Captain Gleason was the commanding officer of the USS Zhukov during the mid-2360s. In 2366, Gleason had heard that the USS Enterprise-D needed a systems engineer, and recommended Lieutenant Reginald Barclay for the position, describing him as a brilliant and talented engineer. Upon discovering that Barclay was nervous, reclusive, introverted and lacked confidence, Commander Riker suggested to Captain Picard that Gleason might have been "buttering (our) bread a little" to get rid of Barclay. (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits" )