The Secretary of Defense Moses McClaine is based on the current Secretary in the Biden Administration, Lloyd Austin, right down to the aforementioned congressional waiver that bypasses a waiting period after leaving active-duty to become secretary.
Victoria Gabrielle Platt (Ronnie Tyler) is one of the few hat trick NCIS actors; she has been on all three NCIS shows. She appeared as Michelle Silvera on NCIS: New Orleans and Hannah Nessbaum on NCIS: Los Angeles. The only other NCIS triple threat is Brian Letscher.
(Zane Holtz) who plays Special Agent Sawyer starred in (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (2014)) alongside (Wilmer Valderrama). As Richie and Carlitos respectively.
As in this series the two are rivals and sometime reluctant allies, with Richie frequently taunting Carlitos, making this episode a kind of second round for the two (and fans of the shows).