Office History:
Located in the greater Chicago Metropolitan Area, the Central Field Office (CNFO) resides aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, on Lake Michigan’s southwestern shore. Chicago lies less than 40 miles to the south and Milwaukee, 55 miles to the north.
Territory Overview:
The CNFO area of responsibility (AOR) is expansive, encompassing 21 states in the American heartland that extend from the U.S.-Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern borders of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio to the western borders of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.
The Navy and Marine Corps commands supported include 14 Flag or General Officer level commands, 18 Navy installations, 42 Navy Operations and Support Centers, 10 Navy Recruiting Districts, 29 Military Entrance Processing Stations, and three Regiments of the 4th Marine Division.
Support to these commands through the execution of the full spectrum of NCIS missions is accomplished by six geographic Resident Agencies, one functional Resident Agency (Counterintelligence) and ten subordinate Resident Units. The CNFO actively participates in Joint Terrorism Task Forces located in Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Pensacola. An NCIS Naval Reserve Unit, comprised exclusively of local, state, and federal law enforcement professionals and based in Springfield, Missouri, also provides support to CNFO operations.
The Naval Education & Training Command, the Navy’s largest shore-based command worldwide, is headquartered in Pensacola, Florida. In excess of 100,000 students each year train in support of the operational Navy and Marine Corps at its subordinate Naval Training Centers in Great Lakes; Pensacola; Meridian, Gulfport, San Antonio and Corpus Christi. The high in-transit student population generates a fast-paced and diverse general criminal investigative workload and provides rich opportunities for proactive criminal operations.
Approximately one third of all Department of the Navy (DoN) contract dollars are spent in the CNFO AOR, and the CNFO Economic Crimes Program targets a $240 billion contract base issued predominantly by the Naval Sea, Air, and Facilities Engineering Systems Commands. Special Agents based in Pascagoula, New Orleans, Dallas, and Indianapolis conduct investigations and operations designed to reduce the incidence of fraud against the DoN. CNFO personnel collaborate closely with federal law enforcement counterparts to investigate and prosecute these highly complex white-collar crimes.
The CNFO Counterintelligence Program is focused on the protection of the Navy’s most sensitive technologies developed through research, development, and acquisition programs conducted throughout its 21-state AOR. In addition to numerous Cleared Defense Contractors, the CNFO AOR hosts 9 Advanced DoN Research Facilities, 2 Inspector General mandated critical locations, 1 University Affiliated Research Facility, and 17 Critical DoN Development programs, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the DDG-1000, and the Littoral Combat Ship.
The CNFO’s diverse mission set executed in an expansive and target rich area of responsibility, present personnel dynamic opportunities and challenges unique to NCIS.
Subordinate Offices
