Benjamin Pierce

Benjamin Pierce is a Federal Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, assigned to Naval Station Great Lakes as the Special Agent in Charge of the Contingency Response Team.

SERVICE HISTORY
Service History listed by Organization and Rank

UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS (1992-PRESENT)
Ben served as an Officer on active duty from May, 1992 to May, 1998.

2nd LIEUTENANT

 * Military Police Officer training course, Ft. Leonard Wood, MO


 * Headquarters and Services Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit-Military Police Platoon Leader
 * Deployed to Somolia

1st LIEUTENANT



 * Camp Pendleton, CA Base Police Force-Patrol Division Watch Commander, 2nd Shift


 * Camp Pendleton, CA Base Police Force-Patrol Division Watch Commander, 1st Shift

CAPTAIN

 * Company Commander, Alpha Company, 1115th Marine Corps Military Police Battalion, 1st Marine Division


 * MCRD San Diego-Officer In Charge, Military Police Detachment Mike

TRANSFER TO US MARINE CORPS RESERVE, MAY 1998


 * Security Detachment Deputy Commander, Waukegan Marine Corps Reserve Annex

MAJOR



 * Security Detachment Commander, Waukegan Marine Corps Reserve Annex


 * Battalion Executive Officer, 349th Military Police Battalion


 * Deployed to Iraq, March-September, 2003

LIEUTENANT COLONEL



 * Naval Station Great Lakes Marine Corps Reserve Detachment Commander


 * Battalion Commander, 349th Military Police Battalion

ZION POLICE DEPARTMENT (1998-2006)
Ben joined the Zion Police Department shortly after transfering to the Marine Corps Reserve.

PATROLMAN
Major responsibilities included traffic incidents and emergency call response.
 * 3rd Shift patrol division


 * Responded to call of Shots Fired on 08 January, 1999. Officer Pierce was fired upon by two Latin Kings gangmembers. Officer Pierce returned fire, wounding one and killing another. Awarded Policeman's Medal by the Mayor of Zion for his actions.

CORPORAL
Commanded Rural Patrols for 2nd Shift, in areas assigned to the Zion Police Department within Benton Township outside of the City of Zion.
 * 2nd Shift Patrol Division Field Commander

Lead 2nd Team of the Zion Gang Task Force. Participated in a partial takedown of the North Shore Cobras leadership
 * Gang Task Force Team Leader

SERGEANT


Supervised all GTF Activities, Briefed the Police Chief and Mayor on latest Anti-Gang developments.
 * Gang Task Force Deputy Commander


 * Lake County Major Crimes Task Force


 * Participated in several major crime investigations, including six murders and the pizza driver robbery spree of 2004.

EDUCATION
Zion-Benton Township High School, Zion, Illinois Class of 1989 -High School Diploma

University of Wisconsin-Madison (Class of 1992, graduated early) -Criminal Justice

EARLY LIFE
Pierce was born in Northeastern Illinois. He is the local of the team, and lived and worked in Chicagoland almost all his life, he knows the area very well.

Pierce's father, Franklin Pierce, served as Lake County Sheriff from 1980-1985, and his mother, Juanita Pierca, was a lawyer who served as the District Attorney for Waukegan. Sheriff Pierce retired from Law Enforcement in 2000, after 40 years of service. Mrs. Pierce served the People of the State of Illinois until her death in an automobile accident in 2002.

Agent Pierce attended Zion-Benton Township High School, where he was involved in the Zion Police Explorers and was a standout linebacker on the football team. Pierce graduated Zee-Bee with a 3.9 GPA, and was accepted to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship.

In College, Pierce decided to follow the ROTC's Marine Option. Combined with his Criminal Justice major, he was on path for a career as a Military Police Officer. Pierce walked onto the football team, and by his Junior year he was starting at Outside Linebacker. Pierce graduated early after his junior year.

MILITARY CAREER
Pierce turned down several offers to attend NFL Training Camps following graduation to fulfill his NROTC obligation to the Marine Corps.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on May 5th, 1992, Lt. Pierce attended the Military Police Officer School at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri before being assigned to the 1st Marine Division Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which he joined just prior to their deployment to East Africa. Pierce's first taste of life as a Marine was the highly publicized "Amphibious Assault" on Mogadishu.

While in Somalia, Pierce was tasked with protecting a food delivery vehicle and the UN Aide workers delivering supplies into the impoverished capitol. A Somali Militiaman, under the influence of Khat, attempted to attack the vehicle. Pierce hit the man with six 9mm rounds before he went down, and took a bullet himself in the process. following the incident, Pierce grew to distrust the M9 pistol, prefering the .45 MEU(SOC) Pistol when he could get it.

in 1998, with his Active Duty obligation completed, Captain Pierce accepted a transfer to the US Marine Corps Reserve. he returned home to Winthrop Harbor and attended the Civilian Police Academy.

MILITARY AWARDS
Note: Because Ben's charactor is constantly evolving, this is not a complete or in-depth list.


 * Purple Heart
 * Iraq Service Medal
 * Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

POLICE CAREER
Pierce joined the Zion Police Department as a Patrolman on August 29th, 1998.

Pierce rose through the ranks fairly quickly, achieving Sergeant by the time the offer to join NCIS came. Pierce took a 6 month leave of absence in 2003 to serve with his Marine Corps Reserve unit as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom I

in 2006, Sergeant Pierce traded in his Zion Police Department Badge for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service badge. He was assigned to Great Lakes Naval Station, assisting the Special Agent In Charge until being assigned to the Major Case Response Team in 2009.