| Agencyname: | United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service |
| Abbreviation: | NCIS |
| Patch: | NCIS Logo 2013.png |
| Patchcaption: | The NCIS logo |
| Logocaption: | Seal of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service |
| Badge: | USA - NCIS Badge.png |
| Badgecaption: | Badge of an NCIS Special Agent |
| Preceding1: | Naval Investigative Service (1966–1985) |
| Preceding2: | Naval Security and Investigative Command (1985–1988) |
| Preceding3: | Naval Investigative Service Command (1988–1993) |
| Employees: | 2,500 |
| Budget: | (2009) [1] |
| Country: | United States |
| Federal: | Yes |
| Headquarters: | Russell-Knox Building, MCB Quantico, Virginia, U.S.[2] |
| Sworntype: | Special agent |
| Sworn: | 1,250 |
| Chief1name: | Omar R. Lopez |
| Chief1position: | Director |
| Chief2name: | Christopher J. McMahon |
| Chief2position: | Deputy Director of Operations |
| Chief3name: | Elizabeth L. Pierri |
| Chief3position: | Deputy Director of Operational Support |
| Parentagency: | United States Department of the Navy |
| Officetype: | Field office |
| Vehicle1type: | Cars |
| Vehicles1: | Dodge Chargers, Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, Cadillacs (Protective Operations) |
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Navy and Marine Corps, though its broad mandate includes national security, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, cyberwarfare, and the protection of U.S. naval assets worldwide. NCIS is the successor organization to the former Naval Investigative Service (NIS), which was established by the Office of Naval Intelligence after the Second World War.
One half of NCIS personnel are civilian, with the other half being US government investigators - 1811 series special agents. NCIS agents are armed federal law enforcement investigators, who frequently coordinate with other U.S. government agencies and have a presence in more than 41 countries and on U.S. Navy vessels. 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.
NCIS traces its roots 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 for a 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 as a means of obtaining information on persons and activities that might constitute a threat to the naval establishment, as well as providing a cadre of trained personnel in the event of 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."
At the conclusion of 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.
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. A number of 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 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. Prior to 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.
In 1991, NIS was responsible for investigating the Tailhook scandal, which involved allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by Naval and Marine Corps officers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Subsequent to this investigation, and at the direction of the chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Sam Nunn, the Naval Investigative Service was restructured into the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). The restructuring occurred as a result of perceived lapses in proper investigative technique over the Tailhook scandal, as well as chain of command issues and a lack of civilian oversight in previous investigations. At the time, Senator Nunn stated, "The Navy's whole investigative technique should be under serious question." As a result of the investigation into the Tailhook scandal, the Pentagon's inspector general was sharply critical of NIS leadership, stating that there was a top-down culture showing a lack of cooperation with other authorities in the Navy.[3] By 1992, Acting Secretary of the Navy, Sean O'Keefe, recommended the word "Criminal" be included in NIS's name in order to make clear their investigative function. Ultimately, NIS commander, Rear Adm. Duvall Williams Jr., was forced to retire and NIS was reorganized as NCIS under civilian leadership.[4]
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.[5]
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 misdemeanors and felonies and other criminal offenses not under NCIS investigative jurisdiction.)[6]
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 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, 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.[7]
Jonathan Jay Pollard was an NIS analyst who was convicted of spying for Israel after being caught by NIS and FBI. He received a life sentence in 1987.[8]
On February 14, 2010, Mark D. Clookie became the fourth civilian director of NCIS, having been appointed to the position by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.[9]
In June 2010, NCIS undertook a major reorganization which created a single deputy director position, having previously had two (deputy director of operations and deputy director of management and administration), combination of the Combating Terrorism Directorate and the Counterintelligence Directorate into a single directorate (the National Security Directorate), and the creation of the Global Operations Directorate. The Global Operations Directorate was created to direct field elements in multiple functional areas that had previously been directed from NCIS Headquarters.[10]
In December 2012, the FBI released redacted documents regarding operations against Occupy Wall Street. In one FBI report, the NCIS is quoted as looking into links between Occupy and "organized labor actions" in December 2011.[11]
In January 2013, the Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility (DoN CAF) was consolidated, along with the other Central Adjudications Facilities within the Department of Defense (DoD), into a single organization, known as the DoD CAF, per the direction of the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The DoD CAF is currently the sole authority to determine security clearance eligibility of non-Intelligence Agency DoD personnel occupying sensitive positions and/or requiring access to classified material including Sensitive Compartmented Information.[12]
On October 7, 2013, Andrew L. Traver became the fifth civilian director of NCIS, having been appointed to the position by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. Traver leads an agency that is composed of some 2,500 civilian and military personnel and has a presence in over 150 locations worldwide. He is responsible for executing an annual operating budget of approximately $460 million.
In 2014, in the aftermath of the Washington Navy Yard shooting, NCIS formed the Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Training (REACT) team. 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.[13]
On June 4, 2019, Omar R. Lopez became the sixth civilian director of NCIS, having been appointed to the position by the Secretary of the Navy, Richard V. Spencer. Director Lopez is responsible for approximately 2,000 personnel, including 1,000 federal special agents, in 191 locations around the world.[14]
In late 2019, NCIS went through additional organizational changes. In October, the Central Field Office was reactivated (having originally been deactivated at the end of 2015). As its name suggests, the Central Field Office is responsible for investigations and operations in the Central United States. In December, the position of deputy director was redesignated as the deputy director of operations and the principal executive assistant director was redesignated as the deputy director of operational support.
The following is a listing of the rank structure found within NCIS for Special Agents:
| style=width:22em | Field elements ! | style=width:22em | Headquarters elements ! | Pay Grade (Based on assignment) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Agent (SA) | GS-7 – GS-13 | |||
| Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) | GS-13 – GS-14 | |||
| Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) | Division Chief † | GS-14 | ||
| Special Agent in Charge (SAC) | Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) † | GS-15 | ||
| Senior executive staff † | ||||
| Assistant Director (AD) | GS-15 | |||
| Executive Assistant Director (EAD) | SES or DISL | |||
| Deputy Director of Operations (DDO) | Deputy Director of Operational Support (DDOS) | SES | ||
| Director | SES | |||
Notes:
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.[15]
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 and 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 with the exception of 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 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.[16] [17] [18]
Before the NCIS headquarters was moved to the Russell-Knox Building in 2011, it was located at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C.[19]
The Office of the director serves as the central administrative arm of the director. The office encompasses the director, the deputy directors, and the director's staff. The office is headed by the chief of staff who is accountable to the director, via the daily supervision of the deputy director of operational support, for the effective operation and administration of the office of the director.[20]
Other components reporting directly to the director and/or deputy directors are:[20]
The operational directorates of NCIS are supervised by the deputy director of operations who is the Chief Operations Officer of NCIS, responsible for criminal investigations, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, tri-service operations (Atlantic, Pacific, and Global), biometrics, technical surveillance countermeasures, behavioral science, technical services, Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Training (REACT), polygraph services, and forensics.[21]
The NCIS currently has two types of operational directorates: functional and field.
The functional directorates are the National Security Directorate and the Criminal Operations Directorate. These directorates are responsible for outlining the goals and objectives of NCIS relating to their functional area through the Program Direction Document. The executive assistant directors exercise direction and supervision of their Program Direction Document through the three field directorates. The EAD's also advise the deputy director of operations on the three field directorate executive assistant directors' performance in meeting the outlined goals and objectives.
The field directorates are the Atlantic Operations Directorate, Pacific Operations Directorate, and the Global Operations Directorate.
The geographic Atlantic Operations and Pacific Operations directorates are divided into field offices, each headed by a Special Agent in Charge (SAC), while the functional Global Operations Directorate is divided into field offices and field operational support elements, headed by Special Agents in Charge or division chiefs. The SAC / division chief is responsible for all operational, investigative, and administrative activities within their geographical/functional area of responsibility. They exercise leadership of geographic implementation of NCIS' goals and objectives through the direction and supervision of Assistant Special Agents in Charge (ASAC) and Supervisory Special Agents (SSA). In field offices with only one ASAC, the ASAC is the Chief Operations Officer of the field office, responsible for the day-to-day oversight and management of its activities. In field offices with multiple ASAC's, the ASAC's serve as the heads of specific functions within the field office (e.g. ASAC of Criminal Investigations or ASAC of Atlantic Operations). The field office headquarters also has specialized teams, headed by Supervisory Special Agents, ready to support the field office's subordinate units by dispatching experienced Special Agents and/or civilian investigators to assist in investigations if a prolonged investigation is required or the investigative resources required exceeds the subordinate unit's capabilities. Usually the senior-most Special Agent of the field team is designated as the Senior Field Agent who may also have some operational and/or administrative responsibilities.
The geographic field offices are divided into NCIS Resident Agencies (NCISRA) and NCIS Resident Units (NCISRU). NCISRA's are headed by Supervisory Special Agents (designated as Resident Agents in Charge) who supervise all sworn Special Agents and civilian personnel assigned to the NCISRA. Depending on the size or location of the NCISRA, the Resident Agent in Charge may also supervise other Supervisory Special Agents who serve as team leaders, responsible for a specific investigative/operational function within the NCISRA (e.g. SSA of Counter-Terrorism). Some NCISRA's are further divided into NCISRU's, which are small units consisting of only one or two Special Agents (designated as Resident Agents) who report directly to the Resident Agent in Charge of the "parent NCISRA." In NCISRU's which are staffed by multiple Special Agents, the senior-most Special Agent is designated as the Senior Resident Agent and may also have some operational and/or administrative responsibilities. NCIS Special Agent Afloat duty posts are also classified as NCISRU's (e.g. NCISRU USS George H.W. Bush). NCISRU's afloat are under the functional supervision of the field office responsible for the vessel's homeport but receive operational support from the field office responsible for the area where the ship is sailing in.
The National Security Directorate has program management oversight of counter-terrorism/counterintelligence investigations and operations, including espionage, terrorism, compromise, technology transfer, cyber intrusion, insider threat, and threats to research development and acquisition programs. The directorate is also responsible for manning, training, and equipping of agency personnel to protect Navy and Marine Corps forces, operations, information, facilities, equipment, and networks from attacks and the intelligence activities of foreign governments and international terrorist organizations.[22]
The National Security Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director with the assistance of an assistant director. The directorate is divided into multiple programmatic departments which are headed by deputy assistant directors (comparable in practice to special agents in charge). The departments are further divided into divisions led by division chiefs (comparable in practice to assistant special agents in charge).
In 2015, the National Security Directorate comprised (at least) the following departments and divisions:[23]
The Criminal Investigations and Operations Directorate has program management oversight of a myriad of criminal investigations and operations which include death, sexual assault, narcotics, and procurement fraud investigations. The directorate is also responsible for the manning, training and equipping of agency personnel to accomplish the investigative mission, and for the operational execution of both reactive and proactive major criminal investigative activities for the Department of the Navy.
The Criminal Operations Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director with the assistance of an assistant director. The directorate is divided into multiple programmatic departments which are headed by deputy assistant directors (comparable in practice to special agents in charge). The departments are further divided into divisions led by division chiefs (comparable in practice to assistant special agents in charge).
In 2015, the Criminal Investigations and Operations Directorate comprised (at least) the following departments and divisions:
The Global Operations Directorate is responsible for field elements which execute worldwide investigations and operations associated with espionage, counterintelligence, protective service operations, economic crimes, contingency response and high risk deployments, technical surveillance countermeasures, polygraph services, technical services, and forensic services.[24]
The Global Operations Directorate and nearly all of its subordinate elements are headquartered aboard Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in Washington, D.C., although they maintain multiple operational detachments all over the world in support of geographical field offices. The only exception to this is the Contingency Response Field Office, which is headquartered at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers at Glynco, Georgia.[25]
The Atlantic Operations Directorate oversees all investigations and operations of NCIS field offices and numerous subordinate elements located throughout the Eastern United States, Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and aboard carrier and expeditionary strike groups based on the East Coast.
The Atlantic Operations Directorate is currently headquartered aboard Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[25]
The Pacific Operations Directorate oversees all investigations and operations of NCIS field offices and numerous subordinate elements located throughout the Western United States, Asia, Australia, and aboard aircraft carrier and expeditionary strike groups based on the west coast and throughout the Indo-Pacific region.[26]
The Pacific Operations Directorate is currently headquartered aboard Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California.[25]
The Behavioral Science Group (BSG) supports the NCIS headquarters and field offices on a worldwide basis by deploying licensed psychologists with specialized training and experience in law enforcement psychology and national security. They are responsible for providing consultations to operations, investigations, and related projects and matters.
The BSG consultations provide insight into relevant behavior; optimizing criminal, counterintelligence, and counter-terrorism investigations and operations; and complementing other resources such as analytical and technical expertise.[27]
The Office of Military Support (OMS) is composed of active duty and reserve US Navy officers and enlisted personnel. They perform in a variety of mission support areas in NCIS offices throughout the world, including protective service operations, supply and logistics, communications, administrative duties, intelligence, and security.[28]
The support directorates of NCIS are supervised by the deputy director of operational support, responsible for cyber, intelligence, human resources, material, capital, fiscal, acquisition, administrative, and technology functions.[29]
The Cyber Directorate has program management oversight of worldwide law enforcement and counterintelligence cyberspace investigations, operations, and digital/multimedia forensics.
The Cyber Directorate is responsible for outlining the goals and objectives of NCIS relating to the cyber domain through the Program Direction Document. The executive assistant director exercises direction and supervision of the Program Direction Document through the three field directorates (Atlantic, Pacific, and Global). The EAD also advises the deputy director of operational support as well as the deputy director of operations on the three field directorate executive assistant directors' performance in meeting the outlined goals and objectives.
The Cyber Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director with the assistance of an assistant director. The directorate is divided into multiple programmatic departments which are headed by deputy assistant directors (comparable in practice to special agents in charge). The departments are further divided into divisions led by division chiefs (comparable in practice to assistant special agents in charge).
The Enterprise Management Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director who supervises five assistant directors, whose staff in turn manage the agency's portfolios for:
The Intelligence and Information Sharing Directorate directs NCIS' activities to provide intelligence, analysis, and related products to better understand the terror, intelligence, cyber, and criminal threats to the Department of the Navy and to meet priority intelligence requirements. The directorate is also responsible for the collection, analysis, exploitation, and sharing of criminal, counterintelligence, and terrorism information in direct support of NCIS operations and investigations, along with directing NCIS' Multiple Threat Alert Center and the Department of Defense Global Watch.
The Intelligence and Information Sharing Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director with the assistance of an assistant director. The directorate is divided into multiple programmatic departments which are headed by deputy assistant directors (comparable in practice to special agents in charge). The departments are further divided into divisions led by division chiefs (comparable in practice to assistant special agents in charge).
The Strategy, Planning and Business Operations Directorate develops overarching agency strategies and provides the program planning, evaluation, and performance assessment necessary to accomplish the strategic mission of NCIS. The directorate also serves as a consultant to Department of Defense and Department of the Navy sponsors on financial management and critical resource issues and manages public engagement and congressional activities.
The Planning and Strategy Directorate is managed by an executive assistant director with the assistance of an assistant director. The directorate is divided into multiple programmatic departments which are headed by deputy assistant directors (comparable in practice to special agents in charge). The departments are further divided into divisions led by division chiefs (comparable in practice to assistant special agents in charge).
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).[30] 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.
The Special Agent Afloat (SAA) program was initiated in Europe during March 1967. In April 1971, a special agent was assigned to a deployed carrier for a period of 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 in an effort 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.
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the only entity within the Department of the Navy authorized to conduct protection of 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:
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 risk 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.[31]
See main article: 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 unique 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 Navy and Marine Corps commanders.[32]
In 2014, in the aftermath of the Washington Navy Yard shooting, NCIS formed the Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Training (REACT) team. 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 team is organized, equipped, directed, and controlled by the deputy assistant director, 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 will be 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.[33]
The Major Case Response Team (MCRT) is tasked with processing crime scenes and collecting evidence. They collect fingerprints and biological trace, impression, 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.[34]
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.
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 duty 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 pertaining to NCIS component performance evaluation, regulatory compliance, and personnel integrity.
See main article: Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Additionally, NCIS senior executives are serving in other capacities within the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy, including:
The qualifications to be an NCIS special agent are:[45]
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 the 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:
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.[46] 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 a number of 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 the U.S. Navy MK18.
Notes
Further reading