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Dec 24 2008, 12:48 PM EST mchnelson 7 words added, 4 words deleted
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Jethro Gibbs Page 2 - NCIS




Add any information you know or learn from new episodes of Jethro Gibbs!
A song about Jethro by Ziva, McGee & Tony
With catlike tread, upon his prey he steals, And silent dread, of his great wrath, we feel.
No sound at all, he hardly says a word: The Gibbs footfall is something rarely heard
(So at our desks we meekly wait, so ready to investigate.)
Come N-Kiss ag-gee-ents, "Grab your gear" we're going to another showing,
Of Gibbs' re-luctance to let any villain get away. (for more lyrics, click on 'A song about Jethro')
pastel portrait of him from photo
Clues as to Gibbs and religion
He is possibly a Roman Catholic as he lights candles in church (A Weak Link,1.22) Though this isn't necessarily indicitive of a Roman Catholic upbringing. Many people light candles when visiting churches of other denominations. He talked to the Padre about his second divorce whilst he was a marine (The Good Wives Club, 2.02) (again, not necessarily indicative as 'padre' is a term used interchangeably for the military chaplains of all Christian denominations), and brings Special Agent Cassidy to a memorial service so that she can say a prayer for her team (Grace Period, 4.19). He turns up to work on a Sunday morning, in sports jacket, tie and chinos. He ignores indirect questions about where he has been - Series 3 Episode. At Fan Fest the Gibbs dog tags that were handhanded around haveto us had "PROT" on them, so they have him makedmarked as a Protestant. O type blood group.group BTW.
Languages and other cultures
  • Is friends with the Japanese chef in his local sushi bar where he takes Private Yost, after getting the chef to role play a Japanese soldier to help Yost recall traumatic events. (Call of Silence, 2.07)
  • Liked living in Mexico but chaffed at Mike Franks' laziness. (Shalom, 4.01).
  • Sees family as family, no matter what their background are: protects the illegal alien daughter-in-law of Mike Franks, trusts the North Korean spy in (Light Sleeper, 3.14) because she is a loving mother and her husband believes in her.
  • He's also fluent in American Sign Language as seen in multiple episodes conversing with Abby.
  • He reads Chinese (My Other Left Foot, Episode 1.12). Gibbs knows what the tattoos mean on the red-headed suspect.
What we think we know about Gibbs in the military
  • He joined the USMC where he became a scout sniper and attained the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. Referred to as Gunny.
  • He was a military policeman who allowed prisoners to have smoke breaks when he was guarding them.
  • He is too young for Vietnam but did see combat in Panama and Gulf War I .
  • While participating in Operation Just Cause and Desert Storm, he was awarded the Purple Heart to add to his Silver Star, Combat Action Ribbon, South West Asia Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal and National Defense Service Medal.
  • His last service with the Marines was whilst in Desert Storm (In Gulf War I). He learned his family had been murdered and he was caught in an explosion which left him in a coma for 19 days.
  • He had leg injuries (his knee remains bad but it doesn't stop him running like an athlete and outrunning Tony in Silver War, 3.04). He attended the graves of his wife and child whilst using crutches.
  • He was injured and went unconscious again in 2006 (Hiatus: I, 3.23) when a terrorist bomb on a merchant navy ship places him in a selective coma. Each time, he did not want to face the loss of his family so his brain chose to stay comatose to avoid the emotional pain.
What we know Gibbs' in NCIS
  • Gibbs joined NIS in August 1991 (it became NCIS in 1992) but it is also said he joined in 1992.
  • He met Mike Franks via the investigation of his wife Shannon and his daughter Kelly's murder.
  • Mike Franks left the case folder on the desk opened so that Gibbs could take out the killer himself, which he did with his sniper rifle in Mexico.
  • Mike Franks came to know Gibbs well enough to leave him with the file so that he could find the murderer in Mexico.
  • When Gibbs joined NIS, he was Mike Franks' probie and gets headslapped and has to carry all of the equipment as we see this in a flashback.
  • We know that Gibbs did not understand how Franks could just quit after the Khobar Towers were bombed in 1996 (although we know that Franks had given warnings that were ignored and was disgusted so he quit).
  • We know that Director Jenny Shepard was trained by Gibbs.
  • We know that Gibbs and Shepard and Ducky worked together in France and that Gibbs and Shepard were in Paris, specifically, when Gibbs was arrested because Jenny made a probie error.
  • We know that Shepard helped Gibbs and Ducky escape by arranging a sailboat for them to sail across the English Channel to England when Ducky pushed someone off a 60ft cliff to the lake below. (That person survived though).
  • We know that Jenny sent a Dear John letter to Gibbs (when?)
  • We know that Gibbs was posted to Moscow and married Stephanie, and this was after his relationship with Jenny, and it was already his second divorce/forth marriage. (He never divorced his first wife, Shannon).
  • We know that Gibbs has become a highly skilled investigator who specializes in interrogation.
  • We know that Gibbs heads up the Major Crimes Unit for NCIS, out of its Washington D.C. HQ.
  • We know that Gibbs owns a house in Washington D.C. and he lived in this house whilst a marine, with Shannon and Kelly, because Kelly buried her time capsule in the back garden.
  • We know that Gibbs is endowed with almost infallible intuition, a.k.a. "The Famous Gut". He uses these skills to his advantage while working on a case.
  • We know that Gibbs does not advance his career by sucking up to bosses or politicians. We know that he tends to think outside of the command structure if that helps him.
  • We know that Gibbs will break the law and break his own rules to protect fellow marines and NCIS colleagues if he believes in their actions/cause and if justice is ultimately being served. Example :In (Family Secret, 3.16) where no one was murdered, just a kidney transplant "hidden", he breaks the chain of evidence and substitutes false evidence. In (Faking It, 4.04) Mike Franks kills a terrorist whom they will never get evidence against, admittedly after the terrorist tries to kill Franks. Gibbs declined to treat Franks as a murderer.
  • Gibbs has added to his medal collection with the Meritorious Service Medal, although he did not attend the award ceremony sending Tony in his place. He has won it 6 times and failed to collect the award 6 times. We also know that Tony keeps all these decorations in his desk drawer inside a locked box.
  • We know that Gibbs trained and worked with Stanley (one of his former probies) for 5 years before Tony joined his team, Stanley and Tony met on an Aircraft Carrier where Stanley is stationed. Tony was very jealous of the relationship between Gibbs and Stanley (High Seas,1.06).
  • We know that Tony has worked with Gibbs for two years prior to the start of the NCIS show.
  • We know that Abby has worked with Gibbs for many years (all his years in Washington D.C., presumably).
  • We know that Ducky has worked with Gibbs for more than 10 years.
  • We know that Ducky had not seen Jen for many years when Jen became Director.
  • We know that Gibbs said "it was six years ago" when Jen asked if the past would be a problem when Gibbs found out that Jen was to be director.
The Gibbs/Shepard connection at work
As well as being married four times, each time to a redhead, Gibbs also seems to have had a "dalliance" with NCIS Director Jenny Shepard, who is also a redhead: the time line for this relationship is very muddled.

When Jenny Shepard joined NCIS, she was trained by Gibbs. She joined 10 plus years ago. They worked together in Paris and had an affair that started on their second night together (Kill Ari: II, 3.02) during a stakeout scene conversation. Jenny made an error (shot someone: mentioned in Probie, 3.10) and Gibbs covered for her (revealed in Frame Up, 3.09) and Gibbs was arrested by the police (various flashbacks). Ducky was working with them at the time and in (Yankee White, 1.01) he reveals that he pushed a French Medical Examiner off a cliff and into a lake.

When Gibbs & Jenny meet up again upon Jen's appointment as Director in (Kill Ari: II, 3.02), Gibbs mentions that the past relationship between them "was 6 years ago, it won't be a problem". Does this mean she came back to USA to work?

When Ducky sees Jen in the lift in Kill Ari:II, Jen greets him as a long lost friend whom she has not seen for a long time. Presumably more than 6 years, as with Gibbs.
Jen and Gibbs in USA: Jen is familiar with Gibbs' basement. She saw the boat Diane that he burned because of the breakdown of his marriage with Diane. Jen knows that he "didn't care who sailed off on Diane" (Kill Ari: II, 3.02). Jen prefers to giving up relationships to attain her position (conversation with Tony in her office (season 4, episode ?).
Jen and Gibbs refer to the 'Dear John letter' that Jen wrote to Gibbs, ending their relationship (episode ?).

We know that Gibbs once asked her to stay? go with him back to USA? marry him? because, in (Probie, 3.10). Gibbs says to Jen: "You have to learn to say no!" and Jen replies: "I did, Jethro. Or have you forgotten?" and walks out the door.
Gibbs' time in Washington: We know Gibbs was working in Washington 10 years ago when he caught the serial killer and rapist in (Mind Games, 3.03), who was terrorizing female co-eds from Georgetown University.

Gibbs says to Ducky: "10 years ago I couldn't break him."
Ducky: "You already lost one relationship as a result of this case and she was a wonderful girl."
Gibbs: "I didn't leave her, she left me."
Ducky: "No, you made it impossible for her to stay."
Which means 10 years before (Mind Games, 3.03), Gibbs was married or at least living with someone in Washington D.C. and that the relationship fell apart over his work on the case.
Gibbs' relationships with Wives (needs more development and correction):
His first wife Shannon was the only one to bear him a child, a daughter named Kelly. In (Requiem, 5.07), his daughter's best friend, Maddie Tyler, turns up and seek help from Gibbs, she was around 23yr: (his daughter was 8 when murdered). That would only allow 15 years to have elapsed since he joined NCIS. In one episode, (Yankee White, 1.01) the figure is given as 19 years, but Gibbs joined NIS in 91',NIS officially became NCIS 92' (which, at start of Season 5 in 2007, is only 16 years ago so it seems writers have settled on 92' as his start year now).

But then the writers stated in (Hiatus: II, 3.24) that Gibbs joined NCIS in August 1991, 2 months after he was released from hospital after being wounded in desert storm. He was released in June 1991. We know his ex-wife no.2-Diane ruined him financially before Fornell married her despite Gibbs' warning. However, we're still missing the name of one of his ex-wives, no.3-possibly the one that prank calls him on their anniversary.

In (Ex-Files, 5.03), it was mentioned that he got Stephanie pregnant but she miscarried.

In one of the earlier seasons, we learn that his ex-wife no. 2-Diane, who was also married to Tobias Fornell, cleared off with all his money, as she later did with Fornell.

Gibbs has kept sound tapes sent to him by Shannon and Kelly when he was in Iraq (first Iraq war), and it has Kelly playing "hush little baby don't say a word" in (Ex-Files, 5.03) and in (Requiem, 5.07). We hear that Gibbs used to sing this to Kelly and she liked it (she is smiling in his recollection).

In (Requiem, 5.07), Gibbs unearths a time capsule created by Kelly but he never opened it and returned it to where Kelly buried it. Gibbs did not recall who Maddie was but Maddie remembers Kelly as her best friend and has put a photo of Kelly on her Myspace profile to that effect. Maddie is not self-assured and is a young 23 year old but she is articulate, pretty and smart. She is studying towards a 'undergraduate degree at Georgetown University. She still likes horses, as did Kelly. Gibbs smiles at the thought that Kelly would have grown up to be like Maddie. Maddie expresses desire to return to Oakland, California after she finishes her degree. It is not expected that she will pursue a 'bond' with Gibbs. Gibbs looks at photos of Kelly and Maddie, both 8 years old with a smile which would imply some form of 'healing' from the grief that haunts him. His vision whilst technically dead from drowning at the end of the episode, is of Kelly telling him that he is loved, that it is OK and that he should go back.

In (Requiem, 5.07), Gibbs discloses to Ducky that he was not there for Shannon and Kelly, but he can be there for Maddie and that he must therefore rescue Maddie. Ducky is anticipating that Maddie would already be dead 6 hours into her abduction. (We are happy that Ducky was wrong). It makes no sense that Maddie was kept alive by her abductors when she could tell them nothing to their benefit, so it is nice that fiction writers kept her alive to permit a spectacular rescue by Tony DiNozzo of Maddie and Gibbs. DiNozzo tries to talk Gibbs back to life by saying "Don't do this to me Boss!" and "Don't make me kiss you!". But he does it anyway to perform resuscitation on both Gibbs and Maddie. Maddie holds Gibbs' hand when she revives and the touch seems to 'wake' Gibbs. Perhaps Maddie personifies Kelly?

Gibbs and his boats in the basement: His 3rd wife (ex-wife no.2-Diane) later married FBI Agent Tobias Fornell, despite Gibbs' warnings that she would run off with all his money. Gibbs has named one of his self-built wooden boats after each of his wives, and has in turn burnt or destroyed them when the relationship ended. No one is exactly sure how Gibbs manages to remove the boats from his basement workshop, although he told Mini Gibbs (Honour Code, 3.07) that he could take out a wall in his basement and make a ramp (but why would he remove the ramp and restore the wall each time?)
Gibbs joining NCIS: We know from the episode (Hiatus: I, 3.23) that he was recruited to NIS by Special Agent Mike Franks. Franks investigated the murder and purposely left the file open for Gibbs to locate and kill the drug-lord who could not be brought to trial. Gibbs was Mike Franks' Probie and Franks still calls him Probie.
The mysterious redhead in the Mercedes sports car:The general assumption seems to be that the redhead is just a friend. He was involved with a certain red headed, more like strawberry blonde Lt.Col. Hollis Mann from Army CID (Criminal Investigation Command) during Season 4 until (Ex-Files, 5.03). She retired to Hawaii. It was presumed she would join the queue to be the 5th Mrs Gibbs and, perhaps, the 4th ex-wife; the first wife is not counted an 'ex-wife' because she remained married to him until her death.
The secret of his first wife and daughter: Only Ziva David, Gibbs and Gibbs' former boss Mike Franks know about Shannon and Kelly. As evidenced in (Kill Ari: II, 3.02), when Gibbs' first "non-case related" question to Ziva was: "Do you know about my first wife and my daughter?" He seems very concerned that she keeps quiet about this. Jenny and the rest of the team do not learn of Gibbs' first wife and daughter until (Hiatus: I, 3.23) at end of third season.
Wife #4, whom we were originally led to believe was#3. - We learn at in (Ex.File, 5.03) that Jethro was married to Stephanie. They spent a year in Moscow, which seems to have pleasant memories for them and that she suffered a miscarriage. What we don't know is why they divorced. Though Stephanie suspected Gibbs had an affair with Director Jenny Shepard prior to Gibbs marrying Stephanie. They all know the famous silent stare that Gibbs uses in lieu of communication and talking. Maybe these details will come to the forefront in time. We know that Stephanie knows Gibbs would never use her bad luck with men against her and that he wants her to know that: "me, us...not your fault" and her reply is: "wasn't anybody's fault" and she does not blame him for their break up. She seemed to know about his first wife and daughter...she rubs Kelly's name that is painted on the boat and says "sweet". We know that Gibbs and Stephanie remains on good terms when she hugged her and send her off at the end of the episode (Ex-File, 5.03)
The Rules according to L.J. Gibbs thus far: (imported from the NCIS Character page for L.J. Gibbs)
  • Rule #1: Never let the suspects stay together.
  • Rule #1: Never screw over your partner.
  • Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene.
  • Rule #3: Never believe what you're told. Double check.
  • Rule #3: Never be unreachable.
  • Rule #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.
  • Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie.
  • Rule #8: Never take anything for granted.
  • Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife.
  • Rule #12: Never date a co-worker.
  • Rule #13 Never ever involve lawyers
  • Rule #15: Always work as a team.
  • Rule #18: It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission.
  • Rule #22: Never, ever interrupt Gibbs in interrogation.
  • Rule #23: Never mess with a Marine's coffee if you want to live.

Unofficial Rule A: Never say you're sorry, it's a sign of weakness. (Yankee White " You don't need to crochet that one")
Unofficial Rule B: Never believe in coincidence.
Unofficial Rule C: But we do believe in bad luck.
Unofficial Rule D: Don't speak geekspeak, speak English. (Family, 5.02)
Unofficial Rule E: Headslap only the back of your underlings' heads: anything else would be demeaning.
Unofficial Rule F: Always anticipate
Unofficial Rule G: Know how to do every job that your underlings can do.
Unofficial Rule H: If a computer doesnt work, hit it.
Unofficial Rule I: Always acknowledge good work by underlings.
Unofficial Rule J: When using Truth by Intimidation, always remain silent for at least a count of 5 after doing the act of
intimidation, at which point the canary will sing.
Unofficial Rule K: When in the interrogation room, stop the recording devices when the information strays into
personal matters irrelevant to the investigation (eg: "Dont ask. Don't tell in the military,
revelations of unrequited love.)
Unofficial Rule L: When your cellphone breaks, have McGee "reboot" it.
Unofficial Rule M: Always ask for permission to touch the body: it belongs to the Medical Examiner.
Unofficial Rule N: When doing a shootout, dont kill the hostage and avoid shooting off their ear.
Unofficial Rule O: Don't call Ziva 'Ma'am' and don't call the Director 'Madam Director', if you want to live.
Unofficial Rule P: When hacking the CIA, give underlings a get out of jail free pass.
Unofficial Rule Q: When breaking others' rules, do not get caught.\
Unofficial Rule R: Team members don't hold out.