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NCIS Leadership

Charlton Howard
Chief Intelligence and Information Sharing
Naval Criminal Investigative Service

Special Agent Charlton T. Howard III graduated with merit from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1980 and subsequently served on active duty for five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an intelligence officer. In 1988, he received a Juris Doctor degree with Honors from the University of Maryland School of Law, where he was named Editor in Chief of the Maryland Law Review. Special Agent Howard later served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Francis D. Murnaghan, Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and as an Assistant State’s Attorney (criminal prosecutor) in Baltimore, MD.

Special Agent Howard transferred from the Marine Corps Reserve to the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program in 1988 and was assigned to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a reserve agent. In 1990, he was recalled to active duty for the Persian Gulf War, serving as an NCIS officer agent. At the conclusion of the conflict, Special Agent Howard accepted an appointment as a civilian NCIS special agent at the NCIS Resident Agency (NCISRA) Camp Lejeune, NC. He transferred to NCISRA Parris Island, SC in 1993, and in 1996 was re-assigned to NCISRA Singapore, where he was responsible for NCIS operations throughout Southeast Asia.

Special Agent Howard was assigned to NCIS Headquarters in 2000, subsequently serving as a Desk Officer, Supervisory Special Agent, and Division Chief in the Counterintelligence and Counterterrorism Directorates. In 2004, he was assigned as Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Southeast Field Office, Mayport, FL. Special Agent Howard was promoted to Deputy Assistant Director, NCIS in 2005 and named Chief of the Department of the Navy Multiple Threat Alert Center (MTAC). In 2006, he was assigned as the Director of the Strategic Counterintelligence Directorate (SCID), Multi-National Force – Iraq, a joint agency responsible for all significant counterintelligence investigations and operations in the Iraqi theater. Following his Iraq tour, Special Agent Howard was appointed Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Washington Field Office. In 2008, he was promoted to Assistant Director, appointed the first NCIS Information Sharing Executive, and named head of the NCIS Directorate of Intelligence. Special Agent Howard was appointed Chief, Directorate of Intelligence and Information Sharing in 2010.

Special Agent Howard was named the NCIS Special Agent of the Year in 2000 for his accomplishments in Foreign Counterintelligence. His other awards include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award, the International Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association (INEOA) International Award of Honor, the INEOA U.S. Navy Award, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, and commendations from the Director of NCIS, the NCIS Special Operations Department, and the Queensland Police Service, Australia. He is a member of the Maryland State and Federal Bars, and retired as a Captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve.