Vance's tough year is about to get even tougher on NCIS.

According to TV Guide, the agency shot-caller will work closely with the Army equivalent of NCIS when the show returns in January. His typically complicated mission? To protect a high-ranking foreign diplomat from terrorist threats at a treaty signing.

Rocky Carroll as Director Vance.

When things don't go as planned, it's NCIS that takes the heat, setting Vance up for a critical showdown (and possible dressing down) at the U.S. State Department.

Not as tension-filled as the attempts on his life we saw in "Enemies Foreign" and "Enemies Domestic," but sounds like our fearless leader will be under the gun.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.