the director of NCIS who is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy for the operations of NCIS. The director is supervised by the Under Secretary of the Navy with the assistance of the General Counsel of the Navy and receives guidance from the NCIS Board of Directors, an advisory group chaired by the Under Secretary of the Navy that includes the General Counsel of the Navy, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the director of NCIS. The director directs and supervises the activities of NCIS exercises leadership through a strategic vision and exercises his/her direction through the deputy directors.

The NCIS currently has two deputy directors, the deputy director of operations, who is responsible for the day-to-day oversight and management of the operational directorates, and the deputy director of operational support, who is responsible for the day-to-day oversight and management of the support directorates.

The operational and support directorates are managed by an executive assistant director except some support directorates, which are managed by an assistant director. An assistant director is also assigned to some operational and support directorates to serve as the chief operations officer, responsible for assisting the EAD with the day-to-day oversight and management of the directorate.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has worked on cases in collaboration with the United States Department of Justice, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the ATF, United States Secret Service and other agencies.

NCIS Headquarters, Russell-Knox Building, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.

The Russell-Knox Building also houses the headquarters of the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division, Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency. Components of the Defense Intelligence Agency are also located at RKB.

The Russell-Knox Building (RKB), named after U.S. Marine Corps Major General John Henry Russell Jr. and U.S. Navy Commodore Dudley Wright Knox, was built based on the findings of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The commission authorized the project to build the RKB as there was a need to co-locate the headquarters of the different criminal investigative agencies of the U.S. military.

Specialized programs

Special Agents Afloat

The Special Agent Afloat Program of NCIS sends NCIS Special Agents aboard U.S. aircraft carriers, submarines, and other ships (for example, hospital ships and 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 the 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 that might threaten the safety of ships, personnel, and resources.

The Special Agent Afloat (SAA) program was initiated in Europe in March 1967. In April 1971, a special agent was assigned to a deployed carrier for six months with the designation of SAA. By 1978, SAA personnel were assigned to each operational aircraft carrier in the U. S. Navy for a one-year assignment. In 1986, a trial began where two Special Agents Afloat were assigned to aircraft carriers to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of having two agents assigned full-time while deployed, one focusing on law enforcement/criminal investigations and one on foreign counterintelligence. The trial was discontinued when no longer considered viable.

Protective operations

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the only entity within the Department of the Navy authorized to conduct protection of the Department of Defense/Department of the Navy (DOD/DON) High-Risk Billets (HRB). The mission of the NCIS Protective Operations Field Office (POFO) is to prevent terrorist and/or criminal attacks on principals under NCIS executive protection coverage and execute the necessary and appropriate response to a threat and/or attack on a principal. POFO will also initiate investigations on individuals and groups who meet a specific threshold when a threat is detected or needs to be validated.

NCIS provides and manages full-time protection details on key Department of the Navy personnel, including:

Secretary of the Navy

Chief of Naval Operations

Commandant of the Marine Corps

To supplement POFO's operational mission, it maintains an internal Protective Intelligence Unit (PIU) to identify potential threats that could affect a principal, understand a principal's level of vulnerability to any given threat, and use available intelligence to mitigate threats and/or risks to a principal. The Protective Intelligence Unit works extensively with the U.S. Secret Service, Pentagon Force Protection Agency, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Multiple Threat Alert Center

The Multiple Threat Alert Center (MTAC) utilizes NCIS' worldwide presence and combination of law enforcement, counterintelligence, intelligence and security capabilities to identify a wide range of threats to Navy and Marine Corps personnel and assets around the world. The MTAC is a platform in that it merges intelligence from other agencies with information from NCIS source networks and law enforcement activities worldwide to provide the most relevant operational support to the Navy and Marine Corps commanders.

Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team

In 2014, in the aftermath of the Washington Navy Yard shooting, NCIS formed the Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Training (REACT) team. The team was renamed the Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team (REACT) around 2020. REACT teams are designed to support investigations and "high-risk" enforcement operations within the United States, including high-risk operations that involve the service of arrest and search warrants, undercover agent and source protection/rescue, undercover operations, high-risk surveillance, and high-risk protective assignments.

REACT is organized, equipped, directed, and controlled by the deputy assistant director of, the Criminal Investigations and Operations Department, Criminal Operations Directorate, and is under the direction of the REACT commander and deputy commander. Because of NCIS' changing needs and mobility, realignments of field offices, and geographical differences, the composition of each team may vary. In general, each REACT team is composed of one team leader (TL), one assistant team leader (ATL), and multiple tactical operators. Assignment to REACT is strictly voluntary and REACT is classified as a collateral duty, meaning Special Agents assigned to REACT remain in their original assignments within the field office when not called into service with REACT.

If REACT assistance is determined to be necessary, the field office SAC or his/her designee will contact the REACT commander, or deputy commander if the commander is unavailable, for further discussion and evaluation. The deputy assistant director of criminal investigations and operations maintains final approval authority for the use of REACT and the execution of a proposed operation.

Major Case Response Team

The Major Case Response Team (MCRT) is tasked with processing crime scenes and collecting evidence. They collect fingerprints and biological traces, impressions, and other evidence, as well as photograph the scene and make sketches of important details. There are 27 deployable MCRTs stationed around the world. They respond to death scenes and assist with the investigation of many other high-impact crimes, including sexual and/or aggravated assaults, acts of arson and wrongful destruction, and thefts. MCRT members also relieve the case agents (special agents assigned to lead investigations in the field) of crime scene responsibilities by conducting complex searches, attending autopsies, and performing other duties related to their areas of specialized training.

Even though all special agents possess the requisite skills for proper crime scene investigation after attending the mandatory Special Agent Basic Training Program, the MCRT was developed as a concept to lend a professional approach to crime scene processing. Special agents from all disciplines are trained in additional crime scene processing techniques and are called out on major incidents to search, locate, photograph, document, collect, and preserve physical evidence.

Office of the Inspector General

The NCIS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigates allegations of waste, fraud, abuse, mismanagement, and misconduct by NCIS personnel. The OIG is headed by an Inspector General (IG) who serves at the pay grade of GS-15 or higher, and is appointed with the concurrence of the Naval Inspector General and reports directly to the Director of NCIS. The Inspector General also serves additional duties on the staff of the Naval Inspector General. The NCIS Inspector General is assisted by the NCIS Deputy Inspector General.

The IG directs the development of NCIS inspection, compliance oversight, and employee misconduct investigative priorities and performance requirements. They advise the Director and deputy directors on personnel and personnel-related decisions including, but not limited to: promotions, transfers, and awards nominations; issuance of non-police badges; and issuance of firearms authorization and firearms to non-agent personnel. The IG keeps the Director, deputy directors, and other NCIS executives informed on all matters about NCIS component performance evaluation, regulatory compliance, and personnel integrity.

Internal Personnel Investigations — conducts official inquiries into allegations of personnel misconduct when the actions of special agents or other personnel involve breaches of NCIS policy or doctrine, violations of criminal law, or are of such nature to bring serious discredit on NCIS or the United States Navy.

Inspections — the NCIS inspection program will primarily focus on the core functions of investigations, operations, and related support activities. The objectives of NCIS inspections are to: assess leadership, assess the quality of investigative and operational activity, assess the effectiveness and efficiency of NCIS components, assess staffing levels, assess the quality and management of available resources, assess compliance with established policies and procedures, evaluate anomalies which prevent or inhibit compliance to established policies and procedures, and develop appropriate recommendations to correct deficiencies.

Field Office/Departmental Inspections — field office Special Agents in Charge and departmental Deputy Assistant Directors are responsible for mission accomplishment and monitoring the quality and timeliness of NCIS investigations and operations. Each field office component and headquarters department is required to conduct a self-inspection each year and report the results to the OIG. The Self-Inspection Program provides the Director the annual assurances that field operations comply with DoD, DON, and NCIS policies, directives, and regulations.

Personnel

Executive command staff

Director – Omar R. Lopez

Deputy Director of Operations – Gregory A. Scovel Jr.

Deputy Director of Operational Support – Erin Carmichael

Executive Assistant Director, Strategy, Planning and Business Operations – Bethann M. Sliwa

Executive Assistant Director, Intelligence and Information Sharing – Megan C. Bolduc

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Criminal Investigations and Operations – Dan Simpson

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Atlantic Operations – Clifton J. Everton III

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Pacific Operations – Brad Duckworth

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Global Operations - Erin Carmichael

Acting Executive Assistant Director, National Security – Wesley Berry

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Cyber - Richard Dunwoodie

Acting Executive Assistant Director, Enterprise Management – Laukik Suthar

Acting Executive Assistant Director, AUKUS & RDA - Caroline Colvin

Special Agent Career Program

The qualifications to be an NCIS special agent are:

Must not have reached 37 years of age (exceptions are preference-eligible veterans and those currently covered under the 6C Federal Law Enforcement retirement system).

Must have vision correctable to 20/20 with normal color vision.

Must be a U.S.-born or naturalized U.S. citizen.

Must have a valid driver's license.

Must pass a background check.

Must pass a polygraph examination.

Must be able to obtain and maintain a top-secret clearance.

New special agents must complete the Criminal Investigators Training Program (CITP) and the NCIS-specific Special Agent Basic Training Program (SABTP) at the NCIS Training Academy aboard the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). The training provides instruction on the NCIS report writing system, manuals, and field training exercises. All newly hired agents who have not experienced active or reserve duty with the Navy or Marine Corps must also complete the Naval Orientation Correspondence Course. The Special Agent Career Program includes four investigative specialties (General Crimes, Fraud, Combating Terrorism, and Foreign Counterintelligence) and four technical specialties (Technical Services, Cyber, Forensics and Polygraph).

After completing the training programs, Special Agents enter the trial period, formerly referred to as a "probationary" period, which is (usually) the first two years of a Special Agent's employment. The successful completion of the special agent trial period requires graduation from the CITP and SABTP and the successful completion of all phases included in the Special Agent Basic Training Program (SABTP). The phases are:

Weapons

As of 2021, the current standard issue pistols of NCIS Academy graduates are the Glock 47 MOS, Glock 19 MOS, and the Glock 26 in 9mm. Previously, NCIS issued both the Sig Sauer P229/P239 DA/SA, DAK (Double Action Kellerman) trigger system. and SIG Sauer M11 (P228) in 9×19mm. Agents may also qualify with a weapon from an approved list of manufacturers in .38 Special, 9×19mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.

Field offices are issued several Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 shotguns in 12 Gauge and the M4 or MK 18 platform for use when appropriate. For combat environments, special agents are issued by the U.S. Navy MK18.

In popular culture

Television

In 2003, the series NCIS began as a spin-off of JAG and features a fictional representation of the Major Case Response Team, consisting of a team of NCIS agents based at Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. David Brant and Thomas Betro, two former directors of NCIS, both had minor cameo appearances in the series during their respective tenures as director. Director Omar Lopez was featured in a cameo role in episode 20 of season 17 which aired on April 14, 2020.

In 2009, that series spun off NCIS: Los Angeles, featuring a fictional representation of the Office of Special Projects, based in Los Angeles that specializes in undercover assignments. Former NCIS Director Mark D. Clookie had a minor cameo appearance in the third season of the series, appearing as "NCIS Special Agent Clookie". Andrew Traver (fifth Director of NCIS) also had a minor appearance in the seventh season of the series, appearing as "NCIS Special Agent Gates".

A second spin-off set in a small NCIS Resident Agency in New Orleans (part of the Southeast Field Office), NCIS: New Orleans, started in 2014 and concluded in 2021.

A third spin-off began in 2021, NCIS: Hawaiʻi, set in the Hawaii Field Office.

A fourth spin-off, NCIS: Sydney, set in the Australian city of Sydney, premiered in 2023.

A fifth spin-off, NCIS: Origins premiered in 2024 and is a prequel to the original series, starting in 1991, and focusing on the early investigative career of the show's original protagonist Leroy Jethro Gibbs centering around his years as a Probationary NIS Agent.

The Pentagon Channel 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 National Geographic Channel filmed a documentary entitled Inside the Real NCIS.