Page 4 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Dec 22, 2021

4 HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK DECEMBER 22, 2021
Sure, the latest locally based crime-fight- ing show, NCIS Hawai‘i, fabricates the truth in some ways — primarily in the
agents’ ability to solve cases in less than 60 minutes. But Special Agent in Charge Nor- man Dominesey, aka the man in the position that actress Vanessa Lachey plays (Jane Ten- nant) on the CBS series, says it’s not entirely a Hollywood exaggeration.
While its Hollywood version gets the spotlight, the NCIS Hawai‘i Field Office team continues to do what
it does best: make the state
a safer place for all.
“I love the teamwork I see displayed on the show,” says Dominesey, who took the helm of the NCIS Hawai‘i Field Office in 2019. “It’s what we see in our field office and throughout our organization. Law enforcement is a pro- fession where teamwork is critical. We’re all on the same team working on the same goals, which is to protect those who can’t protect themselves or to be a voice for a victim who can no longer speak.
“Most of us, especially at this office, feel a deep connection to NCIS Hawai‘i because we had the opportunity to meet on several occasions with its creators, writers, directors, actors and members of the production team, and their professionalism really stood out,” shares Dominesey.
Along with the fact that Dominesey can catch a reenactment of his 9-to-5 while flipping channels in the living room, there are countless other reasons why he takes great pride in the work he does.
“NCIS is a place where your peers ... do everything in their power to help one an- other without you needing to ask them for help — and that’s similar to what I see on the show.”
“They were all genuinely interested in get- ting to know us at NCIS at our Hawai‘i Field Office, and it was also very important to them to be respectful and honor not only our orga- nization, but also the Navy and Marine Corps, in addition to all of the military members they represent on the screen.
NCIS, which stands for Naval Crimi-
nal Investigative Service, is the premier
law enforcement agency for the U.S. Depart- ment of the Navy. In short, its goals are to prevent terrorism, protect national secrets and reduce crime.
(Top) Special Agent in Charge Norman Dominesey (Above) On the recently redesigned NCIS Hawai‘i Field Office coin, it includes the office’s motto: “E ho‘olawelawe a me ea malu” (to protect and serve).
investigations and operations, and we employ a robust cyber capability to disrupt, deter and mitigate criminal terrorist and foreign intelli- gence threats to the Department of the Navy,” he adds.
SEE PAGE 9
In fact, Dominesey, along with his fellow agents at NCIS headquarters, are heavily in- volved in the making of the show, whether that’s by reviewing scenes beforehand, an- swering questions for accuracy, giving tours of the grounds or, for some agents, even serv- ing as background characters on their days off.
“Seeing a television show based on your real-life job is pretty incredible. I am a little worried that Special Agent Tennant might be taking my job one day,” he adds with a laugh.
“Our primary mission is to support Navy personnel, their family members and our re- sources. Essentially, to do everything we can to keep them safe,” explains Dominesey.
“We also conduct counterintelligence in- vestigations and operations, counterterrorism