Law Enforcement Around the World

Gregory Ford

Gregory Ford
Special Agent | Assistant Director, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)


I had a great childhood in Fall River, MA due to the efforts of my parents, Ken and Nancy, and my grandmother, Irene, but Fall River was a tough city. Some of what I observed growing up in the city instilled in me a desire to protect people from the criminal element. This drove me towards law enforcement (LE). My first LE position was as an intern for the New Bedford, (MA) Police Department (NBPD) Narcotics Unit. I learned the amazing impact local police have on their community and the level of danger they face every day. I credit NBPD and the amazing officers I worked with for helping me establish an experience base and work ethic that I was able to build upon over my entire LE career.

In 2000, I was hired as a special agent by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and was assigned to the Washington, DC office. I worked money laundering, tax evasion, false claims, terrorist financing, identity theft, and was assigned to the FBI Safe Streets and Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Some of my most memorable times include responding to the 9/11 attacks, working Operation Towhook (stolen vehicle money laundering), and supporting former President Reagan’s funeral.

In 2004, I joined the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a special agent in the Washington, DC Field Office. While protecting citizens from crime was fulfilling, protecting those who serve in the military and their family members was even more fulfilling. I worked procurement fraud and led the major case response team before transferring to the Far East Field Office in Yokosuka, Japan where I worked narcotics, and investigated child sexual abuse, felonious assaults, sexual assaults, and deaths. As a first level supervisor, I led the criminal squad before transferring to the NCIS Inspector General’s Office at headquarters. I became the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the office responsible for all Navy espionage investigations then spent a year in-residence and obtained an advance degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI. I served as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Southeast Asia Field Office with responsibility over all NCIS mission areas throughout 26 countries and was then selected to be the Assistant Director (AD) of the NCIS Criminal Investigations Directorate with responsibilities over the criminal investigative mission worldwide, along with policy development, training, oversight, and senior level engagement with LE partners and Department of Navy senior officials.

Me and part of my leadership team from my tour as the Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southeast Asia Field Office, based in Singapore.
Me and part of my leadership team from my tour as the Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southeast Asia Field Office, based in Singapore.

 

Some of my most memorable times at NCIS include investigating the murder of a Japanese citizen which resulted in the subject receiving 30 years in Japanese prison, working undercover narcotics operations with Japanese police in Tokyo, Japan, conducting LE response training with Singapore LE agencies, and helping Navy dependent children by working to put child predators in prison. I’ve made many sacrifices in furtherance of my career in LE but the satisfaction I receive from public service, the professional relationships I’ve built with U.S. and foreign LE agencies, and the positive impact my work has had on the lives of others, far outweigh the long hours and the hardships of frequent relocations.

I’ve had the privilege of working with great officers and agents from many local and state police departments as well as many federal agencies. I’ve also worked with outstanding officers from foreign police departments. No matter where you are in the world there is a bond between LE officers/agents brought about by the common goal of protecting people from the criminal element. As strong as that bond is and as helpful as those relationships have been, for me, it is the support I’ve received from my wife Karen and my boys, Ethan and Logan, and the pride they have in what I do that will always be most important to me. LE is more than a job, it is a lifestyle of commitment to public service.

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