Leon James Vance is as assistant director in NCIS. He is named director after the death of Jenny Shepard. he is originally from Ohio, but grew up in Chicago where he trained to be a boxer. Vance attended the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps, but was forced to take a medical discharge before ever serving due to having undergone surgery to repair a detached retina suffered during his boxing career.