NEW YORK — CBS says the real-life Navy secretary, Ray Mabus, will try a different role when he appears on the network's hit drama "NCIS."

Mabus will play an NCIS investigator on a Thanksgiving-themed episode airing Nov. 24. The network says he visited the Los Angeles set two weeks ago to film his scenes.

NCIS stands for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. The first government official to be on the show was former agency director Thomas A. Betro. He appeared in an episode that aired in October 2007.

"NCIS" stars Mark Harmon and David McCallum.