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An experienced former U.S. Marine scout sniper who served in Operation Desert Storm
and reached the rank of Gunnery Sergeant, Agent Gibbs is a highly skilled investigator and interrogator endowed with virtually
infallible intuition and his famous gut. He uses these skills to his advantage while working on a case. He also tends to think
out of the command structure if that helps him.
During his service in the USMC, Gibbs earned a Purple Heart for a head
wound suffered during Desert Storm. Gibbs' awards include Silver star, Purple Heart, Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Combat
Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation, Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Marine Corps Expeditionary
Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Humanitarian Service
Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon, United Nations Medal, Kuwait Liberation
Medal and Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia).
At one point, Gibbs also served as Military Police Officer in Jacksonville,
NC(Camp Lejeune).
Throughout the first three seasons, much of Gibbs' personal history had been kept a mystery even
from his NCIS colleagues. It was known, initially, that Gibbs had been married and divorced three times and that he once had
a romantic relationship with the recently appointed director of NCIS, me Jenny Shepard. In the first season, he was also occasionally
seen in the company of a mysterious redheaded woman, suggesting an active personal life away from NCIS, even though his colleagues
were never able to identify the woman (in the episode my other left foot it is revealed that Gibbs prefers redheads).
The only evidence of an active personal life is his relentless commitment to the building of wooden boats in his basement
using only hand tools. As of the fourth season, it is alleged by me that he should now have a fleet of four. Gibbs revealed
that they were named after his wives and burnt when the relationship ended. Gibbs' last boat that he's been working on is
named "The Kelly," after his daughter.
In the third season finale, "Hiatus" ( part Iand part II numerous secrets about
Gibbs' past were revealed. It was learned that he had been married four times; that he had had a child with his first wife;
and that both were killed by a Mexican drug dealer while Gibbs was serving in Desert Storm in 1991. Upon his return, the NCIS
lead investigator (Mike Franks) at the time secretly provided Gibbs with information as to the Mexican's whereabouts; Gibbs subsequently
tracked down the man and used his sniper skills to kill him. The episode also revealed that Jenny Shepard was Gibbs' partner
when she joined NCIS, before their romantic involvement. In the fourth season episode sandblast Gibbs has become involved
with Army Lt.Col. Hollis Mann, who works for United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), the U.S. Army's version of NCIS,
leading several of his colleagues to speculate that she could end up being his fourth ex-wife.
During Desert Storm,
Gibbs was caught in an explosion which left him in a coma for 19 days. In 2006, another explosion, caused by a terrorist's
bomb, likewise left him in a coma, followed by a period of selective amnesia in which the trauma of his wife and child's death
15 years earlier caused Gibbs to forget much of his life after that point. In fact, he nearly cries at one point because he
misses them so much (this is unusual for Gibbs, who is usually unemotional except for anger and amusement). With the aid of
his former junior partner, Jenny donald mallard and finally ziva david Gibbs is able to regain his memories. When his NCIS
superiors are unwilling to prevent a terrorist bombing from destroying a freighter and a navy vessel, Gibbs resigns from NCIS
and as the third season ends, he takes up residence in Mexico with his former mentor, Mike Franks. At the start of the fourth
season, however, he returns to Washington in order to help Ziva clear her name after she is framed for the murder of three
men; although he subsequently returns to Mexico, the second episode of the season (escaped) sees him once again returning
to NCIS.
Since Gibbs' return, Shepard has been keeping certain NCIS operational details secret from him, at one point
ordering that all the view screens in the control room "go dark" when Gibbs enters in order to prevent him from seeing details
of an ongoing operation. When Gibbs asks Shepard about this, she replies that the operations are "need to know, and you don't
need to know". Exactly why Gibbs is being excluded has yet to be revealed.
Gibbs tends to be reticent, and reluctant
to reveal his feelings.
He is mostly called "Gibbs" by colleagues, "boss" by tony and mcgee, and "Jethro" by Jenny
Shepard and Ducky Mallard. He has been married four times to red-haired women his later three marriages all ended badly. The
first wife was murdered, one ex-wife attacked him with a golf club and now stalks him on the anniversary of their split, and
the other attacked him with a baseball bat. In season 5 his third ex-wife appears and is identified as Stephanie Bronwen Flynn. Jenny Shepard, another former love interest, is also a redhead. A couple of very early episodes suggested
an attraction existed between Gibbs and kate todd, but any possibility of this going beyond flirting and jokes evaporated
when he indicated to her that it was a bad idea for NCIS operatives to have a relationship (a possible reference to Jenny
Shepard). Gibbs' relationship with Ziva is one of trust although he tends to keep her on a bit of a short leash because he
knows how dangerous she can be. Gibbs has also had to remind her more than once that suspects are needed to be brought in
alive.
During the first season, Gibbs develops a habit of smacking his subordinates on the head if they do or say something
foolish. Tony is the most frequent target of this, though most of the others have all endured their share of smacking as well.
Gibbs is not above giving himself the same treatment; in a third season episode (family secrets) he is seen smacking his own
head when he chooses to tamper with evidence in order to protect a marine's career. In the season three finale, Hiatus, one
flashback shows that Gibbs got this idea from his own boss back when he was still a "probie".
Gibbs is fond of abby
and regularly bribes her with her favorite "Caff-Pow!" beverage. He is so fond of her, in fact, that when a former date of
hers stalks her, Gibbs threatens him by saying "The only reason you're still able to walk is because I never heard about you
until today!" Abby is the only person to whom Gibbs regularly shows any affection, usually in the form of a hug or a kiss
on the cheek, and she reciprocates just as much. Similarly, she is often the only one who can get away with teasing him. He
is particularly protective of her, almost failing to control his anger when she is nearly killed in an episode of season four,
driven Professionally, he has a lot of faith in her knowledge of forensics, often relying on her for answers and help
in solving cases; he once declared that in the lab, "Abby doesn't have accidents."
Gibbs can be extremely charming
in an understated way and has a dry sense of humor. He is unforgiving of his or his colleagues' mistakes and demands high
standards of himself and his team.
He has a coffee addiction. He also appears to be farsighted, as early episodes of
the series reveal that he has difficulty reading fine print, though he refuses to wear reading glasses.
Gibbs is usually
portrayed as a complex man of mystery and intrigue. He likes to use his marine training to give him an advantage over other
people, such as when he silently appears behind people.
When it was revealed that his wife and daughter were murdered
by a drug runner, Ducky casually states that they can close the book on the drug runner's disappearance, because there is
no way that Jethro would have allowed the man to remain alive. In the same episode it was revealed that Jethro gained access
to the case file, crossed the border into Mexico, and killed the man with a sniper rifle.
Whenever he needs to have
a private talk with someone, usually special agent tobias fornell (FBI) but also occasionally Ziva and others with whom
Gibbs confides, he takes them to his "Conference Room," which is basically just the main elevator of NCIS headquarters with
the emergency brake pulled.
Gibbs has displayed an uncanny awareness of his co-workers activities. An oft-repeated
scene has Gibbs walking in on his team-members having an off-topic conversation: even though they immediately break off to
focus on the case at hand, Gibbs drops a remark later on referring back to the earlier conversation. In escaped Tony attempts
to replicate this action by "listening in" on their conversation with a cell phone and an opened line. However, Gibbs trumps
him after his attempt.
His taste in "pop culture" is rarely discussed; however, in the series pilot, he is revealed
to have seen the movie Air Force One with harrison ford. A recurring theme is how out of step Gibbs is with popular culture.
In Season
4 Gibbs has been shown to be able to speak Russian.
He also has a tombstone behind the wall on his cubicle. Presumably
it is his wife's or daughter's.
Gibbs has very little knowledge of technology and shows little patience when exposed
to tech talk. He believes everything can be rebooted. He can never understand McGee's or Abby's technological talk and sometimes
can get angry when they do not explain their findings in simple language which Gibbs can understand. However, Gibbs still
has some understanding based within the field of technology. He has trashed the computer on his desk six times, before the
NCIS technicians realized that he was "smacking them to make them go faster." On occasion, however, it is suggested that this
apparent lack of knowledge may, on occasion, be a ruse.
He has been known to communicate in American Sign Language
with Abby Sciuto.
Gibbs has some rules that teaches to his co-workers:
1: Never let suspects stay together
/ Never screw over your partner.
2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene
3: Don't believe what you're told. Double
check / Never be unreachable
4: If you have a secret, the best thing is to keep it to yourself. The second-best
is to tell one other person if you must. There is no third-best
7: Always be specific when you lie
8: Never take anything
for granted
9: Never go anywhere without a knife (various episodes)
12: Never date a coworker
15: Always
work as a team
18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission
22: Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation
23: Never mess with a Marine's coffee if you want to live
There are also two more rules without a number: "Never say
you're sorry, it's a sign of weakness", and "Never marry a woman who eats more than you" (according to DiNozzo).
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