User:Freemarket/Counter Terrorist Unit

The Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) is a

In November 2005, the White House was reported to be considering whether to provide a lesser known agency called the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) with additional new powers and responsibilities, which would in effect make it a real-life counterpart to the fictional CTU. As with CTU, this agency is part of the US Department of Defense. Its expanded powers would include the authority to investigate crimes such as treason, foreign or terrorist sabotage, and economic espionage. Unlike other intelligence agencies within the Defense Department, it would be permitted to receive intelligence information concerning American citizens from the FBI, CIA, and other civilian intelligence agencies. The proposal has been criticized by at least one member of the US Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence for allowing "the military to spy on Americans." ^[1]

Published fiction

In the book, 24: The House Special Subcommittee's Findings at CTU, and in 24 DVD media, the agency is repeatedly said to be a branch of the CIA. In fact, the book gives a small description of CTU that reads in full:

Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) - Elite branch of the

Executive Branch

of the federal government.

Moreover, in various 24: Declassified novels, there is a note preceding the story that reads in full:

After the

war against terror

began, a number of early CTU missions were declassified. The following is one of them...

Attacks on CTU Los Angeles

{{spoiler}} CTU LA has been attacked by terrorists a total of three times in show history. The first attack occurred at roughly 10:58 a.m. on Day 2, where terrorist Joseph Wald infiltrated CTU with a crew of his men and planted three bombs. They exploded simultaneously and the attack left 30 people dead at CTU. It also crippled CTU's ability to perform at top notch for most of Day 2. The second attack occurred during the 24 Game and was carried out by terrorists who detonated an EMP inside CTU. The third attack occurred all through Hour 12 of Day 5, as the terrorist Ostroff infiltrated CTU and planted a casing of nerve gas inside. Ostroff was killed by Jack Bauer after CTU learned about this, yet the casing detonated and released Sentox VX1 Nerve Gas into the ventilation system. Edgar Stiles, Lynn McGill, and 40% of CTU's staff were killed in the attack.

History of CTU: Los Angeles

{{spoiler}} In Season One, the Los Angeles Domestic Unit was headed by Jack Bauer, but he later left due to bereavement after his wife's death, which was directly related to his work at CTU. It is also known that Jack dismissed some agents for evidence of corruption before Season 1, and later, on Season 5, it is revealed that one of them was Christopher Henderson, who was the director of field operations before Season 1 and the one who recruited him for CTU.

After Driscoll stepped down, Division sent Michelle Dessler to temporarily take over and then a few hours later sent Bill Buchanan, who later took over permanently.

One and a half years later,

As of 12:00 AM on Season 5, the

The following is a list of the Special Agents in Charge of the CTU Los Angeles Domestic Unit.

Directors of Field Operations at CTU: Los Angeles

The following is a list of the Directors Of Field Operations at CTU Los Angeles Domestic Unit.

Chiefs of Staff at CTU: Los Angeles

The following is a list of the Chief of Staff at CTU Los Angeles Domestic Unit.

Trivia

• A clause known as Section 112 allows a senior agent to remove a director if they believe him/her to be unfit for duty due to mental instability. In the series' whole, only Jack Bauer and Curtis Manning invoked the article.
• The phones used in the CTU offices are
  Cisco Unified IP 7900-series phones. MP3 and WAV
  audio files of the famous ring sound can be found on the Internet.
• CTU: LA has been attacked a total of four times, thrice in the series and once in 24: The Game:
  • In Day 2, a regional terrorist cell hired by Joseph Wald and led by Eddie Grant bombs CTU with three charges.
  • In 24: The Game, Madsen's own men attack CTU, killing and kidnapping agents.
  • In Day 3, Nina Myers manages to get control of all the computers on CTU, nearly allowing hackers to get critical information about US spies all over the world.
  • In Day 5, the stolen ID Card of Lynn McGill allows a terrorist working for Vladmir Bierko to sneak and set off a canister of nerve gas, killing more than 40% of the CTU workforce.

• An interesting point as to why it was specifically the Department of Homeland Security that absorbed CTU could be that historically, this new department (created in the aftermath of 9/11) has absorbed other well-established agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

• CTU Domestic Units:
  • Austin
  • Boston
    • This is where Curtis Manning originally transferred from.
  • Denver
    • Milo Pressman transferred her after Day 1 until the start of Day 6.
  • Detroit
    • Before being transferred to Los Angeles, Nadia Yassir worked here as Director of Intelligence
  • Fairbanks
    • This CTU was featured in the comic, 24: Midnight Sun
  • Las Vegas
  • Los Angeles
    • The CTU 24 concentrates on the most.
  • New Orleans
    • In Day 1, CTU: LA made contact with CTU: New Orleans in an attempt to find Robert Ellis.
  • New York City
    • Before working in Seatle, Bill Buchanan first worked here as an agent.
  • Phoenix
    • In Day 3, CTU: Phoenix stopped the release of a weaponized virus in Flagstaff, AZ
  • Salt Lake City
  • San Diego
    • Agent Bern was about to hide in this CTU, when he was shanghied by Cheng Zhi.
  • San Francisco
    • This Acgency was mentioned by Chloe O'Brian toward the waning hours of Day 3, as the closest CTU that had an agent that resembled Jane Saunders more accurately than Kim Bauer.
  • Seattle
    • After Day 3, this is where Michelle transferred to. Before the start of Day 4, she and Bill Buchanan move back to CTU: LA. Morris O'Brian worked here as well at some point before transferring to CTU: LA
  • St. Louis
  • Washington, D.C.
    • This is the Branch where Chloe O'Brian & Chase Edmunds transferred from after 24: The Game, and where Alberta Green transferred to after Day 1.
  • Virginia
    • This is where Erin Driscoll worked before transferring to CTU: LA. It is the only known CTU to be named after an entire state as opposed to an individual city.
  • Orlando
  • Omaha
  • Fargo

Notes