Remember what Vance said about the future of NCIS? Agents should be more like Vance and McGee and less like Gibbs and DiNozzo. Agent afloat is actually a plumb position. It's a major blue ribbon on an agent's resume. But it would also get Gibbs, Jr. out of Vance's space. I have a feeling Tony would have eventually been shuffled off to some leadership position in a minor locale where he could be left to rot. Vance probably would like to remake the D.C. office in his image... and the Gibbses and the DiNozzos are in his way.