The real U.S. Secretary of the Navy will make a guest appearance on an upcoming episode of NCIS.

On the November 24th episode, “Child’s Play”, Secretary Ray Mabus will make a special appearance as an NCIS agent.

In the episode, Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and the team put their Thanksgiving plans on hold to  investigate the death of a Marine which leads them into the life of a 12-year-old prodigy (Madeline Carroll), who may be the killer’s next target. Lisa Sheridan (Invasion) and Francis Capra (Veronica Mars) also guest-star. Although Mabus won’t be playing himself, NCIS has featured a secretary of the Navy character on the show before. Jude Ciccolella (24) portrayed the secretary in three episodes last season.

NCIS continues to have solid ratings. Last week, the show brought in 19.4 million viewers, beating out the premiere of the much hyped V on ABC which only had 13.9 viewers. Though V still won out in the coveted age group: 18-49.

The show’s star, Mark Harmon, thinks the growth of NCIS is due to the camaraderie shared by the cast and crew and says he’s never seen a group who gets along so well with one another. “You’ve got to have a thick skin to work here. This is a group who likes to have fun.”