Original subtitles

[ indistinct chattering]

Cod incoming, sir.

There's a woman getting off the cod.

There's a woman in your plane

if you haven't noticed.

Not like this one.

MAN: Smuggling pregnant Albanian women on board ship

is not part of our mission, Petty Officer Curran.

CURRAN: I know, sir.

But she needed help bad.

Do you know where she is, sir?

In sick bay, getting checked out.

But I think you'd better worry about yourself right now, son.

Yes, sir.

How much trouble am I in, sir?

Commander Rabb is the wing legal officer.

He's going to help us try to figure that out.

The other officer in the back of the cod, Petty Officer Strawn,

he said that you told him Zepa Berisha

was on the manifest. She was not on the manifest.

No, sir.

Apparently, Petty Officer Strawn was a last-minute replacement

for your regular partner, Petty Officer Simpkins?

He missed the flight this morning?

Yes, sir.

Petty Officer Simpkins would have known

that Zepa didn't belong on that flight.

He might have tried to stop her.

Are you saying that's why he missed the flight?

That's right, sir.

I got him drunk last night

and locked him in a supply shed

at the Pristina Airport.

[ opening theme music playing]

RABB: You want to tell us why

You smuggled the pregnant woman aboard the ship?

Yes, sir.

Zepa's fiancé was going to kill her.

She came to the airport to try and get away,

but the Russian guards just chased her off.

They didn't care.

But I walked through the gates just then,

kind of like it was fate.

"Fate"?

Yes, sir.

I mean, we weren't even supposed to be

overnighting in Kosovo,

but an oil filter chip light on the plane went bad.

So... fate led you to Miss Berisha?

Yes, sir.

Well, that and she was crying so hard.

She told me she was going to be murdered.

I had to do something, sir.

MacKENZIE: Good morning, Tiner.

Good morning, ma'am.

Good morning, Gunny.

There's enough crap on that table to hide Jimmy Hoffa.

Square it away, Tiner.

Right away, Gunny.

The admiral's expecting you, Colonel.

Thank you.

[ knocks at door]

Gunnery Sergeant Galindez reporting as ordered, sir.

At ease, Gunny.

Glad to see that you chose us over early retirement.

You offered me a challenge, sir.

I like challenges.

Well, Gunny, that's what Napoleon said

when he invaded Russia.

I expect better results from you.

This is Lieutenant Roberts, one of our

junior attorneys.

Gunny's going to be running

the disaster area we call JAG Ops.

Well, if you keep it half as tight as it was,

you'll do a great job.

It's not going to be as tough as Iwo Jima, Lieutenant.

CHEGWIDDEN: Well, you know, Colonel, everything is relative.

In my world, just tracking down

two simple concert tickets is turning

into the trials of Job.

That's what I get for letting Admiral Drake's wife enlist me

for the Navy relief auction.

Well, sir, I'm sure that I can help you with that.

What's the concert, sir?

Uh, something called

"Limp Bizkit."

Sounds like a kitchen accident

or a glandular condition.

Anyway, I called

Ticket Forum...

laughed at me.

Said the concert was sold out in 15 minutes.

I might be able to utilize

the Marine Corps pipeline on that one, sir.

I've got a buddy who knows some people connected

to the rock 'n' roll world.

ROBERTS: Actually, Limp Bizkit

doesn't play rock 'n' roll per se.

They're metal rappers.

"Metal rappers," Lieutenant?

I didn't know you were such a devotee.

Just someone get me two tickets, please.

You're dismissed, Gunny.

Aye, aye, sir.

BERISHA: Doctors say

after I feel better, they send me back.

Well, a ship's sick bay is no place

for a pregnant woman.

Ismet will kill me.

Did not Sean tell you?

Petty Officer Curran did say that your fiancé threatened to kill you.

I do not blame him.

He feels such shame.

Maybe you should send me back.

Send me now or let me jump in sea.

Miss Berisha, you want to tell me

what this is all about?

What about?

Look at me.

The baby's not your fiancé's?

It is Serb's.

They came to our village after NATO was bombing.

They shot young men and they took me

and other girls to basement of school.

I'm sorry.

The other girls, they tell their families

Serbs only make them make coffee.

No matter what, it was just "they made me make coffee"

to avoid shame.

But look at me.

It is more than coffee.

You have done nothing wrong.

You Americans, you don't understand.

Sean said he would be in trouble. Is he?

Well, he might be, yes.

But he just wanted to save me.

Save my baby.

Even so.

Save our lives.

Isn't that why you Americans come to Kosovo?

SKATES: she has a point.

You know, you look in her eyes,

you can almost feel what she's been through.

And the kid?

The petty officer who helped her?

His heart was in the right place, I guess.

What place is it going to go to next, the brig?

That part's not up to me.

I'll send my report in to JAG, allied forces southern Europe.

I emphasize the extenuating circumstances

but you know the Navy.

JONAS: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls

I want you all to check out a special delivery

from our old friend, X-Man, di-rect from Dallas.

I give you the original Texas Tornado,

Miss Patrick Henry!

[ men laughing]

Never complains,

never talks back,

and all you have to do at the end of the night is

deflate her.

Oh, Hawkeye, I think she's got

her name written all over you.

Here, have a date. You need one.

If this is the best they can do for a floor show,

I'm going to go work on my needlepoint.

Are you offended?

Not as a woman.

As a human being.

To be on the same planet with these idiots.

[ raucous laughter ]

OFFICER: Hey, pass, don't hog it.

Hey, Commander, you want the first dance?

Not with your date, Jonas.

I thought the X-Man was

on corrosion-control duty in Capodichino.

He resigned his commission, sir.

Commander, you got Buxton acquitted.

Couldn't you have at least stood up for him

when they tried to ground him?

Lieutenant, your friend nearly started World War III.

Attention on deck.

I came to see Commander Rabb.

Yes, sir.

You keep that thing away from me, Jonas,

or I will personally let the air out of its tires.

Yes, sir.

Any word yet, sir,

on what they plan to do with Petty Officer Curran?

No, thank you.

Actually, yes.

He's being charged with unlawful detention,

causing his buddy to miss a movement of his aircraft,

and violating the general order against stowaways

by smuggling his pregnant "fate" partner on board ship.

A little harsh, don't you think, sir?

He could be discharged or jailed.

It's out of our hands, Harm.

And that's not why I came to talk to you.

Fitness reports are coming up

and I thought we ought to talk

before I signed off on yours.

You're a good aviator, Harm.

Well, thank you, sir.

Now, why do I get the impression

you're building me up before you let me down?

I think you know what's coming.

Too old, not enough flight hours, not enough traps.

You've only been back in the cockpit five months

and already you're running out of sky.

Another tour or two, and I'll be flying a desk.

You've been gone eight years, Harm.

You got a thousand hours.

Some of these guys have 3,000,

plus 600 traps and 50 or 60 combat missions.

You missed a couple of wars.

This numbnuts back here with the doll will be

commanding a squadron before you do.

GALINDEZ:: So was it cannon or beckstead

he kept in touch with?

Well, find out, or I'll get out the pugil sticks

and go upside your head again.

No, don't start, Jonesy.

I never heard of Limp Bizkit before today either,

but these tickets are important, trust me.

All right, I knew I trained you right.

Everything under control, Lieutenant?

-Uh, that desk. -Yes, sir.

Petty Officer Dooley sits there.

He's T.A.D. at Pensacola.

I wasn't aware of that, sir.

There was nothing on it and I hadn't looked in the drawers.

Well, I would've told you earlier if I wasn't in court, but...

Not a problem, sir.

I'll make the rest of my calls right over here.

Uh, you can't sit there either.

I can't, sir?

No, that's Lieutenant Sims' desk.

I didn't know there was a Lieutenant Sims working here, sir.

Yes, there is.

She's in inactive reserve.

Inactive reserve.

Doesn't that mean she isn't here, sir?

Yes, she is.

Two days a month.

Today, Lieutenant?

Well, not today.

But I don't know.

Maybe today.

Well, in that case, sir,

I guess the only place left

for me to sit is the floor.

It's looking freshly buffed, wouldn't you say?

Uh, uh, wait, uh, Gunny...

I'm sure that Lieutenant Sims wouldn't mind

if you used her desk-- temporarily.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate the slack you're cutting me.

DOOLEY [ on phone ]: 250 bucks.

-$250?! -DOOLEY: Yeah.

Now I know why they call them scalpers.

DOOLEY: Well, you want them or not?

Forget about it, Dooley.

I'll go to plan B.

[ computer keys clacking]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is enemy territory--

the Serb-held portion of Bosnia.

We have no friends there-- none.

But that is where we're going to be spending our time, starting today.

Due to inclement weather, we are taking over

the reconnaissance responsibilities of our satellites.

Intel reports that there are paramilitary units massing

between Foca and Konjic

for a possible incursion into Muslim territory.

I want pictures.

Lots of pictures.

In retaliation for the indictment of Milosevich

as a war criminal,

these folks have declared all NATO pilots war criminals...

to be punished as such.

So if you are shot down and captured,

do not expect to be given the honeymoon suite.

Rest assured, however, you will not be forgotten.

We willcome after you.

If we can survive until dark, sir.

Daylight is dicey, Skates.

These folks might enjoy using our search and rescue helos as target practice.

So remember what you learned in survival school:

hunker down for night extraction.

Let's fly.

Hey, Skates, just think about dinner.

Gets me back to the boat every time.

Damn it!

The ladder is greasy.

I'm sorry, ma'am.

I should've wiped it down.

Skates, you got a track file on that airliner yet?

Hey, Skates, you with us?

Oh, yeah.

This new software's just strapping a load on me.

So give it a kick.

Okay, it's up now.

What did you need?

Track file on the airliner.

It's Israeli.

Angels 32, headed 080 at 400 knots.

He's no problem.

RABB: Lieutenant?

You got a minute?

Commander Rabb.

Thought you were up at the unfriendly skies.

Made it back down.

That was a good feeling, I'll bet.

Usually.

I understand you're representing Petty Officer Curran

on his court-martial.

That's right.

I, uh, was under the impression you, uh,

you were more in the administrative side of the law,

-Lieutenant. -I always wanted to try criminal cases, sir.

I thought this one would be a good place to start.

Think that's fair to Petty Officer Curran?

I know what I'm doing, sir.

Then you know that the obvious defense in this case would be...

Duress. Got it right here.

"Criminal conduct may be excused

"if the accused party resorted to such conduct

to prevent death or serious injury..."

"...to himself or to another innocent person."

I know what the book says, Lieutenant.

Do you know how to argue it in a court of law?

I think I can handle it, commander.

It's an affirmative defense, Lieutenant.

It has to be airtight.

Under control, Commander, thank you.

ROBERTS: Why, it's a computer auction, Harriet.

I just need our credit card number.

No, I will not get caught up in the bidding frenzy

and lose my head.

Ah.

Thank you.

[ chuckles]

Damn. $120?

Damn.

Damn.

Harriet, hey, it's me again.

How close are we to our credit card limit?

Good.

Take that, Cavalier.

[ chuckles]

What the hell's going on with Tiner?

I've never seen him so damned industrious.

Not sure, Admiral, but there does seem

to be some dissension among the ranks.

About what?

Competition to get you those concert tickets.

I like it.

I like it.

But why the sudden urge to gain my favor?

Well, there's a new gunny in town, sir.

Glad I brought him aboard.

[ sighs]

Right.

SIMPKINS: We had a one-night liberty

in Pristina, which is kind of a break.

Usually we sleep on the ship.

And that was because your aircraft broke down?

Well, it didn't actually break, sir.

It was something with the warning lights.

We get along pretty good with the flight officers

but they don't tell us everything.

And your job, along with that of the defendant

Petty Officer Curran

was taking care of the back of the plane?

Yes, sir.

The equipment, the paperwork, the passengers.

That's right, sir. Sean and I

were a team until he locked me in a storage shed.

Please tell us about the events

that led up to that, Petty Officer Simpkins.

Well, we had the night off from Pristina.

It wasn't exactly Paris, but it is pacified.

There's like a couple of restaurants

and a couple places to get a drink.

Do you usually drink, Petty officer Simpkins?

Uh, a little, sir.

If I have more than three or four beers, I get pretty tired.

Did Petty Officer Curran know that?

Objection. How can this witness know

the contents of the defendant's mind?

Can you, Petty Officer Simpkins?

Well, sure.

Sean saw me pass out twice in Italy, sir.

Objection overruled.

He saw you pass out after you'd been drinking?

SIMPKINS: We had liberty in Genoa and went out with some guys.

Sean carried me home, sir.

Just like he was my friend.

What happened during your night out in Pristina?

Sean kept buying me drinks, sir.

When I said I'd better stop,

he bought me more of the local stuff--

raki?

He said it wasn't that strong.

It tasted like turpentine.

And then what happened?

Well, it all got kind of hazy, sir.

Sean helped me home-- I thought.

I woke up with a real bad headache and a pain in my side,

'cause I was sleeping on a rope.

I looked at my watch, I saw that it was flight time.

I tried to get out of the shed but the door was locked.

And if you had made it to the plane

would you have known that Zepa Berisha

was not an authorized passenger and kept her off?

Yes, sir. It's not a public bus.

Thank you.

Let me get this straight, Petty Officer Simpkins--

you missed the movement of an aircraft

you were duty bound to catch, is that right?

That's right, sir.

Which is a serious offense

under the uniform code of military justice.

I know, sir. That's why I damn near broke the shed door down.

But you were never charged, were you?

Sir, why should I be?

Because you committed a serious crime

that carries a maximum penalty of a year in Leavenworth.

And yet in exchange for your testimony against the defendant,

the convening authority has seen fit to let it go.

Because he got me drunk and locked me in a shed... sir.

Your Honor, I move to dismiss the first

charge against my client--

that of causing Petty Officer Simpkins

to miss the movement of his plane.

This is an accomplice crime.

It is a clear denial of equal justice and basic equity

to charge my client as an accomplice

if the principle who actually

missed the plane has not been charged.

It's black-letter law, sir.

Manual for Courts-Martial, Article 77, Paragraph B-6.

"The principle need not be prosecuted

for the charge against the accomplice to stand."

That's in the M.C.M.?

I'll lend you my copy if you don't have one, Lieutenant.

Or you can borrow mine.

Motion denied.

Do you have any more questions?

Yes, sir.

You passed out because you drank.

The defendant didn't make you take those drinks, did he?

No, sir. But he did lock me in the shed.

But you might have missed the plane anyway if you

were passed out drunk.

No. I wouldn't have, sir.

Come on, Petty Officer Simpkins, you were semi-comatose.

How could you possibly be sure

you wouldn't have missed the plane?

Because after we finished drinking,

I was going to sleep on the plane, sir.

No further questions.

Well, I did make a couple points.

You forgot the first rule

of cross-examination, Counselor--

you don't ask a question you don't know the answer to.

Well, I think on balance I did fairly well.

Well, I think on balance,

your client better start planning his appeal.

With all due respect, commander, he's my client.

I think he's more like your guinea pig.

Look, Lieutenant, why don't you and I sit down together

and we can go over your strategy for the rest of the trial.

I know you used to be a JAG, Commander,

but you're an aviator now.

This is my job.

MacKENZIE: So, the new gunny's

a take-charge guy, don't you think?

If you like that kind of thing, Colonel.

I thought we in the military

did like that kind of thing, Lieutenant.

Well, yes, of course, ma'am.

It's just I guess I'm having a hard time

accepting the fact that he's replacing Harriet.

So this is just about Harriet?

Well, of course.

I mean, I hope that she returns here eventually

and I want there to be a place for her.

This isn't about you?

Me? I'm an attorney.

I have no conflict with an office manager.

Not even when that manager has special access

to the attention and interest of the Admiral?

[ sighs]

He does, doesn't he, ma'am?

We'd all like the admiral to think we're special.

You should see Tiner.

He's behaving like a child.

He even hid the gunny's postage meter.

Bud, Tiner is a child.

You're not.

BERISHA: The guard was laughing at me.

He said maybe I just want to go to America

to find a rich father for my bastard.

And that's when Petty Officer Curran approached you?

Yes. He was so kind.

He asked why I was crying.

MAN: And what did you tell him?

That Ismet, my fiancé, he want to kill me.

He feels such shame because I was raped.

And was it true that your fiancé wanted to kill you?

Yes.

Other girls, they killed themselves.

Or their families sent them

to fight the Serbs and get killed.

There is no way ever to end shame while you live.

-MAN: But you wanted to live? -BERISHA: Yes.

So Petty Officer Curran saved your life

by bringing you on to this aircraft carrier?

Yes.

Your witness.

Miss Berisha

your fiancé and you, you lived in the same village?

Yes.

And he wanted to kill you?

Yes.

Then why aren't you dead?

He didn't try yet, but I know he's coming for me.

So he never actually tried to kill you?

When I went to Pristina, he came after me.

Him and his brothers.

I saw one of them on main street.

How do you know

they didn't just come to take you home?

I know them.

They are my people.

Did Petty Officer Curran know them?

No.

He only knew what you told him, isn't that right?

I suppose.

He didn't talk to your fiancé,

his cousin, his brother, to the police?

Why should he?

To verify that you were actually in danger.

I wasin danger.

I amin danger.

So you said.

During his stay in Pristina

did Petty Officer Curran see anybody else who needed help?

Many people need help there.

But he didn't help anybody else, did he?

I don't know.

Not like he helped you.

No.

The many other people who need help,

I suppose most of them are not as attractive as you are.

Objection.

Never mind, Your Honor.

I'm done.

So, here you are.

Court-martial can't be over.

No, we're on recess.

I thought I'd take this time to talk to you

about blowing up at Griggsy.

Pretty weak, huh?

You want to tell me what's going on?

-It's nothing. -[ jet engine roaring ]

Really?

I don't know, Harm.

I've been shot at,

nearly got killed in a ramp strike.

Now we're making milk runs and I'm a basket case.

Bizarre time to realize I'm not bulletproof.

Hey, you never were.

Thought I was.

Then the catapult woke me up one night,

and there I was in a sweat.

Like the plane going off the deck was

taking my luck with it.

I don't know if this helps, but I know how you feel.

You had a reason:

your night blindness, the crash.

This was before all that.

This was back in the days

when I was sure they were going

to be naming an airport after me.

Small airport, but...

You know, I woke up one morning

and I was sure if I got in a plane

I was not coming back alive.

But you flew.

Yeah, and I obviously came back.

But, you know, the next day I felt the same way

and the next.

How long did it last?

It lasted about a week.

Did it ever come back?

Nope.

You know why it went away?

I don't know.

I just know if you keep flying, it will go away.

CURRAN: I read the papers, sir.

I knew what happened there:

the murders, the rapes, the atrocities.

So you believed Miss Berisha

when she told you she'd been raped?

Yes, sir.

And when she said that

her fiancé was going to kill her?

I know it's a very traditional society.

I read an article in Newsweek.

So you did the things that you're charged with here

because in your mind, you had no doubt

that Miss Berisha was telling the truth.

It wasn't just that she's pretty, sir.

You saw her. You heard her.

Did it sound like she was lying?

No, it didn't.

Your witness.

So you did notice that she is pretty?

Yes, sir, of course.

Is that why you didn't bother

to check out her story?

I didn't have a lot of time, sir.

We were leaving the next morning.

You had time to take your friend out, get him drunk

and lock him in a shed so he couldn't challenge

your lie about Miss Berisha belonging on that flight.

I'm really sorry about that.

I didn't know what else to do, sir.

And that's your defense?

That you committed the crimes you're charged with

because you had no other way to save Miss Berisha's life?

I didn't see any other way, sir.

Did you happen to notice a big red cross

on a building at the Pristina Airport?

I think so, sir.

Were you aware that that building

is filled with dedicated professionals

working to help people like Zepa Berisha?

CURRAN: I never went into the building, sir.

Were you aware of another building half a mile away

occupied by NATO war crime investigators,

police officers and victim counselors?

CURRAN: No, sir, I wasn't.

YUEN: Did you ask anybody

about the existence of such services?

CURRAN: No, sir.

YUEN: So you believed

Miss Berisha needed help...

[ whispering]: He has just completely destroyed your duress defense.

What should I do?

Ask him about the small town he grew up in

and his Boy Scout values.

You know, his basic decency, trust, goodness,

and how sorry he is.

Anything else?

I got plenty, Lieutenant, but I have a plane to fly.

Good luck.

I guess maybe I could've asked around, sir.

Yes... I guess maybe you could have.

Gunny...

Oh, sir.

One of the drawers was stuck.

I found this jammed under the roller.

"I love you.

"Happy Valentine's Day.

Thank you for being part of my life, Bud."

I didn't think you put it there for me, sir.

Uh, no. Lieutenant Sims, whose desk this is-- was-- is my wife.

I figured, sir.

Guess I seem like a poacher to you.

Well, no. No, not at all.

In fact, my wife, Lieutenant Sims...

gave me these to give to you--

home addresses and phone numbers

for everybody at JAG, nighttime phone numbers

for the C.N.O.'s staff, locksmith,

plumbers...

Uh, the admiral's preferences for restaurants,

airline seats, his daughter's phone numbers in Italy

andLieutenant Sims' special codes

for the filing system.

Outstanding, sir.

The whole Junior Woodchuck Survival Guide.

Look, Gunny...

this place has been kind of a mess.

We could really use some help.

Thank you, sir.

[ phone ringing]

JAG Ops, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.

Tuna, you're the photo beanie. You take the lead.

I'll cover your six.

Photo beanie going in.

Camera on.

Your six is clear.

MEDWICK: Flak trap!

Hang on.

Brake left!

Reverse your turn.

Took a hit, Pappy.

I'm shutting down starboard engine.

Head for the beach; I'll look you over.

Don't waste your time.

This thing is shaking like a magic fingers bed.

I'll punch out as low as you want, Tuna. Your call.

You got to get out of Indian country.

Can you make it feet wet?

MEDWICK: Negative.

We're going down, Harm.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Big Mother, this is Badman One.

Badman Two has a battle-damaged aircraft.

Cannot maintain flight.

Attempting to make feet wet.

Big Mother's been listening, Badman One.

We are en route.

You hear that, Tuna?

All you got to do is get there.

MEDWICK: Fat chance. Head for the boat

and let us eject in peace, would you, Harm?

What, into the arms of those maniacs?

Forget it.

-We're going down. -RABB: No, you're not!

Drop your tailhook.

MEDWICK: Why?

RABB: Just do it, Lieutenant.

RABB: Hold your course, Tuna.

What are you doing?

I'm going to push them someplace they can eject

without getting themselves killed.

If that thing comes through the windscreen...

Just worry about Tuna and Archie!

Yes, sir.

Give me the closure rate.

Four knots...

three knots...

two knots...

Contact.

What are you doing back there?

Pushing you.

How are we looking, Skates?

12 miles till feet wet.

Damn it!

Skates!

We're closing at six knots.

Four knots...

two knots...

Here we go again.

RABB: Okay.

[ sighs]

Is that thing going to hold?

ARCHULETA: Oh, God.

There's a ridge coming up.

The ocean's got to be on the other side of that.

Tell me about the ridge, Skates.

It's 3,473 feet high and 6.2 miles away.

What about us?

SKATES: We're passing 6,200 feet.

Rate of descent: 1,800 feet per minute.

Time to ridge: two minutes.

We can get them over.

It's going to be close.

Tuna, dump your fuel.

You got it.

RABB: Keep talking, Skates.

Rate of descent down to 1,400 feet.

You got to help me fly this plane, Skates.

I can't look at anything but this damn tailhook,

and I don't want us splattered all over that ridge.

So, keep a clearance of 500 feet.

Anything lower than that, we tell them to punch out.

We're three miles away.

Rate of descent: 1,200 feet.

Altitude: 4,800.

We're a minute out.

Keep that cushion at 500.

I can do the math.

Stay above 3,900.

We going to make it?

Talk to me, Skates.

Thirty seconds out.

4,200.

Fifteen seconds out.

4,000.

Thirty-nine is the limit.

Are we punching out?

No.

Keep talking, Skates.

SKATES: we're over the ridge

at 3,900 feet.

Yes!

Yeah! [ laughs]

you sure about that cushion?

You gave me the call.

I made it.

Three miles to feet wet.

Two miles.

One-and-a-half.

We're coming up on the line.

Now! Now!

Now!

Tuna, you are cleared for nylon descent.

Thanks for the lift, Harm.

Big Mother, this is Badman One.

Badman Two has ejected.

Two good chutes.

Awaiting your arrival.

Badman One is on scene, Commander.

Whoo!

x[ laughing]

[ cheering and whooping]

How'd you even thinkof trying something like that?

Desperation.

[ laughter]

You made it, Skates.

Does this mean you're going to be flying with us for a while?

Harm, if I can live through your stunts,

I can live through anything.

JONAS: Commander Rabb.

We all thought it was time

you got a new call sign.

The CAG told us about your father.

Sounds as though he was almost as crazy as his son.

Besides, you're way too young to be called "Pappy."

"Hammer."

That was his call sign, wasn't it, sir?

We'll have that painted up right away.

I don't think your dad would mind.

[ applause and cheers]

And so, Your honor,

I ask you to temper justice with compassion

and please acquit Petty Officer Curran.

Very well.

I've heard both cases

and your closing arguments.

I'm ready right now

to deliver my verdict.

Excuse me, Your Honor.

I'd like to make a motion.

Your honor, it's

a little late for motions.

Lieutenant?

Not for a motion for a finding of a "not guilty"

based on the prosecution's failure

to make a prima facie case.

I made my case, Your Honor.

Let's eliminate the middleman.

Lieutenant Aldridge, who's your ventriloquist?

I'm Lieutenant Commander Rabb, sir.

I'm an attorney, and I've been assisting in the defense

of Petty Officer Curran.

So I've noticed.

What's the basis of this motion?

Well, sir, on the charge of being an accomplice

to Petty Officer Simpkins'

missing the movement of his aircraft,

the prosecution's case is missing a required element.

We already argued this, Your Honor.

Petty Officer Curran can be convicted

if Petty Officer Simpkins is not charged.

The Manual for Courts-Martial spells that out

in Article 77, Paragraph B-6.

Well, that's nice, but if you read Paragraph B-2, Sub B-2...

May I approach, sir?

Yes.

To be convicted, Petty Officer Curran

would have had to have shared

in Petty Officer Simpkins' criminal purpose or design.

That's what it says.

By the prosecution's

own argument, Petty Officer Simpkins

missed the movement of his plane

because he was passed out drunk.

There was no criminal purpose

or design, so Petty Officer Curran

could not have shared in it.

This is highly technical.

And accurate, it seems.

That still leaves the fact

that Petty Officer Curran

locked Petty Officer Simpkins in a shed.

For which you have charged him

under Article 97-- unlawful detention.

It doesn't apply, sir.

Commander,

you're saying Curran had the right

to lock Simpkins in the shed?

I have no position on that.

I only point to United States v. Johnson

and the U.S. v. Cuevas-Ovalle,

in which the Military Court of Review

says Article 97 applies only to those individuals

acting under the color of the law

such as a military policeman

who improperly throws someone in the brig.

What Petty Officer Curran did, Commander, is still kidnapping.

That may be, Lieutenant,

but you didn't charge him with kidnapping.

What about the Article 92 charge--

disobeying the general order against stowaways?

Well, sir, on the face of it,

it would appear that he did disobey that order.

"On the face of it"?

He flat-out disobeyed, sir.

He had a conflicting obligation, Lieutenant, as a human being

and as a member of the United States Navy, sir.

Does the commander have a citation

from the M.C.M. or case law to back that up?

It's not a matter of law books, Lieutenant.

It's a matter

of humanity, of decency.

What Petty Officer Curran did--

by coming to the aid of a defenseless woman

he perceived to have been a victim of enemy atrocities, sir,

at the risk of his own career--

is that not the essence

of what our armed forces are for, sir?

Commander,

we dealt with all that dur...

All right, I've heard enough.

Petty officer Curran,

please rise.

On the charges

under Article 77 and 93, I find you not guilty.

On the charge of disobeying an order,

I find you guilty,

and sentence you to forfeiture of pay

$200 a month for two months.

[ gavel bangs]

I am very happy for you, Sean.

$400. It's nothing.

But they're still going to be sending you back.

We'll speak to NATO's personnel on the ground.

We'll do everything we can to make sure you're safe.

NATO will be in Kosovo only for a little while.

Ismet and his brothers will be there forever.

You know, Lieutenant, as fleet JAG,

you could launch an investigation

into the lapse in procedure that made this event possible.

Well, I'm not really sure there's any point in launching

an investigation.

That's true.

Miss Berisha would then have to remain aboard ship

at least long enough to speak to the investigators.

Oh, right, and they'd have to come from Italy.

Very backed up in Italy at the moment.

-Could take... -Weeks...

maybe a couple of months.

RABB: 'Course, by then, her child would

have been born aboard ship.

Which would mean she would be

the mother of an American citizen.

Does that mean she could go to the States, sir?

Is that so?

Well, I think that's the way it works,

although it's not really my area of expertise.

You know, Lieutenant, you may make

a halfway decent lawyer yet.

GALINDEZ: Here you are, Admiral.

Two seats, third row center.

Where the hell did you get these?

Turns out I know a drill instructor at Parris Island.

His cousin's a roadie for some thrash rapper

Limp Bizkit used to open for.

I don't know what the hell that means

but thank them all for me.

Yes, sir.

Lieutenant Roberts to see you, sir.

Send him in.

Admiral, I have two Limp Bizkit tickets for you.

I bought them in an auction on the... Internet.

Your screen name is Mr. Funky?

Sir.

Mr. Funky?

You're Cavalier?

I can't believe you went to $300.

You two were bidding against each other?

Apparently so.

You spent $300 on these tickets?

Yes, sir.

How much were yours, Gunny?

Those were comps, sir.

Well, Lieutenant, um, I'll get you a receipt for the donation--

unless you want to go to the concert.

I hear they really rock.

I'm going to miss you.

-Am I going somewhere, sir? -Back to JAG.

You got nothing else to prove as an aviator--

to the world, or yourself, or your father.

You stay here, you're flying into a career dead end.

Harm, I saw you defending that young crewman,

making sure the right thing happened.

Your heart's in the law.

You love it. I could see it.

This isn't just a way to get me out of your air wing, is it, sir?

There is no one else I would rather have flying for me, commander.

But if you stay here, you're flying toward nothing.

You go back to JAG, you got a chance to help some people

and have a hell of a time doing it.

Ah, you already know that.

That's why you've already decided.

[ closing theme music playing]