Engaged (Part I)

A C-130 carrying the bodies of Marines killed in Afghanistan crashes. The team is stretched to the maximum as NCIS is given twenty-four hours to identify the bodies before they are released to their families, but complications arise when one of the bodies cannot be identified, and 1st Lt Gabriella Flores, a Marine who was supposedly killed in an attack on a local school-building project, remains unaccounted for. Accessing satellite footage of the bombing, the team realize that Flores is still alive, having tried to save two young girls – but moments later, she is captured by insurgents. McGee and Abby deduce that some of the teachers in Flores' school-building project are actually female insurgents and Taliban-sympathizers sent undercover by a small but highly organized terrorist cell to infiltrate the school. The episode ends with NCIS preparing a rescue mission to save Flores. The case affects the team on a more personal level, especially Gibbs, who reminisces about his time in the Marine Corps.