JAG s09e04 Episode Script

Go, go, go! Pruitt, come on! Coming through.
Marine down! You all right? Yeah.
Looks like your rucksack saved your ass.
Literally.
You need any help? You all right.
I got it.
Get going.
Coming through! It was a classic Force Recon search-and-destroy mission.
The objective was a fiber-optic cable connecting Iraqi armored positions to command and control in Baghdad.
The code name, Operation Sidewinder.
Yes, sir.
I remember reading the news reports after Baghdad fell.
The P.
O.
W.
's were released.
Yeah.
Only three of the six were captured.
Two were killed during the E&E, and one, by some miracle, made it across the border to Syria.
By humping it 200 miles across the desert on foot.
No food and barely any water.
How's that even possible? You ever met a Force Recon Marine? A few.
Can't say I got to know them that well.
Well, you will now.
One of the surviving Marines has been charged with dereliction of duty.
Sergeant Christopher A.
Ambrose.
You two will be handling the Article 32.
Colonel, it's probably best that you defend.
Excuse me, sir, but isn't Ambrose the one who made it out safely? Yes, he is.
And apparently his regimental commander's not happy about the way he did it.
Well, good morning, ma'am, sir.
Hey, Bud.
Lieutenant.
I was curious.
Has either one of you heard from Commander Rabb? You mean, former Commander Rabb.
That's right, ma'am.
It's kind of hard for me to think of it any other way.
Some of us are too busy to think of him at all.
I've checked in with him, but I haven't heard back.
It's weird.
It's like he just disappeared.
That's what they do in the CIA.
I'm sure he'll touch base as soon as he can.
Well, I guess.
I just hope everything's all right.
Harm and the phrase "Everything's all right" don't usually go together.
Well, yeah, but Colonel, Force Recon is based at Camp Lejeune; We should probably get down there as soon as we can.
Yeah, of course.
You want me? That's okay.
I'll make the call and set it up.
Great.
I take it you two haven't fully worked things out.
But I don't blame him.
It was my mistake and it was his career that suffered.
Don't worry, Bud.
Commander Turner will get over it and Harm will call.
"Pura Vida " "Pure Life," ironic name for a CIA front company.
Forget you ever saw it.
So what is this place, anyway? The Directorate for Development Plans Area.
I thought that was Area 51.
DDP hasn't been there for years.
It's kind of difficult to do top secret flight ops, huh, on a base surrounded by tourists with telescopes and video cameras.
Andy Watson meet Harmon Rabb.
Nice to meet you.
Andy's going to be your new copilot.
I was just getting used to flying with O'Neil.
Get used to not getting used to anything around here.
Don't worry.
He can fly anything with wings.
And a few without.
Andy got his masters in aeronautical engineering from Purdue, and then Lockheed put him through their test pilot program at Farnborough.
Not a bad deal.
I could have done better in the Navy.
Why didn't you? I grew up in Berkeley.
My parents would have killed me if I went into the military.
And now? They don't have a need to know.
See why I like this guy? Well, are you two ready to get started? On what? You're going to do some training on one of our new ISR platforms.
I don't care what we do as long as we do it in air-conditioning.
Well, drop your gear in your quarters and report for indoctrination.
Gentlemen, you got a lot of work to do.
Colonel, we have a 1430 meeting at Camp Lejeune with Major General Kubin.
General Kubin's the convening authority? Do you know him? His daughter died during a routine operation at a Naval hospital.
Harm and I did the JAGMAN investigation of the doctor's standard of care.
Judging by your reaction to his name, I assume it didn't go well.
The general was accused of using his command position to intimidate a witness.
It nearly cost him his career.
Why didn't it? Because he was a good Marine with an unblemished record who was convinced a Navy doctor's malpractice caused his daughter's death.
I see.
And he also happened to be right.
I don't care how far he walked.
He ditched an encrypted radio com set, and left his team and made a run for the border on his own.
General, Sergeant Ambrose claims he lost the radio during the firefight and got separated from the others during a sandstorm.
A Marine doesn't lose anything in combat, Colonel.
He carries it or he drops it.
And if he couldn't find his team 20 feet away, how in the hell did he find the border 200 miles away? We'll definitely look into that, sir.
We already have interviews scheduled with the surviving members of the team, sir.
We should be able to have the hearing within a week.
Not good enough.
Sir? It's just an Article 32, Commander.
It's not a court-martial.
Read the after-action reports, interview the Marines, and hold your hearing.
Two days should be plenty.
Sir, when your daughter died, you risked your entire career to make sure the investigation left no stone unturned.
Don't you think Sergeant Ambrose deserves the same? Absolutely, Colonel.
But he also deserves to have it done in a timely manner.
If the charges against him are unfounded, then he doesn't deserve to have them hanging over his head.
But if they're not, I don't want him hanging over ours.
Yes, sir.
They've probably mounted a sensor array on an F-117.
I just hope we're not joysticking some UAV.
I haven't flown remote since I was a kid.
What'd you have? A P-17 Stearman.
Gas, 1/24th scale.
Ooh.
I had a Sopwith Camel.
Had the actual fabric-stretched frame, laminated mahogany prop Whoa! There it is right there, 2:00.
What the hell is that? It's definitely a Pulse Detonation Wave engine.
Look at the contrail.
Pulse Det aircraft are years off.
Well, apparently not.
That's an air breather doing at least Mach six.
That's the Aurora.
The Aurora doesn't exist.
Neither does Pura Vida Enterprises.
You don't usually see Recon Marines in here.
It's the only place I can workout until the stress fractures heal.
Your feet? My feet, legs, spine.
I lost over 30 pounds of musclemass in six days, ma'am.
The doctors say my bones have probably been damaged permanently.
Well, at least you made it.
That's what I thought, too, Colonel, until I got charged.
What, you weren't expecting an Article 32? There'd been any way to carry that radio I would've, believe me.
But my ruck was shredded the shells were landing all around me.
Why do you think your teammates want to make an issue of it? General Kubin ordered the hearing, not my teammates.
But he clearly wouldn't have done it unless they'd somehow characterized your actions as derelict.
Ma'am, I lost my GPS, food and rescue beacon with that ruck.
Why would I leave teammates who had all that? Maybe you figured you could move faster alone.
I got lost, Colonel.
I tried to double back, but I must've gotten disoriented and gone the opposite way.
You sure about that, Sergeant? Ma'am, after the first three days alone, my feet were so blistered I could barely stand let alone walk.
The only thing that kept me going was the hope that if I got it out, I could send back help.
I would've gladly given my life for any one of those Marines.
There's no way in hell I would've left them behind, Colonel.
Cease fire, cease fire.
Clear and lock all weapons.
no radar, no guidance.
We do use lasers, but it's mostly just gunpowder and gravity.
This is actually the easy part.
And the hard? I like to explain the job Force and Recon.
Recon's by far the harder of the two.
Major, I've read your after-action report, and I have to be honest.
You were remarkably forgiving of a Marine who allegedly ditched the communications set and lost, or even worse, deserted his fellow Marines.
It was pretty chaotic out there, Commander.
We were fighting for our lives with an entire Iraqi platoon on our six.
But if Sergeant Ambrose hadn't ditched the radio, you may have been able to call in close air support or maybe even a helo extraction.
Yes, sir.
And I put that in my report.
And you also wrote that it was possible that the radio had been damaged and wouldn't have worked even if Sergeant Ambrose had kept it.
Yes, sir.
In fact, nearly all the critiques in your report had similar rationalizations.
I prefer to think of them as realizations, Commander.
It's easy to find fault when you're in a leather chair behind a desk.
Then why say anything bad at all? Sir, I didn't say anything good or bad, I just described what happened.
What did happen, Major? Ambrose! Ambrose! Ambrose, hold up! I heard a jet.
I'm going to try to reach it with the MBITR.
I would strongly advise against it, sir! The Iraqis can triangulate a beacon signal just as easy as we can.
We have to keep moving.
Don't worry.
It'll only take a second.
To any call sign, this is Bravo Two-One.
We are a ground call sign and need immediate extraction! Over! Damn it! Ambrose! Ambrose?! We lost Ambrose! He didn't get lost, did he? He went his own way and left his team behind.
Sir, all I know is I told him to stop.
I made the radio call, and when I turned back around, he was gone.
Did you conduct a search? Try to find him? I couldn't risk splitting up the team in those conditions.
But we did stay at that position for 20 minutes, hoping he'd find his way back to us.
But Sergeant Ambrose didn't, and the Iraqis did.
Yes, sir.
And that cost you two men dead and three captured.
Good morning, Commander.
Good morning, Colonel.
Looks like you've finally settled in.
Don't know if I'll ever actually be able to do that in here.
Don't worry, if Harm's ghost is going to haunt anybody, it's going to be me, not you.
A Yankee-One Class nuclear sub.
Soviet? You have to know the enemy in order to defeat them.
Speaking of enemies, I know it's not really any of my business, but you do realize that Lieutenant Roberts isn't one.
With friends like that, I don't need enemies.
Don't you think that's a little unfair? We all make mistakes.
And we all have to deal with the consequences.
And the consequence is that you're going to continue to hold a grudge? Look, I am doing my best to be professional.
My credibility as an attorney can't just be turned back on, and neither can my friendship with Bud.
I understand.
So, uh, how'd your meeting go yesterday with Major Spain? He's not exactly what I expected.
And what'd you expect? I think someone a little more rigid.
Is that your view of Marines, rigid? Only in the most positive sense of the word.
Spoken like a true Navy man.
Smooth.
I've been called worse.
So, you ready to talk plea? Only if it's guilty to all charges.
Come on, Sturgis.
You read the after-action reports.
The only one who's sure Ambrose is guilty is General Kubin, and he wasn't even on the same continent.
Sergeant Ambrose cut and ran.
He deserted his fellow Marines.
I've been in a sandstorm like that before.
The visibility gets so bad you can't step two feet out of your own tent without taking a GPS reading first.
Well, you can make that point at the hearing, because there's definitely not going to be a plea.
Gentlemen, I know the two of you have extensive experience in supersonic aircraft, but I trust you still have done your homework.
Doing our best, boss.
I haven't crammed this hard since Farnborough.
Well, don't worry, the Aurora's stability augmentation is state of the art, and I'll be monitoring the entire flight from the AWACS.
Any questions? Uh, just one.
Who made this oatmeal? Not up to standards? Oh, well, you could lay bricks with it.
Well, seeing as you'll be sucking your lunch through a straw, I'll have to make it up to you at dinner.
That'd be nice.
Lights.
I'm sure you know that there's no simulator or trainer for the Aurora, so we'll have to start off slow.
Your first flight will be a short one.
You'll test a new Foliage and Ground Penetrating Radar over the Rockies.
You'll make a U-turn over the Bering Strait, go out over the Pacific and test the SAT links.
You call that a short flight? At Mach six, it is.
Lights.
Just remember, easy does it.
She's not as temperamental as the SR-71, but unstarts are still possible.
Well, the good news is the PDW engines almost never totally flame out.
You're right, that is good.
And since the Aurora can't stall, she'll just depart controlled flight.
What happens if we can't regain control? Just make sure the door's shut on the ejection pod, keep your arms tight across your chest, and let your seat and suit take over.
Why are there stirrups on the boots? They connect your feet to a ball joint under the seat by a cable.
Which, hopefully, won't break your ankles when it retracts and sets your feet in place.
Better than having your legs torn off when you eject at 4,000 miles per hour.
Exactly how much testing has been done on this seat? Don't worry.
This aircraft can practically take you to the Moon and back.
One lap around the North Pacific is nothing nothing.
A walk in the park.
See you both at dinner.
Ah, good morning, Colonel.
How did things go down at Camp Lejeune? Oh, as well as could be expected, I guess.
I bet Commander Turner was happy to have me out of his way for the day.
Well, if he was, it certainly wasn't reflected in his mood this morning.
Are you on his list now, too, ma'am? Come on, Bud, this isn't High School.
I know, you're right.
With Commander Turner's anger at me and the Admiral's anger at Commander Rabb This used to be a lot more pleasant place to work.
Speaking of unpleasant, have you heard from Harm? No, ma'am.
I tried his cell phone, no luck.
Hmm.
I tried calling the CIA, they won't even admit that he works there.
Maybe it's time you called Mr.
Webb to see what he knows, ma'am.
If I call Clayton, the last thing he's going to want to talk about is Harm.
Really? And that's all I'm going to say before this really starts to sound like High School.
Check with the Admiral.
Maybe Harm left an email to forward his messages to.
Ma'am, do I look dumb enough to broach that subject with the Admiral? Think of it as brave, Lieutenant.
Leveling off at test flight altitude.
Talk about a room with a view, huh? How's the reception back there? Perfect.
This Foliage Penetrating Radar is amazing.
What about the Ground Penetrating? Uh, detail's not great But considering the train I'm tracking is inside a tunnel carved in granite and we're 19 miles above the ground, I guess I shouldn't complain.
Critical Mach number, five-point niner-niner.
You realize we're traveling one-point-nine-eight times faster than a speeding bullet? Might as well make it an even number.
You ever made a U-turn at Mach six before? Can't say that I have.
Well, just watch your radius, or we'll find ourselves in Russian airspace.
It's not like they could do anything about it if we did.
Well, they might not be able to, but I have a feeling Blaisdell probably could.
Roger that.
Keep an eye on your Alpha, okay? I don't want my first ejection to be over the Bering Sea.
How is it you were a test pilot for ten years but never punched out? Good judgment? You're questioning my judgment, Watson? No, no.
But you did abandon your Naval career to undertake a personally financed, unauthorized, undercover mission in a country where you don't even speak the language.
How did you know that? I make it a point to thoroughly prepare for every assignment.
Little something I learned at Purdue.
You know what they say about undergraduate education You get what you pay for.
Oh, do I detect a note of envy? Naval Academy isn't free, you know.
The government pays.
But that's how they treat their best and brightest, I guess.
Oh, really? Then why did the Navy send Neil Armstrong to Purdue? You want to talk Apollo? Jim Lovell, Naval Academy.
Coming up on way point four.
Initiating turn.
We're still over bingo fuel.
Here's something I bet they didn't teach at Annapolis.
How did you do that? I'd tell, but then I'd have to kill you.
Spectrum One, this is Zebra Base.
I have a priority one change in flight profile.
It's being data linked with your NAV program.
We've just been vectored to North Korea.
Must be a mistake.
Zebra Base, this is Spectrum One.
Going to covered circuit.
Zebra Base, can you reconfirm new flight profile? Current vector has us heading directly into North Korean airspace.
That's affirmative, Spectrum One.
A new flight profile has been confirmed, with safe area way points for three in-flight refuelings, out and back.
Gentlemen, you are no longer on training mode.
I repeat, your flight has been redesignated as a tactical sortie, OPSEC level One-Alpha.
He can't just redesignate us mid-flight and send us to North Korea.
He just did.
Zebra Base, this is Spectrum One.
Redesignation is confirmed.
We are now in tactical mission mode at OPSEC level One-Alpha.
Oh, excuse me, Admiral.
Do you have a minute? No, but walk with me any way.
Thank you, sir.
Sergeant Ambrose's Article 32 hearing is in ten minutes, and I promise to be brief.
Well, I was supposed to meet Meredith and a caterer a half hour ago, so I'm going to hold you to that.
Does that mean you two have set a date, sir? You know what I've learned, Colonel? That you don't set a date for your own wedding.
The banquet hall does, in consultation with the caterer, and the chaplain, and the relatives And everyone's in consultation with everyone but you.
I'm sure it'll all work out.
Well, I hope so, or I may switch the whole damn thing from Annapolis to Vegas.
I'm sure my wedding plans aren't the reason you're here to talk to me.
Actually, sir, I wanted to talk to you about Commander Turner.
Go.
He's taking a hard-line stance on the Ambrose case.
And that's problematic for you? It's more confusing than problematic, sir.
Even General Kubin allowed for the possibility that Sergeant Ambrose might not be guilty of the charges.
It's not Commander Turner's job to allow for that possibility, Colonel.
It's yours.
I understand, sir.
But the objective should be the pursuit of justice, not just to win a case.
Well, Commander Turner may feel he has more to prove other than just his case, and considering recent events, I can't much blame him.
But is that fair to Sergeant Ambrose? Life's not fair, Colonel.
Deal with it.
Sir, I also don't think Commander Turner fully understands what it's like to be on a Spec OPs mission.
Just because mistakes were made doesn't mean there was dereliction of duty.
From what I hear, it was more than just a mistake made in the fog of war.
Sir, none of the survivors Sergeant Ambrose supposedly deserted seem eager to testify against him.
Even Major Spain, the senior man on the mission, was initially reluctant.
Colonel, maybe it's you who doesn't understand what it's like to be in Special Operations.
Sir? Men in Spec Op are like SEALS, Force Recon.
They aren't like brothers, they are brothers.
You think Major Spain's protecting Sergeant Ambrose out of loyalty? Maybe.
Could be something else.
Zebra Base, this is Spectrum One at way point Charlie one-niner.
Refueling is complete and we are approaching denied area.
Rapidly.
We are rapidly approaching North Korean airspace, awaiting further tasking.
Spectrum One, this is Zebra Base.
Our HUMINT source in Kaesong reports three North Korean armored divisions have entered tunnels leading directly down to the DMZ.
Three divisions?! That's over 50,000 men! What the hell kind of tunnels are we talking about? Think Grand Central Station with tanks instead of trains.
The North Koreans have been digging these tunnels for the last few years.
Looks like they may have just finished.
What's Seoul's response? Well, that depends on what you're able to find out, Spectrum One.
The only way to keep Seoul from being wiped off the face of the map would be for us to launch a preemptive blitzkrieg of our own.
Attack while the lion sleeps.
Affirmative.
On the other hand, if our source is wrong, and there's nothing in those tunnels but bulldozers and the poor sandhogs who've been forced to dig 'em, well Zebra Base, I'm still calibrating Ground Penetrating frequency.
I'm not sure I'll be able to tell the difference between a tank and a bulldozer.
Andy, just get as much data as you can.
I got analysts standing by on the SAT link who'll be able to help out.
Wilco.
And make it fast, before that DMZ becomes an EMZ.
EMZ, sir? Extremely Militarized Zone.
Roger that.
Out.
Target data's been uploaded.
Way point One-Alpha is at 37 degrees, Roger that.
We're still over bingo fuel.
Let me know when we enter the denied area.
Wilco.
Just keep the pedal to the metal, okay? I want to keep this little visit as short as possible.
That shouldn't be a problem.
Major Spain, exactly what was Sergeant Ambrose's dereliction of duty during Operation Sidewinder? He left our com set behind when he ditched his ruck, and separated from the team during the escape and evasion.
Isn't it true that there are four things a Marine should never ditch, no matter how bad it gets? The med Kit, the com set, ammo and water.
Yes, sir.
Did the man responsible for the med Kit keep his ruck? Yes, sir.
And because he did, Corporal Pluta was able to treat the shrapnel wounds on Sergeant Ambrose's leg, isn't that correct? Yes, sir.
Major, if Sergeant Ambrose had maintained the com set with the same diligence Corporal Pluta gave to the med Kit, do you think Corporal Pluta might still be alive today? Yes, sir.
I believe he would.
Nothing further.
Major, wasn't it your responsibility to make sure Sergeant Ambrose confirmed your order to stop in the sandstorm? Yes, ma'am.
And with the visibility being so poor, shouldn't you have made sure that he was on your six before you walked off? Yes, I suppose I should have, ma'am, but So one could just as easily claim that it was you who deserted Sergeant Ambrose in the storm, and not the other way around.
Objection, Your Honor.
Argumentative.
Your Honor, if this is about how one Marine's mistakes caused three men to be captured and two to die, we should at least be sure we have the right Marine.
No one would've been captured or killed if he would've just Just what, Major? Nothing.
You're right, Colonel.
It was my responsibility to make sure Sergeant Ambrose stayed with the team.
Yeah, but you were just about to tell us how everyone could've been saved.
Major, if Sergeant Ambrose failed to do anything that would've prevented the deaths of two Marines, I don't see why you would want to keep it from this hearing.
The Colonel's right, Major.
If you have information pertinent to this matter, I want to hear it.
Now.
Yes, ma'am.
Our staging position was only a few hundred yards from an enemy platoon.
He went right to the Iraqi platoon.
Told 'em where we were.
Surely you don't think Sergeant Ambrose's decision not to kill the child was a dereliction of duty.
Sergeant Ambrose volunteered for the mission knowing full well what it might entail.
Major, the ROE's prohibited the use of deadly force against non-combatants unless there was an imminent threat.
How could we be sure anyone was a non-combatant? The Fedayeen weren't wearing uniforms, and I've seen kids younger than the one who spotted us shooting weapons, wearing explosive belts.
While they were tending a herd of goats? Ma'am, given our close proximity to the enemy, anyone with two feet and a mouth was an imminent threat and had to be treated as such.
Major, if you really believe that, why did you omit the incident from your after-action report? Because you knew that ordering your men to shoot first and ask questions later was a direct violation of the rules of engagement, didn't you? Colonel, with all due respect, lawyers get to interpret those rules from behind a desk.
When you're hiding in a ditch, so close to the enemy you can smell their chow, it's not quite so easy.
So, yes, ma'am, we sometimes took a live mag on a training op, just in case.
Or we would lock and load on a helo insertion instead of waiting until we actually took fire.
Or cleared a cave with a grenade instead of a four-man team.
You ordered your team to ignore the rules of engagement, didn't you.
I ordered my men to not allow anything or anyone to stand in the way of mission completion.
Killing is never easy, I don't care who it is.
But neither is watching two of your best friends and having to tell their parents, their wives, their kids, that they're never gonna see their dads again, ever! And knowing that there's no reason but cowardice that it had to be this way.
I'm sorry for your loss, Major, but I still need you to answer my question.
! Did you make an agreement with your men to ignore the rules of engagement? Yes, ma'am.
GP is dialed in and ready to go.
Spectrum One, this is Zebra Base I'd advise you slow up a bit.
Make sure Andy gets a good look.
Roger that, Zebra.
Got an R light on the ECM panel.
That's all right.
At that speed, they can search their radar all they want.
That's easy for you to say, Zebra Base.
Andy, let me know if we get an M light, huh? Wilco.
What the hell? Alpha within limit.
Spectrum One, was that an unstart? I'm not sure, Zebra.
ICS spike and bypass doors are stable, but it looks like we lost power in the starboard engine.
ADS and hydraulics are stable.
Starboard has flamed out.
The starboard restart switch is on.
B yaw SAS axis falling off-line.
We're losing altitude.
That's all right.
You got plenty to give.
Port just flamed out! What the hell's going on?! Switching inlet controls to manual.
Both restart switches on! We need to abort.
We'll never complete the pass if we have to go subsonic to restart.
Take it easy.
Harm, do you have post gyration departure under control? Affirmative, Zebra.
For now.
Then don't worry.
Andy, you just take pictures.
Harm'll get the engines started.
We've crossed the border.
And we just got an M light.
They're tracking us.
What's our speed? Mach 4.
1 and falling fast.
We need to turn around.
If we can restart, we can come back.
And if we don't, we won't get the information they need.
We need to abort now, before it's too late.
We still have time.
We have speed and altitude we can give up.
But if you can't get the engines started! I'll get the engines started, don't worry! I'm sorry, Colonel.
I should've told you about the kid.
You're damn right you should've.
I figured if they didn't mention it, why should I? I know what I did was morally right, I just didn't know if it was legally right.
Well, it was.
Major Spain's order was illegal and therefore you were under no obligation to obey it.
Colonel, I won't put the blame on others.
Talking about the order or trying to shift blame would not only damage Major Spain's reputation and threaten the careers of my teammates, but also tarnish the memory of two good men who gave their lives for this country.
Major Spain's career is already over, I can guarantee you that.
I won't dishonor the Marine Corps, ma'am.
Sergeant, do you believe you should be court-martialed for sparing the life of that boy? No, ma'am.
Well, then you're going to have to take the stand and say that.
We need to talk.
Come on in.
I know you were hoping to preempt this, but I have no choice Willful disobedience and misbehavior before the enemy.
That Shepherd boy was not the enemy, which is why even your witness admitted that killing him would've violated the rules of engagement.
An order based on an "any threat is an imminent threat" policy is only illegal if the perceived threat turns out not to be real.
Come on, Sturgis, how could a ten-year-old Shepherd boy pose an imminent threat? Look what he did, Mac.
He ran right to the enemy.
What should the Marines have done, offered him some chocolate? Major Spain could've ordered him captured and tied up until they'd completed their mission.
The team was constantly on the move.
Leaving a restrained prisoner alone in the desert would be fatal just as sure as a knife.
The United States military does not sanction the preemptive killing of noncombatants simply because they may at some future point pose a threat.
They most certainly do, Colonel.
In Somalia, when crowds swarmed the downed Blackhawks, were the Delta snipers who went in to protect the pilots required to distinguish between those who had murderous intent and those who just wanted to see a helo close up? Major Spain made a command decision that anyone with two feet and a mouth was a direct and imminent threat.
Sergeant Ambrose was legally obligated to accept that assessment and act accordingly, ten-year-old child or not.
It's a thermocline at 54,000 feet.
You should be able to get ignition there at the latest.
Zebra, we're already in the missile envelope.
Even if they're able to lock in, at the rate you're losing altitude they'll probably think you've already been blown out of the sky.
Well, it wouldn't be far from the truth.
Andy, are you getting anything yet? I'm finding significant ground voids, but I can't get a good read on what's inside.
I think they've rigged ECMs to make it look like they're filled with water.
Or maybe it is water.
Let's hope so.
We've got an L light.
They've launched.
Turning off the ECM jammer.
How much longer do you need? If we maintain current heading, about 45 seconds.
Maintaining current heading.
Speed is Mach two and falling.
We need to get back over Mach three or we're toast.
I'm working on it.
Just keep your eye on that radar.
Incoming missile closing at Mach 2.
4.
Through the thermocline.
Hold on.
I'm gonna go subsonic.
Ah, geez.
If this doesn't work, prepare to eject.
Come on, come on.
We've got ignition in both engines.
Let's get the hell out of here.
You all right? Harm? We're still here, Zebra Base.
Andy, are you getting anything, are you transmitting? Negative.
The acceleration knocked the SAT link off-line.
Oh, great.
Now what? All right, boys Are you up for another Mach six U-turn? Sergeant, could you explain to the court why you chose not to execute the Iraqi boy as you were directed to by your senior officer? I just couldn't do it.
Because? He wasn't the enemy, ma'am.
He was just an innocent kid.
But you realized what this meant for your team? It meant we'd have to fight our way out of enemy territory.
But that's exactly what we're trained to do.
Not kill kids.
Do you really believe one boy's life was worth risking the lives of the men on your team? I just know I did the right thing.
Thank you.
Nothing further.
Sergeant Ambrose When Colonel Mackenzie asked you why you did what you did, you said you "just couldn't do it.
" Yes, Sir.
Not you chose not to do it, or you didn't want to do it, but that you just couldn't do it.
I guess, Sir.
It isn't easy killing another human being, is it? No, sir, it's not.
But prior to your team's insertion, the six of you went over the plan in detail, and discussed the very situation that you ended up encountering.
That of an unarmed civilian stumbling upon your staging position.
We did, Sir.
But we never talked about it being a little Ki But on principle, before the mission began, you had no objection to killing an unarmed noncombatant, when weighed against a compromise that would not only endanger the six Marines on your team, but the hundreds of Marines involved in an emergency extraction, isn't that correct? I guess, Commander.
Yes or no, Sergeant? Yes, sir.
So, in fact, it wasn't principle, nor the ROE's that kept you from carrying out your duties, it was cowardice.
Objection, Your Honor.
Argumentative.
Sustained.
I'll rephrase.
When Major Spain gave you the signal and you pulled your K-Bar, a knife specifically designed for killing other human beings, was it then principle or cowardice that motivated your subsequent inaction? Principle, sir.
So, in the final moments before your team was inserted into enemy territory, and the six of you looked each other in the eye and promised "Semper Fi," what you were really thinking was "Saepe Fi"? Sir? Sometimes faithful? No, sir.
Absolutely not.
It had to be one of the two, Sergeant.
Either you went into Iraq knowing you may have to do something you weren't willing to do or you were willing to fulfill the promises you made to the team, but when the time came, you just couldn't do it.
And isn't that the very definition of cowardice? Could you kill a kid, Commander? You're up there to answer questions, not ask them, Sergeant.
Actually, I'd like to answer that question, Your Honor.
Briefly, Commander.
From a thousand miles away with a Trident missile I could absolutely kill a child.
But with my bare hands, after looking into his eyes and seeing the fear, the confusion, the humanity eh, probably not.
But we all know I don't belong in Force Recon.
The question is, do you, Sergeant? I thought I did.
Is that what the Marines on your team deserved? A teammate who thought he could get the job done? No, sir.
Nothing further.
BLAISDELL How're we doing, Spectrum One? I don't know, Zebra.
Still not sure if that was really water in the tunnels or a jamming signal.
What do you need? Harm, they're throwing everything but the kitchen sink at us, okay? If we get another unstart Andy, just tell him what you need.
I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but if you slowed up a little bit, I might be able to get a little more detail.
Isn't that what got us into trouble the first time? If it happens again, at least this time we're headed out to sea.
I thought you didn't want to eject.
I don't.
So whatever you did last time don't.
All I did was ease off the throttle a little.
Well, ease off easier.
How's that? Good.
Just a little more.
Better? That's it.
That's it, I got it.
It's definitely water.
There's nothing in those tunnels but water.
You're sure? Affirmative.
Accelerating back to Mach six.
Their source must've heard the workers had been kicked out of the tunnels and assumed it was because someone else was going in.
I guess not for a while, unless they're wearing scuba gear.
Approaching way point three-Bravo.
Zebra Base, this is Spectrum One.
Approaching way point three-Bravo.
Request confirmation of target assessment and permission to leave denied area and refuel.
Target assessment is confirmed, Spectrum One.
Good work.
Great work, both of you.
Now, you still think that training missions aren't any fun? All I can say is you better have one hell of a dinner planned.
Don't worry, we do.
This was definitely not an easy decision to come to.
But with regard to the charge of dereliction of duty, I do not believe the defendant's actions during the escape and evasion rise to the level of willful negligence, and therefore recommend that no disciplinary action be taken.
But As to the additional charges of willful disobedience and misbehavior before the enemy While I certainly do not take the use of deadly force against civilians lightly The rules of engagement did allow such action under very limited circumstances.
Major Spain's order to neutralize the threat is therefore presumed to be lawful.
I find that reasonable grounds exist to believe the accused committed the offenses and recommend they be disposed of at general court-martial.
This hearing is adjourned.
I appreciate your help, ma'am.
You haven't been found guilty of anything yet, Sergeant.
They'll still have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt at a court-martial.
No, they won't, Colonel.
I'm not going to contest the charges.
I'm going to plead guilty.
But why? You did the right thing, Sergeant.
Commander Turner was right.
If I couldn't do what my fellow Marines expected of me, I should never have gone on the op.
I made a promise I couldn't keep.
Because of it two men are dead.
Must be nice.
What's that? To be above it all.
"I wouldn't do it, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be done.
" Mac Now that's cowardly.