The West Wing
Character
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Jack Reese

hardworking candid trusting
Commander Jack Reese operates as a military figure with access to sensitive White House decisions on Department of Defense funding. He relays details of a ten-billion-dollar rejection to a researcher after exhaustive nights of work, assuming the exchange stays off the record. His romantic involvement with Donna Moss surfaces through her presence at his place and the 'situation with Jack' that fuels suspicions around her leak. Reese embodies the overlap of personal ties and professional candor in West Wing circles, where informal disclosures risk administration crises.
28 appearances
Also known as: Jack

Jack Reese's Journey

A timeline through the narrative

28 moments
S4E7 · Election Night
Donna Tries to Buy Back an Honor Vote

Amused and accommodating on the surface; slightly bemused but willing to comply out of courtesy or a shared sense of civic duty.

Lieutenant Commander Jack Reese arrives from a taxi, answers Donna's barrage with polite bemusement, reveals his recent transfer to Nancy McNally's office, and agrees — without verifying the photocopy — …

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S4E7 · Election Night
Balancing the Ballot: Donna's Mistake, Jack's Gesture

Mild amusement and patient tolerance; quietly sympathetic and willing to perform a small corrective act out of courtesy and shared civic instinct.

Jack Reese exits a taxi, listens politely and with amused patience to Donna's frantic plea, discloses a bit of his backstory (submarine duty, prior billet), initially states he's voting for …

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Amy Reframes Hilton as Political Leverage

Not present; functionally neutral but consequential as a social target.

Jack Reese is referenced as the object of Donna's romantic interest and as Nancy McNally's new military aide; he does not appear in the scene but his presence motivates Donna's …

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Donna Trades a Favor — Asks Josh to Feel Out Jack Reese

Not present — exists as an off-stage romantic target, neutral in the scene itself.

Mentioned as Nancy McNally's new military aide and the object of Donna's romantic interest; he is not present but his projected availability drives Donna's request.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Optics, Interruptions, and the Navy Briefing

Calm, respectful, focused on conveying technical and operational information.

Enters at invitation to deliver the CEC briefing, identifies himself, confirms the topic (force-level data-fusion network), answers Bartlet's question about France's posture, and presents as a measured military professional.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Briefing Room Optics: Bartlet and the Seats

Neutral and focused—procedural competence with no visible emotional agitation.

Jack Reese enters professionally to deliver the requested CEC briefing, affirms Nancy's assessment about the North Sea exercise and French cooperation, and responds crisply to Bartlet's prompt questions.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Diverted UN Call — The Rwanda Memo Arrives

Calmly professional — focused on delivering technical/military information amid the informal staff dispute.

Commander Jack Reese enters to deliver the CEC briefing immediately after the seating dispute and memo handoff; he confirms Nancy's reading on the North Sea exercise and answers Bartlet's questions …

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Josh's Awkward Matchmaking and Donna's Humiliation

Neutral to mildly amused; not judgmental, retains professional courtesy and exits the interaction without escalation.

Jack listens politely to Josh’s unsolicited sales pitch, reacts with mild amusement and curiosity, affirms he thought Donna’s vote-trading effort was 'cool', and ends the exchange courteously before leaving.

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Awkward Matchmaking and the Donnatella Reveal

Mildly amused and cautious; maintaining professional distance and gently shutting down an awkward social advance.

Jack receives Josh, answers work-related questions about an Arctic memo, deflects the matchmaking by asserting he already has an aide, and names Chief Petty Officer Harold Wendell—using dry humor to …

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S4E10 · Arctic Radar
Arctic Small Talk and the Donna Reveal

Polite and mildly amused; focused on his duties while politely deflecting overfamiliar meddling.

Jack sits at his desk working on a memo, answers Josh's questions about his Arctic posting, politely sets boundaries about romantic entanglements and names his aide to close the subject.

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S4E11 · Holy Night
Carols and Closures: Whiffenpoofs in a Snowbound White House

Not shown on-screen; mentioned neutrally as part of logistical explanation.

Jack Reese is referenced by Josh as someone another character will meet at the Washington Inn; he is not physically present but his mention anchors off-screen logistics and personal plans …

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S4E11 · Holy Night
Policy Offsets and Personal Fault Lines

Professionally engaged offstage—present in Josh's mind as an on‑the‑ground solution.

Jack is mentioned by Josh as being 'already down there' on the Turkey response; he functions as an operational anchor for Josh's assurance and an off‑scene first responder.

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S4E11 · Holy Night
C.J. Pulls Josh Into Damage Control Over Danny's Bermuda Lead

Implied focused and active; tasked with field work related to the allegation.

Jack is referenced by Josh as already 'down there' — implying he is engaged on-the-ground with the matter; he is not present but his deployment is used to reassure or …

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Balls, a Bible, and a Leaked Doctrine

Not present; implicitly burdened by having produced a sensitive classified report whose exposure now threatens careers and policy timing.

Jack Reese is referenced as the officer who prepared the Forced Depletion Report; he is not present in the room but is implicated in the leak that fuels the political …

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Leak in the Lobby: Doctrine, Khundu, and the Missing Bible

Mentioned; status unknown but implied to be dutiful and caught in institutional fallout.

Referenced by Leo and Josh as the military aide who prepared the Forced Depletion Report at the President's request; he is not present but his action precipitates the political exposure.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Ball Tickets and a Leaked Doctrine

Absent physically; inferred pride and formality based on the detailed account of his uniform and honors.

Referenced by Donna as the officer who will wear dress blues, a saber, and multiple decorations to the inaugural balls; he is not present but his ceremonial presence colors the …

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Josh Deflects Inaugural Chatter, Reframes the State Department Leak

Implied pride and formality (not present onstage).

Mentioned by Donna as the officer wearing dress blues, saber, and multiple medals; he functions as the subject of the light, humanizing banter rather than as an active participant in …

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Ordering the Forced-Depletion Estimate for Khundu

Not present to display emotion; inferred as duty-bound and ready to comply with a presidential task if contacted.

Named by Slattery as the Pentagon officer who can produce the forced-depletion estimate; not physically present but immediately implicated as the executor of Bartlet's secret order.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Donna Flags Jack's Secretive Military Contacts

Guarded and purposeful (inferred): maintaining tight control over access and information, suggesting he is conducting sensitive work.

Jack is described off-screen as having sealed his office with an NSC lock, meeting at odd hours, and possessing a fax from the Commander of the Seventh Fleet—actions reported by …

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Forced-Depletion Report — Khundu's Human Cost Meets Rhetoric

Not present on stage; implied professional detachment and rigor in producing an unwelcome estimate.

Mentioned as the preparer of the forced-depletion report; his analytic work provides the concrete casualty estimates that change the scene's tone.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Edwards' Bible — Small Symbol, Large Consequence

Not onstage; implied professional diligence in producing a sobering casualty model.

Commander Jack Reese is referenced as the military aide who produced the forced‑depletion report; his analysis is central to the event's policy revelation though he is not physically present.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
From Routine Briefing to Khundu's Moral Reckoning

Implied compromised and marginalized — treated as a scapegoat or expendable instrument in institutional pushback.

Mentioned in conversation: his forced-depletion involvement and abrupt reassignment to Aviano are discussed as collateral damage from Pentagon politics; he is not physically present.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
When Words Become Images: The Khundu Atrocity Revealed

Implied resignation and restraint — he obeys orders and maintains discretion.

Commander Jack Reese is discussed as having been reassigned to Aviano Air Force Base; his transfer is a focal point in the Pentagon-White House politics revealed during the briefing's fallout.

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S4E14 · Inauguration Part I
Interagency Blowback — Reese Reassigned

Not observed directly; inferred to be resigned or constrained, having followed orders and now subject to bureaucratic discipline.

Referenced as the tangible casualty of interagency politics: staff report he 'got in trouble' and has been reassigned to Aviano after executing an order; he does not appear on-screen but …

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S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
C.J. Hunts the Source: Confronting Danny Over a Planted Quote

Not shown; implied to be neutral as the subject of an administrative reassignment, though his reassignment catalyzes others' emotions.

Jack Reese is referenced as Donna's boyfriend whose reassignment provoked her anger; he is not present but functions as the trigger for C.J.'s suspicion and the leak narrative.

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S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
Donna Admits; Josh Walks Out

Not depicted; referenced as a relational factor that affects how others interpret Donna's actions.

Mentioned only as contextual geometry—the 'situation with Jack' explains why Donna might have been suspected as the source; Jack's presence is implied to complicate loyalties and motivations.

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S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
Snowball Confrontation — Good Cop/Bad Cop at Donna's

Not present; implied fatigue and confusion that contributed to the leak.

Referenced by Donna and Josh as the colleague whose late nights and confused on/off-record status triggered the leak; not physically present but central to Donna's defense.

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S4E15 · Inauguration Part II: Over There
Good-Cop/Bad-Cop at Donna's Window

Not directly observed; inferred tiredness and unawareness as described by Donna, making him a sympathetic figure in her explanation.

Jack Reese is not present but is invoked by Donna as the on-the-record source: she explains he had been working nights and didn't realize he was 'on the record,' framing …

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Affiliation

French Government