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CTU stands for Counter Terrorist Unit and is a fictional U.S. government agency under the jurisdiction of the C.I.A. in the television action series 24. Its headquarters are in Washington, but most of the series focuses on the Los Angeles branch of CTU.
Overview
In season one, the L.A. branch of CTU was headed by Special Agent in Charge Jack Bauer who later left temporarily. In seasons two and three, Tony Almeida took charge of CTU with Michelle Dessler as his assistant. The government agency is under the control of Division, which was until season three, headed by 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 by the Office of President of the United States.
Throughout the series, CTU aids its field agents in various operations from sending S.W.A.T. support to 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 George Mason (seasons 1 -2), Ryan Chappelle (seasons 1 - 3), Alberta Green (season 1), Brad Hammond (seasons 2 - 3), and Erin Driscoll (season 4).
Other References
In addition to 24, CTU was also referenced in the 2004 film adaptation of The Punisher. Frank Castle, The Punisher, was said to be a former CTU operative.
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