John M. Jackson plays the role of Admiral AJ Chegwidden in this episode, reprising his role in JAG (1995), from which NCIS (2003) was spun off.
Both characters, Leroy Jethro Gibbs and A. J. Chegwidden, middle name is Jethro. A. J. stands for Albert Jethro.
The scene where Chegwidden, played by John M. Jackson, shares info about Parsons, played by Colin Hanks, is a nod to the movie Philadelphia (1993) in which Colin Hanks' father (none other than Tom Hanks) played the lawyer who is HIV-positive and is discriminated against by his own law firm.