Leroy Jethro Gibbs[4] (born November 21, 1954)[5] is a fictional character and the original protagonist of the CBS TV series NCIS, portrayed by Mark Harmon.

[6] He is a former U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper turned special agent who commands a team for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Gibbs is the most accomplished marksman on the team and the most skilled at handling violent standoffs; he depends on his other agents heavily for technical forensics and background checks.

Having found peace in Alaska for the first time since his family's death, Gibbs leaves NCIS in the 2021 episode "Great Wide Open" in search of adventure.

"[8] Gibbs was initially written as "not too far removed" from characters like Dr. Robert "Bobby" Caldwell and Dr. Jack McNeil, both previous roles by Harmon.

[13] His relationships with his coworkers were developed, with him becoming something of a father figure to Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Ziva David[14] and Forensic Specialist Abby Sciuto.

Mark Harmon's oldest son Sean has appeared on NCIS portraying a younger version of Gibbs in flashbacks.

It was revealed that she had committed suicide so that her husband and son would not have to watch her suffer, leaving Jackson a widower and also forcing him to raise young Gibbs all by himself.

He met his first wife Shannon (portrayed by both Darby Stanchfield and Aviva Baumann) in Stillwater, who worked at the local women's clothing store, Ellen's Dress Shop, speaking to each other for the first time while waiting for a train.

After giving his story to NIS (predecessor of NCIS), he and Ducky were abducted by Vito's cousin Johnny Zucado, who beat Gibbs until he knocked out a tooth.

As a Marine, Gibbs befriended Bushnell, future Senator Patrick Kiley, and Charles T. Ellison, three people he would once encounter during his time as an NCIS agent.

In February 1991, Shannon witnessed the murder of a marine by Mexican drug cartel leader Pedro Hernandez and agreed to testify against him, with her and their daughter Kelly being placed under the protection of NIS Special Agent Kurt Mitchell.

However, Mitchell was shot in the head by Hernandez while he was driving them and died instantly; both Shannon and Kelly were killed when the van crashed into a wall.

In the season 7 premiere, "Truth or Consequences", he kills the terrorists holding his team hostage from an exceptionally long distance and in "South by Southwest" he outshoots a professional hit-man in an approaching helicopter.

His knowledge of the Marine Corps and training as a sniper often comes into use,[19] as shown in the episodes "Ravenous", "Vanished" and "Twenty Klicks" where he uses his wilderness tracking skills and marksmanship to aid the investigation and/or get the team out of trouble.

Aside from his tendency to use military slang, he rarely mentions or speaks at length about his time in the Marine Corps although he is often referred to as "Gunny" by Navy and Marine officers,[20] occasionally dons a "USMC" hoodie or T-shirt when off duty[21][22][23][24] and has a replica of the iconic Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photograph framed and mounted above the fireplace in his home.

[25][20][26] He becomes particularly indignant when the guilty party is someone in a position of trust and authority, and he reacts violently on several occasions when apprehending corrupt high-ranking officers who committed crimes for monetary gain.

[29] Through a series of episodes over a few years, it becomes clear that Gibbs killed Pedro Hernandez in revenge for the death of his wife Shannon and his daughter Kelly.

Shortly thereafter, Director Vance files Abby's report proving that Gibbs killed Hernandez deep in the NCIS evidence room.

She is also said in the Season 1 episode, "Hung Out to Dry", to get drunk and dial Gibbs incessantly on the day of their former wedding anniversary, which leads him to aggressively disable or even ruin his phones to shut her out.

However, at the end, the pair reconcile after she discovers her boyfriend was innocent but cheating on her, and she gives Gibbs back his military dog tags that she held onto.

After Shannon and Kelly's deaths and before he married his second wife, it is suggested that Gibbs had an affair with a woman named Rose Tamayo in Colombia.

In season 9, Gibbs begins a romance with Dr. Samantha Ryan (Jamie Lee Curtis), a psychologist with the DOD PsyOps, who has collaborated with his team in several episodes.

1" that Gibbs received the Purple Heart after being injured in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War and was in a coma for nineteen days as a result.

[22][28] Note: The Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Medal ribbon is placed as a U.S. non-military personal decoration after U.S. military unit awards in the order of precedence.

During NCIS' first season on air, Ross Warneke wrote of Gibbs, "He's still wincing from three failed marriages and is a bit of a renegade within the service."

[41] In 2011, June Thomas from Slate magazine wrote, "Team leader Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is a coffee-slurping stoic, a former Marine often exasperated by his sometimes-silly underlings."

She also discussed the show and its characters' appeal to conservatives: "They're intelligent, hard-working, and devoted...Gibbs is an old-fashioned man: strong and silent, a skilled woodworker who doesn't lock his front door.

"[13] Alyssa Rosenberg of the Washington Monthly also suggested that Gibbs, "a former Marine with a Bush-like faith in his 'gut'", appeared as a distinctly conservative figure in the series, in contrast to "liberal stand-ins" McGee and Abby Sciuto.