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The NCIS Major Case Response Team, or MCRT for short, is a NCIS team based out of the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. which is currently led by NCIS Supervisory Special Agent Alden Parker.

The NCIS team is tasked with investigating crimes of drug trafficking, smuggling, homicide or terrorism concerning or involving members of the United States Marine Corps, United States Navy or their families.

The main NCIS Major Case Response Team's counterparts are the Office of Special Projects Team in Los Angeles, the NCIS New Orleans Team in New Orleans and the NCIS Hawaii Team in Hawaii.

History

The official founding of the Major Case Response Team is unknown but during the time NCIS was known as NIS or Naval Investigation Service, a lone team operated in the bullpen, the team composed of NIS agents Edward Scott and Michelle Stamos who worked as a two-man team with assistance from Medical Examiner, Dr. Walter Magnus.

In the 1980s, they investigated a case concerning Marine Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Donald Mallard who had run afoul of gangster Jonny Zucado.

Presumably ten years later, Scott and Stamos having either retired or been killed in the line of duty, NIS agent Michael "Mike" Franks became the head of the new team in the 1990s, Franks operating either by himself or with an unknown number of NIS agents under his command. A year or so later, Gibbs who had retired from the Marines joined the MCRT, becoming Franks's Probie and the two continued to work together with Franks displaying methods that Gibbs would later apply to his own team.

Eventually, in 1996, Franks finally retired from NCIS for good, giving Gibbs official control of the MCRT.

Over the years Gibbs had various Agents working under him including deceased FBI Agent Brett Langer and Agent Afloat Stanley Burley.

Some time in or around the late 1990s or presumably early 2000s, both Forensic Scientist Abigail Sciuto and Medical Examiner Donald Mallard presumably joined the team.

In 2001, former Detective Anthony DiNozzo who had worked at Baltimore joined Gibbs's team, becoming the Probie before eventually moving up to the rank of Senior Special Agent, a position he held until his resignation from the team in May 2016.

In 2002 or early 2003, Vivian Blackadder of the FBI was transferred to the team, becoming DiNozzo's partner in the field and also the third member of the MCRT.

Unfortunately, Viv's grief over her brother's death in the USS Cole bombing and her obsessive need for revenge jeopardized an important anti-terrorist operation in Rota, Spain. As a result, Blackadder either returned to the FBI or was fired from NCIS for good.

In September 2003, Secret Service Agent Caitlin Todd, originally assigned to the Presidential Protection Detail resigned from her position after it was revealed that she'd had a relationship with a colleague who was later murdered by a terrorist who in turn was attempting to kill the President.

Kate joined NCIS almost immediately, taking up the position of being DiNozzo's partner in the field and she also became the Junior agent of the team.

In late 2004, Special Agent Timothy McGee who had been previously assigned to the Norfolk Naval Base was reassigned to join the MCRT team on a permanent basis, becoming the Probie and also the fourth and final member of Gibbs's team.

In May 2005, the MCRT team suffered a devastating loss and found the structure of their team changed forever when Special Agent Kate Todd died after being shot in the head with a bullet from a sniper rifle that was being manned by rogue Mossad spy/terrorist Ari Haswari.

Following Kate's death, Director Thomas Morrow later resigned to accept a position at the Department of Homeland Security and was replaced by Jennifer Shepard, Gibbs's former lover and partner.

Haswari's rampage and vendetta against the team, especially Gibbs finally came to an end when he later died at the hands of his control officer and half-sister, Ziva David who in turn permanently replaced the deceased Kate on the team and also became the Mossad Liaison Officer to NCIS.

Things continued on at a normal pace up until May 2006 when Gibbs got caught in an explosion while on a suspicious foreign ship, talking to an undercover Agent. The impact of the blast killed the Agent and left Gibbs with injuries as well as placing him in a coma where he had flashbacks of the deaths of his first wife, Shannon and young daughter, Kelly.

With Gibbs out due to his injuries, Tony became the temporary leader of the team and led the investigation into the explosion as the group sought out PinPin Pula who was suspected of being a member of the illegal terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf.

Gibbs eventually awoke from his coma but unfortunately, it was later revealed that he had no memory of who Ducky was.

As Gibbs struggled, Jenny Shepard contacted his former mentor and partner, Michael Franks in hopes of having him aid Gibbs's recovery. She also told Ducky of how a drug dealer named Pedro Hernandez had been responsible for killing both Shannon and Kelly by shooting the NIS Agent assigned to protect them which had triggered a car crash, resulting in their deaths.

Ziva later secretly visited Gibbs at the hospital and helped break Gibbs's memory loss by head-slapping him which caused him to remember him head-slapping the members of his team as well as the moment Kate had been shot dead and Ziva herself had shot Ari in Gibbs's basement.

Having recovered, Gibbs returned to NCIS where the team had discovered that PinPin Pula intended to blow up the ship Cape Fear. His efforts failed as his superiors ignored his warnings, seemingly believing there was no such threat and as such, the team helplessly watched as the second a team got on board Cape Fear, the ship blew up, killing everyone on board including PinPin Pula himself.

Angered, Gibbs resigned from NCIS for good and headed to Mexico to stay with Franks.

Three or four months passed since Gibbs had abruptly quit NCIS in the wake of the terrorist bombing that had destroyed the Cape Fear and things had changed for the Major Case Response Team with Tony DiNozzo, the former Senior Agent of the team becoming team leader following Gibbs's resignation. As a result, Tim McGee had become the Senior Field Agent, Ziva's position remained unchanged and Michelle Lee was the new recruit or Probie of the team.

One day, while heading into work, Ziva witnessed an assassination attempt by two Mossad agents, only to discover that Mossad had not given the go-ahead for such an operation and that the person she had seen carry it out was thought to have been dead. As such, she went on the run with the FBI looking to arrest her as they believed she was a double agent.

With nowhere left to turn, she contacted Gibbs who almost immediately returned to the U.S to help her.

It was eventually revealed that the man had faked his death and that his female companion was an Iranian spy who had framed Ziva for the killing.

Ziva was eventually cleared of the alleged charges and returned to NCIS, bruised, beaten yet still alive.

A few days later, after investigating the case of a Petty Officer who had been convicted of murder but was later found to be completely innocent, Gibbs returned to NCIS for good, resulting in the team returning to its original dynamics while also resulting in Michelle Lee being removed from the team although she was later reassigned to the NCIS Legal Department.

It was soon discovered that Tony and Jenny were both working together on an undercover mission: to find and track down the current whereabouts of the international French arms dealer, La Grenouille.

At the end of the episode Angel of Death, Tony met his girlfriend Jeanne's father who was revealed to be Rene Benoit aka La Grenouille himself.

As a result of DiNozzo not reporting in, Jenny was eventually forced to reveal the full details of the undercover operation to Gibbs, McGee and Ziva. She did so along with the revelation that Jeanne Benoit, the woman that Tony had been dating the last few months was in fact La Grenouille's daughter which left Gibbs and the team stunned.

The team were also witnesses to an explosion that had seemingly DiNozzo but they later found that he was still alive and that someone else had been killed in the blast. But the undercover operation had ended in disaster when he had been forced to tell Jeanne his true identity and she had left him.

The NCIS team suspected that La Grenouille had disappeared but he later turned up dead in a pier, having suffered a single gunshot wound to his forehead.

A few months later, the FBI arrived at NCIS Headquarters with the news of La Grenouille's death and as such, put NCIS and its agents including Director Shepard under investigation. It was later confirmed that Trent Kort had killed La Grenouille and taken over his business with the blessing of the CIA although Gibbs found evidence suggesting that Jenny had been the one responsible for La Grenouille's death but simply buried it, choosing not to go any further for the time being.

In Judgment Day Part 1, Special Agent William Decker died from a heart attack but Jenny began to believe that it was murder and as such, embarked on a personal mission to find out the truth. She ditched Tony and Ziva who were her protection detail and then secretly brought Franks in from Mexico to help her. Together, the two discovered that Decker's death was connected to a covert mission that Jenny, Decker and Gibbs had worked on together in Paris nine years ago.

The search for information eventually brought them to an abandoned diner in the Californian desert and four hit-men soon tracked them down, resulting in a gunfight that ended with all four hit-men dying and Jenny eventually died from injuries sustained in the battle. Franks dispatched the four hit-men with a single bullet from his gun before fleeing the scene.

Hours later, Tony and Ziva who had been assigned to guard her arrived at the diner and discovered Jenny's body as well as the carnage that had taken place inside the diner.

In the second part of the finale, the team were all left devastated by Jenny's death. Gibbs learnt from Franks that Jenny had died protecting him and soon discovered that her death pointed to an assassin named Svetlana Chernitskaya whom Jenny herself had failed to kill in the mission in Paris with Gibbs himself being responsible for killing Svetlana's lover during the mission. He eventually lured Svetlana into a trap and just as she was about to kill him in revenge for her lover's death, Franks emerged and shot her dead.

Following Jenny's funeral, Deputy Director Leon Vance became the new NCIS Director and his first order of business was to dismantle Gibbs's team which he did by terminating Ziva's Liaison position with NCIS, sending her back to Israel, reassigning McGee to the Cyber Crimes Unit and sent Tony to the USS Ronald Reagan as an Agent Afloat before giving Gibbs three files containing information on his new team members.

Months passed and it was eventually revealed that Gibbs's new team was Michelle Lee, former FBI Agent Brent Langer and Daniel Keating. Even though they tried their best, they failed to live up to Ziva, DiNozzo and McGee's reputations.

In a talk in his office, Vance told Gibbs that the reason he'd split up his team and given him a new one was so that he could discover which of Gibbs's new people was betraying their country by selling state secrets to an unknown figure. Gibbs and Vance soon learnt and agreed that Langer had been the mole all along and that Lee and Keating were innocent.

McGee and Ziva returned, rejoining Gibbs's team which meant that Lee and Keating were being reassigned elsewhere. But it was soon revealed that Lee was the real mole and that she had framed Langer, killing him in cold-blood while later claiming self-defense for her actions.

A few days later, DiNozzo officially returned to Washington D.C, resulting in Gibbs's original team being reformed once again.

After a while, Gibbs began to suspect that Langer wasn't the mole and also believed that it was Lee instead so with Vance's approval and Abby's help, arranged a trap for Lee to unknowingly expose herself while keeping it a secret from his team although it later provoked DiNozzo's anger and also Ducky's wrath when he discovered one of his corpses had been used in the plan.

Eventually, Lee's role was exposed. In interrogation, she told Gibbs that she had been forced to kill Langer and steal secrets because her daughter, Amanda was being held hostage. It was later discovered that Amanda was actually Michelle's adopted sister.

Things came to a head when the team learnt that Ted Bankston was the one responsible for arranging the kidnapping of Amanda Lee all along. He took Michelle hostage and intended to escape on a bus but with Michelle giving a signal to shoot, essentially sacrificing herself, Gibbs shot and killed both of them, ending the saga once and for all.

A year or so later, Gibbs's team in Washington along with the Office of Special Projects in Los Angeles formed a temporary partnership to find out who had been responsible for the death of a Marine.

However, things went from bad to worse for both teams when they learnt that Michael Rivkin, a spy for Mossad and Ziva's old boyfriend, had also arrived in Los Angeles and was after the same terrorist cell that they were hunting down.

Unfortunately, Rivkin seemed to be a step ahead of them as everywhere they went, NCIS found the body of a terrorist member which meant that Rivkin was killing them before they could arrest one. Luckily, they later caught a break and were able to capture the owner of an auto shop just before Rivkin got to the location. Macy wanted him to leave the country as he was illegally operating on foreign soil while both Gibbs and DiNozzo simply wanted Rivkin out of the picture to protect Ziva and to stop her from getting hurt.

Things between Rivkin and DiNozzo soon came to a head in Ziva's apartment when Tony attempted to arrest the Mossad spy for killing the handler of the terrorist cell and also an ICE agent but the two got into a massive brawl that left Ziva's apartment in ruins, Tony suffering a broken arm and Rivkin bleeding, having been shot by DiNozzo in self-defense.

A few seconds later, Ziva entered the apartment and began trying to stop the injuries but it was too late as Rivkin later died in hospital, Ziva stating that Tony had killed him.

Mere hours later, Eli David, Ziva's father and the head of Mossad contacted Vance, ordering that he, Gibbs, DiNozzo and Ziva come to Israel to explain Rivkin's death.

Vance later granted the request and also made arrangements to bring Rivkin's body back to Israel so that he could be given a proper burial.

Hours later, the four arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel and handed Rivkin's remains over to the authorities while Ziva and the others went to Mossad Headquarters.

During a talk with Vance, Eli revealed that Mossad had uncovered evidence of a terrorist camp located in Northern Africa and that he had given Rivkin orders to kill the terrorists and handler because he couldn't risk them targeting his own people. He stated that he wanted to find the leader because the person had killed one of Eli's people.

Eventually, having obtained information that Ziva and Michael Rivkin were working together, Gibbs opted to leave her behind in Israel while he, Vance and DiNozzo returned to the U.S.

As such, Ziva resigned from NCIS and rejoined Mossad, taking Rivkin's place on the Kidon Unit and went on a mission to get to the terrorist camp. She and the team were caught up in a gunfight on board a ship.

With her people either dead or injured, Ziva opted to go it alone but was captured by Saleem Ulman, imprisoned and tortured for months.

Due to no contact, NCIS believed that she had been killed as they learnt that the ship she had been on had completely disappeared without a trace, having seemingly sunk during a storm. This prompted Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee to go on a mission to avenge her death.

As such, they traveled to North Africa where DiNozzo and McGee were captured by Ulman's troops, Saleem interrogating Tony personally for information into NCIS.

However, they later realized that Ziva was alive and thanks to Gibbs's efforts, Saleem died after being shot and the camp was stormed by various Marines, giving Tony, McGee and Ziva the chance to get to safety.

After meeting up with Gibbs, they all headed back to America where after going through psychological examinations, Ziva was allowed to rejoin the team and eventually resigned from Mossad as she wanted to become an NCIS Special Agent although Gibbs voiced his concerns that something like that probably wouldn't be possible given Ziva's recent actions.

Despite being rejected the first time, Ziva's application later went through, resulting in her becoming an official Agent and also the Probie of the team. In mid 2011, she was promoted to a full-time Field Agent, having officially served her Probie status.

A year later, in May 2012, the MCRT team fell under attack from terrorist Harper Dearing who was seeking revenge against the Navy for the death of his son.

Due to the news of the bombing, Ducky suffered a heart attack; while Gibbs, Abby, Tony, Ziva, McGee and Vance were in the building when an explosion occurred, and all their fates were unknown for a while.

In September 2012, it was revealed that everyone had managed to survive the explosion. Abby was treated for a minor injury, Tony and Ziva were finally freed from the elevator after spending several hours trapped inside, McGee was admitted to the hospital after Gibbs discovered that the younger man had a shard of glass in his side and Ducky was eventually treated for his heart attack. Gibbs got his revenge against Dearing by stabbing the man when Dearing attempted to shoot him while the two had a confrontation with one another.

In January 2013, the team suffered another double blow when both Ziva's estranged father, Eli and Leon Vance's wife, Jackie died after being hit by machine gunfire with the deaths leaving both Ziva and Vance himself devastated.

In April 2013, Ziva finally succeeded in avenging her father and Jackie Vance by killing the person who had arranged their deaths: Ziva's former friend, Ilan Bodnar.

In May 2013, Department of Defense agent Richard Parsons began a vendetta against NCIS, all of the purpose of bringing Gibbs to justice due to the fact that Gibbs had managed to evade being prosecuted for the last twenty years but Parsons's plan hit a snag due to Tony, McGee and Ziva choosing to resign to protect Gibbs much to Vance's shock.

In September 2013, a bomb blast resulted in Tom Morrow being left badly injured while leaving SECNAV Clayton Jarvis dead and in the aftermath of the bombing, Vance was left devastated while Gibbs later went to Iran, saving Parsons in the process.

A few hours later, McGee and Tony got their badges back and eventually rejoined the team although Ziva was not so fortunate as she went into hiding in Israel after learning that she and her friends were the targets of a terrorist group called the Brotherhood of Doubt.

Tony later went to Israel to find Ziva before it was too late and eventually found her with the two having their first kiss with things ending on a bittersweet note due to Ziva choosing to stay behind in Israel rather than return to the U.S. with Tony.

With Ziva now gone, NCIS and the team struggled to cope with her departure and for a time, Gibbs, Tony and McGee handled and solved various cases without the assistance and aid of a fourth member for a short time.

In November 2013, NSA analyst Eleanor Bishop joined the NCIS team after helping the team with a bugging case concerning Jarvis's replacement, new SECNAV Sarah Porter.

In the aftermath of the case, Bishop later became a Probie and an official NCIS Special Agent as well as the new and permanent replacement for Ziva David.

In May 2016, the team were devastated to learn of the death of former NCIS Special Agent Ziva David with DiNozzo discovering that he and Ziva had a daughter named Tali which later prompted DiNozzo to resign from both NCIS and the Major Case Response Team for good so that he could care for Tali.

Following DiNozzo's resignation, McGee was promoted to the rank of Senior Field Agent.

In September 2016, deep undercover agent Nicholas Torres appeared along with FLETC instructor Alexandra Quinn.

After a case concerning Torres's sister who worked for JAG, both Torres and Quinn joined the team on a permanent basis, the two becoming the newest members of the team and also full-time, active NCIS Special Agents, resulting in the team being composed of Gibbs, McGee, Bishop, Torres, Quinn and Reeves.

In May 2017, Gibbs, McGee and Torres travelled to Paraguay to conduce an operation to rescue a Navy SEAL who had disappeared in the region and although Torres and the SEAL managed to escape via a helicopter, Gibbs and McGee were captured and subsequently imprisoned by the rebels. The two men presumably being subjected to torture during their time in captivity which lasted for two months up until September 2017 where Gibbs and McGee were finally successful at escaping and returned to the States. A month later in October 2017, NCIS Special Agent and Forensic Psychologist Jacqueline Sloane joined the Major Case Response Team.

During the time Gibbs and McGee had gone missing, back in D.C., Bishop became the temporary Agent in Charge of the Major Case Response Team which was now composed of herself, Torres and Reeves following Quinn's resignation from the team which had come about due to Quinn presumably needing to take care full-time of her mother who had developed Alzheimer's.

Following Gibbs and McGee's return, the team was now composed of Gibbs, McGee, Bishop, Torres, Sloane, and Reeves.

In May 2018, Abby and Reeves were attacked by a mugger who was later revealed to be linked to a former figure from one of NCIS's cases that had been investigated nine years ago, in April 2009. The resulting incident left Reeves dead and Abby in a coma, Reeves's murder greatly devastating the team, particularly Torres.

Following the closure of the case, Abby resigned from her position as NCIS Forensic Scientist while announcing of her intention to go to London and bring Reeves's body back there for burial while also announcing that she would start a charity in honor of Reeves and his mother which would be dedicated to aiding the homeless.

In the aftermath of Abby's departure, Kasie Hines who had originally served as a temporary replacement for Abby which had occurred in March 2018, she soon permanently replaced Abby.

In March 2021, Gibbs physically assaulted a dog abuser resulting him getting suspended indefinitely from NCIS with his second-in-command Timothy McGee succeeding him as the agent in charge of the MCRT. Sloane resigns from NCIS after choosing to stay in Afghanistan with the intention of continuing the work her friend Darya started.

Two months later, in May 2021, Bishop resigned from NCIS to begin working on a long-term undercover operation with Odette Malone.

After Bishop's departure, Jessica Knight who had once been a member of an NCIS REACT team with her fellow NCIS colleagues all dying in an explosion and who had temporarily assisted the team subsequently joined the main NCIS Major Case Response Team in June 2021.

In June 2021, Gibbs resigned from the team and NCIS for good, opting to remain in Alaska indefinitely.

In the aftermath of Gibbs's retirement, Alden Parker, a Special Agent with the FBI who was also targeting down the serial killer Gibbs and local journalist Marcie Warren had been searching for during June 2021, was later fired from the FBI after failing in his duty to arrest Gibbs. Following that, Parker became the new NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the team, since Gibbs having recommended him for the position due to McGee not wanting to take Gibbs's position.

Members of the Main Field Team

  • Timothy McGee- An NCIS Special Agent is the second in command of the MCRT, who was originally assigned to the Norfolk Naval Base but presumably later grew tired of being confined to the office and began expressing an interest in becoming a full-time Field Agent which came true in the Season 2 premiere episode, See No Evil (episode). In addition to that, McGee was also re-assigned to join Gibbs's team on a permanent basis while leaving his original position of NCIS Special Agent at Norfolk Naval Base vacant and as such, became the fourth and final member of the team, a nickname he held for six years up until Ziva David became an official NCIS Agent. McGee's specialty is operating computers or anything technology-related. Following the resignation of fellow NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in May 2016, McGee was promoted to the rank of Senior Field Agent. Following Gibbs's suspension in May 2021, McGee became the acting leader of the team but after Gibbs resigned in June 2021, McGee became the second-in-command once again as former FBI agent Alden Parker became the new leader of the MCRT.
    • Out of all the entire cast, he's the longest serving cast member on the show alongside Ducky Mallard.
  • Nicholas Torres- An NCIS Special Agent who returned to Washington D.C. after disappearing during a deep-cover assignment. Later joined the team on a permanent basis.
  • Jessica Knight- An NCIS Special Agent who is also a former member of the Navy Yard's REACT Team. Knight who after her fellow NCIS colleagues all dying in an explosion and who had temporarily assisted the team subsequently joined the main NCIS Major Case Response Team in June 2021.
  • Alden Parker- An NCIS Supervisory agent, who was also a former FBI Agent. Originally Parker, a FBI Agent at time, who was also targeting down the serial killer Gibbs and local journalist Marcie Warren had been searching for during June 2021 was later fired from the FBI after failing in his duty to arrest Gibbs. After his firing, Parker became the new NCIS Special Agent in Charge of the team that same month, as Gibbs having recommended him for the position due to McGee not wanting to take Gibbs's position.

Support Personnel

  • Donald Mallard- The retired Chief Medical Examiner for NCIS. His main specialty is performing autopsies on the various bodies that the NCIS team encounter at crime scenes which Ducky often referring to the bodies he works on as his "guests". Ducky is also skilled at composing or preparing psychological profiles on various persons of interest. Took temporary time off from NCIS after suffering a heart attack upon learning of the bombing at NCIS Headquarters which a CEO/businessman-turned-terrorist carried out but is now back at work again, having returned to his original position. In Season 15, Ducky takes a leave of absence from NCIS in order to spend a semester teaching in New York, and in Season 17, he retires and becomes the new NCIS Historian, often returning to assist his NCIS colleagues.
  • James Palmer- The Assistant Medical Examiner who was originally a temporary replacement for Ducky's former assistant, Gerald Jackson after the latter was injured during the NCIS Hostage Crisis. A few hours after Kate Todd's death at the hands of Ari Haswari, Gerald resigned from his position for good, resulting in Palmer officially becoming Ducky's Medical Assistant in both the morgue and in the field on a permanent basis. Following Ducky's heart attack in the Season 9 episode, Till Death Do Us Part, Palmer became the Acting Medical Examiner and eventually returned to his original position when Ducky was cleared for duty in the last few seconds of the Season 10 episode, Phoenix. In Keep Going, it is revealed that Palmer has graduated from medical school and a fully-qualified ME, but prefers to remain as Ducky's assistant. Upon Ducky's sabbatical in Season 15, Dr. Palmer once again becomes the acting Medical Examiner but this time on a permanent basis, and is promoted to Chief Medical Examiner upon Dr. Mallard's retirement in 2019.
  • Kasie Hines - The current NCIS Forensics specialist, and Abigail Sciuto's replacement.

Former Members

  • Stanley Burley - An Agent Afloat on the USS Enterprise who was a former member of Gibbs's team who made his debut appearance in the Season 1 episode, High Seas where he asked Gibbs for help concerning two sailors who had overdosed on meth. Eight or nine years later, Burley returned in the Season 9 episode, Up In Smoke to help the team track down and thwart a terrorist who had tried to destroy the carrier U.S.S. Benjamin Franklin in Naples, Italy, under the orders of businessman/terrorist Harper Dearing. Burley was stabbed during the attempt to capture the man but survived his injuries and managed to return to Washington to see Gibbs put a poster of Dearing on the Most Wanted wall.
  • Vivian Blackadder - A former FBI agent who joined NCIS to get revenge against the terrorists responsible for the USS Cole bombing that killed her brother but later blew the anti-terror operation, presumably resulting in her employment at NCIS being terminated. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Gerald Jackson - Originally Ducky's Medical Assistant but was forced into rehab after being shot in the left shoulder by Ari Haswari in Bête Noire and later became Ari's prisoner in Kill Ari Part 1 with Ari using Gerald as a hostage in hopes of forcing Ducky into a meet which took place. Gerald was left go and fled back to inform Gibbs, McGee and Abby what had happened. It's presumed that after the whole Ari affair, Gerald, unable to cope with the psychological trauma resigned from his position for good and either returned to rehab or moved elsewhere. Current status and whereabouts also unknown.
  • Caitlin Todd- A former Secret Service agent who was part of the presidential protection detail on Air Force One, Kate later resigned from the Secret Service and joined NCIS, becoming a Special Agent and DiNozzo's new partner, fulfilling the role that Viv Blackadder had previously held. She also aided with the team with her profile training but her promising career came to an abrupt and very tragic end when in the Season 2 finale, Twilight just mere seconds after the team had stopped a terrorist attack on several Navy ships docking in Norfolk Harbor, rogue Mossad spy Ari Haswari shot Kate in the head, the impact of the single gunshot killing Kate instantly and leaving her NCIS colleagues devastated. In the days following her death, Kate was laid to rest at a cemetery in Indianapolis and was also buried with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
  • Paula Cassidy - Special Agent who worked on the team for a short period of time. Died after sacrificing herself to stop a suicide bomber in the Season 4 episode, Grace Period.
  • Jennifer Shepard - Promoted to become Special Agent in Charge of a team in Madrid and several years later, she became Director of NCIS, replacing Tom Morrow. It was also revealed that she had been Gibbs's former partner and girlfriend. Led the agency for three years during which she enlisted DiNozzo to help her capture René Benoit, a French-born arms dealer known as "The Frog" which ended in disaster. Later died from injuries sustained in a gunfight in an abandoned diner in the Californian desert in the Season 5 finale, "Judgment Day Part 1" with Ducky soon revealing that Jenny had been slowly dying from an unidentified terminal illness that she had been diagnosed with. She was subsequently replaced by Assistant Director Leon Vance who was also promoted to Director, resulting in Vance permanently replacing Jenny.
  • Michelle Lee - Joined the team as its fourth member and to also bring up the team back up to strength after Gibbs resigned. After Gibbs returned, she was transferred to Legal Department and then became part of Gibbs's new team. Was later exposed as the NCIS mole but later died after Gibbs shot her and the Weatherman who was using Lee as a human shield at the time during the Season 6 episode, Dagger.
  • Michael Franks - Gibbs's mentor and predecessor as Special Agent in Charge of the MCRT team that included Gibbs as a "Probie." Having retired, he used to reside in Mexico with his deceased son's wife and young granddaughter. While outside Gibbs's house, Franks was attacked by the Port-to-Port Killer, Jonas Cobb with the two men engaging in a brutal fight which ended when Cobb stabbed Franks, the resulting wound killing Franks instantly. Franks's death left the NCIS team, especially Gibbs and Abby devastated while Gibbs later discovered that Franks had been diagnosed with an unnamed terminal illness, possibly lung cancer and as such, had been given a few months to live.
  • Brent Langer - Former FBI Agent. Joined NCIS and became a member of Gibbs's new team after Vance reassigned McGee, Tony and Ziva to new positions. Was presumed to be the mole in NCIS but was later shot and killed at the hands of Michelle Lee, the real mole in the Season 6 opening episode, Last Man Standing
  • Daniel Keating - Joined Gibbs's team after Vance reassigned Gibbs's original team to new positions. Was later transferred back to Cyber Crimes Unit. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Rebecca Hastings- Brought on to replace Ziva David in her absence; quickly resigned in the episode Truth or Consequences. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Bryn Fillmore- Interim replacement for Rebecca Hastings who also quickly resigned in the episode Reunion. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Dr. Walter Magnus- Ducky's mentor and predecessor as Chief Medical Examiner for the MCRT who was later revealed to be suffering from Alzheimer's. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Ziva David- Originally a Mossad Officer and Ari Haswari's control-officer, Ziva arrived at NCIS just mere hours after her predecessor, Agent Caitlin Todd had died at the hands of Ziva's own half-brother, Ari Haswari. Upon learning the truth about Ari, Ziva shot him herself but she and Gibbs opted to keep the whole thing a secret, instead claiming that Gibbs himself had killed Ari. She later returned to the team, having been assigned as a Mossad Liaison Officer and although the team were reluctant at first, they soon accepted her. However, in May 2009, events concerning her old Mossad partner and boyfriend, Michael Rivkin soon grew out of hand with the whole thing resulting in Rivkin's death when DiNozzo attempted to arrest him for killing the leader of a terrorist cell in Los Angeles and also an ICE agent. Abandoned and left behind in Israel while Gibbs and DiNozzo returned to the US, Ziva severed all ties with NCIS and rejoined Mossad, returning to her father's side once again. Months later, though, NCIS received news that Ziva was dead, prompting Gibbs, DiNozzo and McGee to embark on a mission to avenge her death although DiNozzo and McGee were stunned when it was shown that Ziva was actually alive. After Gibbs shot the terrorist holding the other three hostage, the team fled and escaped back to the U.S, their mission of rescuing Ziva having been deemed a success. After arriving back in the U.S, Ziva was eventually cleared and deemed active for duty although she was confined to her desk instead of going out into the field. She later resigned from Mossad for good and after one such pressing case, finally achieved her dream of becoming an NCIS Special Agent which she achieved. She later passed her citizenship exams and was sworn in as a U.S citizen. Two years later, she finally became a fully-fledged Agent in the Season 9 episode, Nature of the Beast (episode). Her specialty is performing assassinations. In the Season 10 finale episode, Damned If You Do, Ziva along with Tony and McGee resigned from NCIS to protect Gibbs. While Tony and McGee remained in the U.S., Ziva returned to Israel but later went into hiding after learning that she and her colleagues were targets of a group called the "Brotherhood of Doubt" with her final appearance being in the Season 11 episode, Past, Present and Future where after kissing Tony, she opted to stay behind in Israel rather than return to the United States with Tony. Three years later, during "Family First", it was revealed that Ziva had been killed in a mortar attack on the farmhouse where she was staying and that she'd had a daughter named Tali. In the season 16 episode, She, Ziva had been working on a case that caught the interest of her replacement, Eleanor Bishop. After thought to have been dead for three years, Ziva returned in the NCIS Season 16 finale episode, Daughters (episode) and made regular appearances throughout NCIS Season 17, assisting the team with finding and stopping the terrorist, Mira Sahar Azam.
  • Anthony DiNozzo- The Senior Field Agent and second-in-command of the team, DiNozzo was a former Detective working at Baltimore who later joined NCIS after realizing his partner was a dirty cop. Has gone through three partners: Vivian Blackadder, Caitlin Todd and Ziva David with his fourth and current partner being Eleanor Bishop. DiNozzo also witnessed Kate's death at the hands of double-agent/mole Ari Haswari and was also responsible for the death of Mossad Officer Michael Rivkin who was Ziva's Mossad partner and boyfriend. Is the longest-serving Agent on Gibbs's team and often uses his title of Senior Field Agent to force others to do tasks he doesn't want to do, a tactic that sometimes usually works in his favor although it has worked against him as well. Despite his childish personality, DiNozzo is very sharp and does express concern for the other members of his team. His specialty is undercover work. He resigned from the team for good in the NCIS Season 13 finale episode, "Family First" after learning that his lover, former NCIS Special Agent Ziva David who had been killed in the attack on the David farmhouse had a daughter named Talia with Tony choosing to leave the team so that he could devote himself full-time to caring for Tali.
  • Alexandra Quinn- A former instructor at FLETC who trained both McGee and Bishop, Quinn joined the team and remained a member of the team for eight or nine months before resigning from the team for good in September 2017 to take care of her mother who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Current status and whereabouts unknown.
  • Clayton Reeves- An officer with MI6. He presumably served as an MI6/NCIS liaison officer although he did regularly assist Gibbs's team in some cases. He was shot and killed in the last few minutes of the NCIS Season 15 episode, "Two Steps Back".
  • Abigail Sciuto- NCIS's Chief Forensic Scientist who wears Goth clothing and had many tattoos. While these would her appear unfriendly, she was actually very cheerful and sweet with a bubbly personality. She was also fiercely devoted to her work and has a strong, unbreakable loyalty towards Gibbs and his team. Her specialty was Forensic Science. Retired from NCIS for good after being shot in the same incident that left her fellow NCIS colleague, Clayton Reeves dead.
  • Jacqueline Sloane- An NCIS Forensic Psychologist who regularly assisted the team with cases and often created profiles on their suspects. Resigned from the team and NCIS in March 2021 to live in Afghanistan so she could continue the work that her murdered friend, Darya had started.
  • Eleanor Bishop- An NSA agent who previously joined NCIS as a liaison between NCIS and NSA. She was later promoted to a full-time field agent, officially and permanently replacing former Mossad Liaison/NCIS Special Agent Ziva David. After Gibbs and McGee were taken as prisoners of war during the events of the NCIS Sesaon 14 finale episode, Rendezvous (episode), Bishop took command of the MCRT until their rescue in House Divided (episode) and subsequent return to duty in Twofer (episode). Later resigned from the team and NCIS in May 2021 to begin working on a long-term undercover operation with former CIA officer Odette Malone.
  • Leroy Jethro Gibbs- Special Agent in charge of the Major Case Response Team who prior to joining NIS/NCIS was a former Marine Sniper/Gunnery Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. He has something of a gruff personality, has had three failed marriages and also has a strong love or rather an addiction towards coffee. His first marriage ended tragically when his first wife and their young daughter were killed by a drug dealer who Gibbs later killed in revenge. Gibbs's specialty is long distance range shooting, a skill he developed and perfected during his days in the Marines and one that has come in handy on many occasions. After being suspended in March 2021 for assaulting a suspect during a case, Gibbs permanently resigned from the team and NCIS in June 2021, choosing to remain in Alaska rather than head back to Washington D.C.

Chain of command

  • Director of NCIS:
  • Deputy Director of NCIS
  • Assistant Directors of NCIS
  • Senior Field Agent:
    • Senior Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo (2003–2006, promoted)
    • Special Agent Timothy McGee (2006, temporary)
    • Senior Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (2006–2008, transferred)
    • Senior Special Agent Brent Langer (2008, KIA)
    • Senior Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (2008–2013, resigned)
    • Senior Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (2013–2016, Retired)
    • Senior Special Agent Timothy "Tim" McGee (2016–2017, POW)
    • Senior Special Agent Timothy "Tim" McGee (2017–2021)
    • Senior Special Agent Timothy "Tim" McGee (2021–Present)
  • Liaison Officers:
    • Officer Ziva David, Mossad (2005–2008, transferred)
    • Officer Ziva David, Mossad (2008–2009, resigned)
    • Officer Clayton Reeves, MI-6 (2016–2018, KIA)
  • Chief Medical Examiner:
    • Dr. Walter Magnus (prior to 1992), Retired
    • Dr. Donald Mallard (1992–2012, on medical leave)
    • James Palmer (2012, temporary)
    • Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (2012–2019, Retired) (on sabbatical, 2017–2019)
    • Dr. James "Jimmy" Palmer (2017–2019, acting)
    • Dr. James "Jimmy" Palmer (2019–Present)
  • Assistant Medical Examiner:
    • Gerald Jackson (2003–2004, resigned)
    • (Dr.) James "Jimmy" Palmer (2004–2019, promoted)

Members of NCIS Rota Major Case Response Team

  • Erica Jane Barrett - Special Agent in Charge and also the niece of former SECNAV Phillip Davenport. With the deaths of Levin and Cade, she is the only sole member of her own team left.
  • Gayne Levin - Senior Field Agent who was shot by Jonas Cobb, the Port-to-Port serial killer. Later bled to death from his injuries.
  • Simon Cade - Senior Field Agent who survived being shot by Jonas Cobb and recovered. A year or so later, he became the target of Anthony DiNozzo's investigation but died after being shot in the chest by an FBI agent who was later revealed to be an imposter.
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