E-Ring

Colonel McNulty finds himself at odds with Major Jim Tisnewski. The major must convince his superiors at the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs of Staff that the United States should risk war with China to rescue an Chinese/American operative who has sent a distress signal.

A CIA agent sends photographs of Egyptian nuclear physicist Tariq Mahayni, the terrorist-supplier capable of assembling a mass destruction bomb, from Sarqand in Uzbekistan. Major Jim Tisnewski pulls all the stops to mount an intervention by his own Special Ops unit, presently in Afghanistan after months of extra tours. While colonel Eli McNulty must simultaneously deal with lame environmentalist fleet exercise hindrance, Jim recruits NSA intelligence ingenuity, then overcomes resentment from the home-front and Pentagon reluctance for another clearly illegal abduction.

Tisnewski is sent to Iraq to reprimand an US army unit who may have crossed the border over to Iran during a mission. On the way back to Baghdad, Tisnewski's transportation unit is ambushed, everyone with him gets killed and he goes MIA. When Washington determines his location, they learn he's deep in Iran. McNulty has also personal problems to solve: he's being accused of sexual harassment.

Two US Marines are accused of raping a young local woman in Suriname. JT learns of this and he immediately jumps to action only to find opposition from above. The United States doesn't want to jeopardize it's aluminum interests controlled by the Surinamese government. He must navigate the political maze to discern the truth and try to save the soldiers' lives.

Former Soviet Russian agent Sergei Dima escapes from Sarajevo prison. Special Ops is called upon to prevent him dealing arms to terrorists. Uncharacteristic support, from Aaron Gerrity within the Pentagon and from Democrat congressman Hal Lovett, who promises to push for helicopter funding, render Tisnewski and McNulty suspicious. They and Angie find out about dirty games,in which CIA deputy director Raymond Metcalf seems to play a key part, to cover up past connections and present blackmail. Tisnewki's field buddy Bobby Wilkerson wants out, cracking under psychological stress.

Tisnewski's girlfriend, Angie Aronson, is shot by a motor-biker and writes in her own blood 'CW'. The major explains to Pentagon friends it must refer to the top-secret mission he and Bobby Wilkerson recruited her for: infiltrating the brothers Alejandro and José Aguilar's Colombian drug cartel. Then it becomes clear they didn't kill all gangsters as they believed, and may all be targeted for bloody revenge. CIA deputy director Raymond Metcalf is taking his own, related or not, by having Tisnewski suspended.

McNulty arranges for Tisnewski to be joined in Bogota by Bobby and Charlie, and team up with 'embassy' CIA agent Danny Marco to search for Alejandro Aguilar. Meanwhile lawyer Liston handles the FBI investigation and puts appropriate pressure on CIA deputy inspector general Mitchell Sykes to counter Metcalfe's dirty game. NSA Liaison Greg's information, forensics on 'Alejandro's corpse' and leaning hard on Marco to allow Tisnewski to find the mole, clean up CW's loose ends and clear up lover Angie Aronson's memory.

US Muslims are taken hostage in an FBI-observed Detroit mosque by Jared Vogel's fanatic Christian Crusaders. They are terrorists who demand the release from Abu Ghraib of Jared's brother, double murderer Lars Vogel. Before Washington decides whether to authorize bringing in Delta Force, Tisnewksi leads his team to 'observe'. They supply 'technical assistance' to the FBI, but actually really supplied by the private genius Ken Watkins's mini-robot. Liston handles the legal ramifications which worry Assistant Public Affairs Secretary Danton Murphy, but the press gets dangerously close.

CIA Agent John Haines discovers accidentally that SEAL petty officer Scott Navarro, reported killed in action 3 years earlier on Steven Algazi's authority, is probably still held by the Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebels on a remote island. Leaving a man behind is McNulty's personal weak spot, after 4/5 years Vietcong captivity. However the Pentagon brass feels the political risks are unacceptable, as in the case of a Sri Lankan diplomat kidnapped by Tamil Tigers. During and after a Washington gala ball, where J.T. must escort an ancient general's hot young wife, the fight for permission is harder then the rescue.

The effects of service careers on family life and relationships are felt most strongly at holidays, when duty often makes it impossible for people to be with their loved ones. In this episode, it's a day or two to Christmas, and events are threatening to upset people's holiday plans. In Afghanistan, a group of the Taliban is likely to take shelter in a small village. The Major must overcome bureaucratic and logistical obstacles to get food and guns to the villagers before the Taliban reach it. Meanwhile, his father, himself a retired special forces soldier, visits the Pentagon seeking copies of his service record to support a medical claim with the VA. Sonny Liston helps him; as we discover, father and son are barely on speaking terms.

A plot to disperse the plague in an American City is discovered by Bobby and his team. JT pulls together a Red Team to try and discover where this terrorist action will occur before it happens. Sonny gets a promotion.

A female American lawyer is determined to bring in a man who raped several women in his country, and has been assigned some American soldiers to protect her. When the leader is killed when an attempt is made on her life, J.T. is sent to replace him and is assigned to find the man who killed his predecessor. In the meantime newly appointed Sonny has a hard time getting support from the other Joint Chiefs because she's not military.

When an American General in Spain in abducted. J.T. who's just been promoted to Lt. Colonel, wants to go there and try and find him. But he's warned that the Spaniards might not like them walking around, doing what they please. But he goes anyway.

When J.T.'s mission is blown because the country he was in found out about it and threw them out. He suspects that someone within the E-Ring could be leaking the information. So with the FBI they try to find out who is doing it. Sonny tells him not to tell anyone and that includes McNulty.

A plane with some medical missionaries is en route to Venezuela when it is shot down. J.T. and his team are sent to rescue them. Later it is discovered that the Venezuelans believe one of the missionaries is an assassin sent to murder the President, so some Venezuelans are sent to find them and if they're caught will be subjected to torture. But Sonny later learns that the Venezuelans' suspicions are not without merit so she tries to find out what's going on.

A US submarine crashes into a North Korean sub in their waters. Despite protest from people at the Pentagon, Bobby and the crew mount a rescue of the enemy crew. Back in DC, JT meets a new girl who has unknown Pentagon connections.

J.T. and Bobby are in Saudi Arabia meeting with a prince who is married to an American. While there, their children are kidnapped. At first they believe it was enemies of the royal family. But when J.T. finds them he discovers that the kidnappers are American and they were hired by the princess who's become disenchanted with the life she chose, and that the prince has promised their daughter to someone even though she's only a teen. J.T. brings them back to the palace but because he is in an embassy vehicle, he gets the princess to come with him. After arriving at the embassy, they find themselves trapped. Later the prince arrives and threatens Bobby's family if his wife and children are not turned over to him.

When American soldiers are attacked in Iraq, a Congressman who wants to pull Americans out is poised to do it. But Sonny sends J.T. to train Iraqis in the art of protection. When J.T. chooses his team, he picks one of them to be the team leader. But the man's brother who is in league with some insurgents plans to attack the base using his brother.