Counter Terrorist Unit

CTU stands for Counter Terrorist Unit and is a fictional U.S. government agency in the television action series "24". Its headquarters are in Washington, but most of the series focuses on the Los Angeles branch of CTU. The nomenclature of the unit is somewhat confusing, as during the show it is referred to alternatingly between "Counter Terrorism Unit" and "Counter Terrorist Unit." The logo, however, clearly states the latter.

It is stated in Season 1 that the CTU operates under the Central Intelligence Agency, which is fictional in the aspect that the CIA cannot operate within US borders, but bears relevance to the real world because current Director Porter Goss has displayed interest in giving the CIA domestic powers. In Season 4, Secretary of Defense assumes the highest authority, leading some to speculate that CTU falls under the Department of Defense jurisdiction, but the most likely explanation is that the Secretary of Defense is a high-ranking cabinet member, and as he was captured in the season, more consideration would be given to what he said.

Overview

In Season One, the L.A. branch of CTU was headed by Jack Bauer who later left due to bereavement after his wife's death, which happened largely because of his job. George Mason took over and was the director until he was forced to leave due to the fact he was dying of radiation poisoning. Tony Almeida took charge of CTU for the rest of the season as the director and for almost all of Day 3, until he was forced to aid the escape of a terrorist, former MI6 agent Steven Saunders, who was holding his wife Michelle Dessler hostage and later breaking Saunder's daughter out. Jack Bauer then assumed command as acting director until Brad Hammond took control. Three months later, a District official named Erin Driscoll became head of CTU Los Angeles and fired Jack Bauer for a heroin addiction acquired in the line of duty.

The government agency is under the control of the CTU Division Command headquarters, simply called Division throughout the show. It was until Season Three, headed by Regional Director Ryan Chappelle. Ryan Chappelle was killed by Jack Bauer after President David Palmer reluctantly authorized his execution following a request from former MI6 agent-turned-terrorist Steven Saunders. As a government agency, CTU is also under direct control of the President of the United States.

Throughout the series, CTU aids its field agents in various operations from sending S.W.A.T. &/or Special Ops support from tracing calls to identifying suspects. It has a number of data analysts, including Kim Bauer (daughter of Jack Bauer) in season three, who primarily work on the computer. On more than one occasion, CTU agents have been revealed to be moles working against the agency. Moles include Nina Myers (season 1-3) and Jamey Farrell (season 1). The agency has also been bombed once during an attack by terrorists in an attempt to slow down or halt their operations.

Numerous times, the agents at CTU have run into problems with their superiors from other offices, who attempted to shut them down even though they were actually attempting to help the good guys. Superiors included District Director George Mason (seasons 1 -2), Division Regional Director Ryan Chappelle (seasons 1 - 3), District Director Alberta Green (season 1), and District Director Brad Hammond (seasons 2 - 3).

The CTU complex includes an outdoor parking lot, a much-used holding facility composed of multiple cells, all the latest in 'interrogation aids' to make suspected terrorists more 'cooperative', a fully-equipped hospital facility, and all the latest state-of-the-art technology. The building features top-of-the-line security, including card-key access instead of key locks, a lockdown that can be enabled by pressing one button, and panic buttons in some areas.

The basic CTU structure is as follows: there are the Domestic Units, those that are assigned to work with specific cities (i.e. CTU Los Angeles, CTU San Francisco, CTU New York, etc.). Above them is District Command, which oversees all Domestic Units in the area. Next comes Division Command, which is responsible for all the Districts in a large area, presumably per state or large sections of the state. From there, it can be assumed they report to the Directorate of Operations at the CIA's main headquarters in Langley, Virginia. CTU has basic powers of arrest, but it seems from there, they have a lot more leeway in how they arrest and question their subjects.

Other References

In addition to 24, CTU was the name of a government agency referenced in the 2004 film adaptation of The Punisher. Frank Castle, The Punisher, was said to be a former CTU operative.