Original subtitles

I say again, come right, 055.

A 055, aye, sir. Demon Rivera, do I need to have you relieved?

Uh, no, sir.

Then man your helm, son.

Aye, aye, sir.

All deck personnel, kill transfer has commenced.

Officer at the deck, wind shifting to starboard quarter.

Captain, we're getting sucked in.

Captain has the con.

Both of the men of the watch, take the helm.

Aye, aye, sir. Right standard rudder, steady on course 070.

Standard right rudder, come to 070, aye.

This is the captain all hands. Emergency breakaway.

Repeat the emergency breakaway.

Get a corpsman down there.

Lieutenant Gold, take the con.

Lieutenant Nelson, you are relieved.

Sir, steady on course 070.

Very well.

Stupid, needless mishap.

Seaman Rivera, I'm confining you to bread and water for three days.

Captain, if I might point out, it was the wind ship. It was negligence,

Lieutenant Nelson.

Now escort Seaman Rivera to the master in arms shack.

Captain, with all due respect, he's entitled to a hearing.

Fine. Do you have anything to say, Seaman Rivera?

Sir, no, sir.

Lock him up, Mr. Nelson, and spare me your customary whining.

That was not due process, sir.

Are you refusing to obey an order, mister?

Yes, sir. I must respectfully... Lieutenant Nelson is hereby relieved of

and restricted to quarters, pending court martial.

Now get off of my bridge.

Can I help you, Commander?

You must be the new Gunny.

Yes, sir. Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galendez, and you're... Commander Ratt.

Welcome back, sir.

Thank you, Tyner.

They're in the conference room. I believe they're expecting you, sir.

Nice to meet you, Gunny. Sir.

Political consideration is a sign of a willful disobedience case. It's

Lieutenant Commander Rapp, reporting as ordered, sir.

Come on in, Rapp. Take a seat.

A willful disobedience case is as always a lose -lose situation.

Then perhaps you should give it to Lieutenant Robertson.

Well, he's accustomed to losing.

Can I remind you of the Barstow case, Commander?

The lieutenant had an unfair advantage there.

How's that?

You were prosecuting. That was your advantage.

It was an incredible experience, sir. I wouldn't trade it for the world. I

understand you did pretty well.

Well, I held my own, sir.

Pushing another F -14 by a tail hook 12 miles through hostile airspace. I'd say

you did more than hold your own. Apparently, Admiral Nash agrees.

He's putting you in for your second Distinguished Flying Cross.

Thank you, sir. I was unaware of that.

Commander, are you sure you want to settle for being a lawyer after all this

action?

Admiral, I don't consider it settling.

Get yourself a proper uniform.

Sir? You're insignia.

Get rid of that line officer star and get yourself a Jag Mill Ryan. You work

me now. Have a seat.

Thank you, sir.

I guess you'll want me to get started on sentencing reports and pretrial

motions.

Why the hell would I want to waste your talents on such mundane assignments like

that?

Sir, I just thought since I left your command... That I would hold a grudge.

Commander, do you consider me that petty and vindictive? No, sir, of course not.

I just thought a precedent had been set. When Colonel McKenzie left, you had her

all but swabbing the deck.

She left for the glamour civilian line? Hell, you went out and got yourself

another DFC.

No. Oh.

As a matter of fact, I have a nice new case for you right here.

Thank you, sir.

A willful disobedience. You'll defend Robert's second chair, Brumby's

prosecuting. I'll do my best, sir.

Well, I sure the hell hope so. It's a second half, son.

Welcome back, Commander.

That'll be all.

Sorry. Force of habit. No worries, mate. You're next door to Mac now.

Colonel? Commander.

I was about to come see you.

They painted in here.

I could never get them to paint.

All in the way you ask, I guess.

Oh, by the way, I understand you're defending Lieutenant Nelson.

That's right.

If you lose harm, you'll always be known as the man who let the second -half son

go to prison.

Well, you'll be the guy who put him there, Brumby.

Excuse me, ma 'am. Come on, you should really get some help with that. Oh, I

it. Thank you.

Finish.

Jordan, hey, it's... harm again.

I'm at the office now.

Give me a call.

I'd like to see you.

Okay, goodbye.

Colonel?

Out there, it's Colonel. In here, it's Mac.

But how's it feel, being back?

Like I left yesterday.

And I've been gone a hundred years.

Yeah, I know the feeling.

Except, you know, when I came back, I was condemned to writing mindless

for a month. Now you're the Admiral's Chief of Staff.

Well, not officially.

Are you free for lunch?

Brumby and I are going to grab a bite.

Biden and I have to go to Norfolk.

Well, maybe another time.

Sorry again about the office, bud. Oh, hey, if I had to lose it to somebody,

glad it was you, sir.

You know, I never thought I'd see you back here at JAG, let alone work a case

with me.

I understand you've become quite a litigator.

Huh? You know, got lucky. Won a few cases. Oh, well, I hear you kicked

butt once or twice.

Yes, sir.

Kind of like, uh... You kicked mine before I left?

Well, sort of, sir. Yes, sir.

We are hooked up to the oiler taking on fuel.

I had the con.

But refueling is always tricky, sir, especially in heavy seas.

All the way down to the cleats, McWilliams. All right, sir.

I'm sorry, sir. My office is full of tarps. I have to get this painting

completed. No problem.

Anyway, you have to maintain position relative to the supply ship. Too close,

you collide.

Too far, you break the fuel line.

The deck log says it's seeming to have made an error at the helm.

Uh, yes, sir. He missed out a speed adjustment, but I caught it in time.

He was shook up, but he would have been okay.

Then the wind shifted, and a swell pushed us towards the oiler. Commander

ordered an emergency breakaway. One of the fuel lines broke and whipped across

the deck and hit a linesman.

Then Commander Burke held a captain's class.

There was no captain's mass, sir.

It was arbitrary punishment.

Commander Burke is a highly regarded officer, Lieutenant.

Whom I respected.

Until I served under him for a few weeks.

What changed your mind?

The way he treated me.

He was on my tail from the get -go.

Did he treat you different than the other junior officers?

He rode them all pretty hard, too, sir.

But he was especially tough on you.

I know I have a lot to learn, sir, and the skipper demands perfection.

I can deal with that.

I grew up dealing with that.

But he went over the line with me.

How? Constant fault -finding, rebukes in front of the crew, verbal abuse.

Verbal abuse. As deck division officer, I have 20 men and women working under

me. How can they respect a boss whose D .O. is always chipping at him?

Lieutenant, do you think that your father's position has anything to do

Commander Burke's treatment of you?

No. Why would it?

Maybe Commander Burke's holding a grudge.

I suppose it's possible.

A lot of people have a grudge against my father.

Morning, Gunny.

Morning, sir.

Look, this is a long shot, but have you ever served aboard a ship with Commander

Wallace Burke?

I can't say that I have, sir, but I'm sure if I asked around, I could find

someone who did.

Do that, will you? Aye, sir.

By the way, sir, this message came for you.

Thanks.

Uh, Gunny.

I'm going to need transportation this afternoon.

Thank you. Yes, sir.

What are the chances of this going to trial, Commander?

Excellent, sir, considering your son waived his right to an Article 32

And the chances of acquittal?

Not so excellent. I bet.

Your son did disobey a direct order, Mr. Secretary.

You'll... Tried to prove that the order was unlawful, of course.

That is the customary defense, yes, sir.

Well, and if successful, that'll be a black mark against Commander Burke.

Yes, sir, that's a good chance.

That'll be unfortunate.

Burke's a good officer.

Well, it appears that way.

I'm a political appointee. Not very popular with the officers.

Don't disagree so fast.

Everyone will bend over backwards to avoid any appearance of undue command

influence.

My position could actually hurt my son.

This can't go to trial for the good of the Navy.

The good of the Navy, sir?

And of all concerned.

Maybe you should be talking to Commander Brumby, Mr. Secretary.

I have. Now I'm talking to you. Find some way to settle this.

Is that an order, sir? No, Commander.

It's a request.

from a father.

Lieutenant called for 120 RPM.

I dialed 130 by mistake.

So that would have you going faster than you wanted to be.

Yes, sir, by about two knots.

But Lieutenant Nelson caught it.

Oh, immediately, sir.

Then I didn't hear the next course correction.

I messed up real bad, Lieutenant.

From what I hear, you never messed up before, so what happened?

I was rattled, sir.

It's almost as if he was waiting for me to follow up.

Commander Burke?

Well, don't get me wrong, sir. I mean, Skipper's tough, but he's usually fair,

only... Can I talk off the record, sir?

Scuttlebutt was that the commander had it in through Lieutenant Nelson.

So he punished you to get to the lieutenant?

He never punished me.

Three days bread and water?

Spended that night.

It's easy following orders we like.

Unfortunately,

we don't always have that luxury.

Sir, I'm sure Lieutenant Nelson... Lieutenant Nelson had an attitude from

one. He needed taking down a pig.

Well, teaching a young officer humility is one thing, sir. Destroying his career

is something else. I'm not out to destroy anyone's career, Commander. If

case goes to court -martial, Commander, his career is over.

He should have thought of that before he defied me on my own bridge.

He's lucky I didn't charge him with mutiny.

Commander, is a court -martial really in the Navy's best interest?

Is this where you play a trump card?

Excuse me?

Oh, come on, Commander.

We both know what this would mean to my future in the Navy, going after SecNav's

son. I can assure you that SecNav has no intention of getting involved,

Commander. But I will say this.

It is in everybody's best interest if we come to some sort of an agreement.

Uh -huh.

You mean a plea bargain.

Would you consider a plea bargain?

I'll go you one better.

I'll withdraw all charges and return Lieutenant Nelson to duty.

In exchange for?

He admits he was wrong and apologizes to me publicly.

No, sir, absolutely not.

The commander is making a confession, Lieutenant. Why don't you think about

I could think about it for a year, sir. It wouldn't make a difference.

It would make a difference to your future in the Navy.

Apologizing would be the sensible thing to do. And expedient, but it wouldn't be

right. The scene of Vera's punishment was suspended.

He's already back on duty.

That only proves Burke was really after me.

Don't you get it? He never intended to punish Rivera. He only wanted to

humiliate me.

But why?

Why does any tyrant abuse his power? Because he can.

Let's go easy on the labels, Lieutenant.

I don't know what it's like, sir.

Constantly being criticized.

No matter how hard you try, your best is never enough.

I'm not a loser, sir, but he makes me feel like one.

Sounds like my father.

If you were in my place, Commander, would you apologize?

I would try to find a way, Lieutenant.

Well, I can't, sir.

It's a matter of principle.

Principle or payback.

The past six months, I've lived like Mother Teresa.

You know, the Admiral decided I was no longer a disgrace to Jag, the Marine

Corps, or myself, so he...

Renewed his recommendation for accelerated promotion, and the board

-selected me.

I'm sure the way you handled the anthrax courts, Marshall, had something to do

with it.

Or the way I handled the many other cases you left me.

Sorry.

What about you? You find what you were looking for out there in the wild blue

yonder?

Yeah.

Eight years too late.

Not much of a career left for me in aviation at this point.

Yeah, but you knew that before you went back.

Well, maybe I thought I could beat the odds.

So what's next?

Jag.

Guess I had to leave to... I want to figure out how much I like this place.

Colonel.

Commander.

Crumbie, have a seat.

I'd love to, but I can't stay.

I had an interesting chat with Commander Burke.

You know, he's willing to drop the charges.

Yeah, we're not interested.

Well, why in the bloody hell not?

We don't like the conditions.

Well, is that your client's position or yours?

My client's position is my position.

Okay.

I'll see you in court, mate.

Go.

It's under control.

I've been calling you.

Come in.

How long have you been back?

Since I've been calling you.

You don't return phone calls?

I'm here now.

I was just going to make some tea.

Oh, no, thanks. I can't stay long.

Jordan, I know that it ended badly.

But we had a great thing going.

We did.

Okay, dealing with my obsessions couldn't have been easier. I realize.

I deal with obsessions every day. It's my job, remember?

And being with me isn't supposed to be like work, right?

I didn't mind that.

What I did mind was being shut out.

All the time you were thinking of going back to flying and you never told me.

Is that so hard to forgive?

Not a matter of forgiving.

You can help who you are and I don't want to change you.

Maybe a little.

Then where's the problem?

I've got orders to Spain.

That's what I came to tell you.

You could have told me that over the phone.

I don't want you on the rebound from an F -14.

That's not fair to either of us, Jordan.

Maybe when I get back from Spain.

Don't leave.

Commander Rapp.

I'm still looking, but I've got some skinny on Commander Burke.

What do you find?

There's no complaints on record about him, sir, but the man's a hard -ass, all

right. Each cruise, he picks a junior officer as a special project and makes

their life hell.

Any particular qualifications for this honor?

None, sir.

Minorities and women are not exempt.

An equal opportunity hard -ass, huh? That's right, sir.

He finds fault with them, humiliates them, and then right as they're reaching

their breaking point, he cuts them from slack.

Except Lieutenant Nelson was the lucky one this time.

There's a betting pool going on in the chief's mess about when the lieutenant

would crack.

Not if, sir. When.

Thanks, Kenny. All right, sir.

The admiral said to go straight in, sir.

Not until you're for me.

Well, that was the chief of information. We're getting requests from the media

to attend Lieutenant Nelson's court -martial.

Well, it's not surprising considering the defendant's lineage.

This is rapidly approaching a spectacle.

I don't like spectacles.

If I may, Admiral, we can dispose of this case easily if Commander Rabb will

persuade his client to budge off his foolish position.

Well, as usual, Sir Commander Brumby has hit the nail squarely on his thumb.

My client will not apologize for acting honorably.

Disobeying the direct order in front of six witnesses, you call that honorable?

The order is unlawful. The captain is entitled to discipline his men. Yes, but

properly. It was properly followed in the spirit of the law, if not the

Admiral, I don't see a settlement here. I see a battle of wills between two pig

-headed sailors.

Referring, of course, to Lieutenant Nelson and Commander Burke.

Well, there is one thing we agree on, sir.

What is that, Commander?

There will be a trial.

What happened then, Lieutenant Gould?

Seaman Rivera made an error dialing in the speed change.

Lieutenant Nelson corrected him.

Rivera then missed the course correction.

I'm sorry.

You're saying Seaman Rivera made two errors back -to -back, correct?

Yes, sir.

Then a swell caught us and carried us toward the oiler. Was there a danger of

collision? Oh, there was. Yes, sir.

Commander Burke ordered an emergency breakaway.

In the process, a fuel line disconnected and hit a sailor in the face.

He suffered a dislocated jaw and a broken nose.

So did the helmsman's two errors contribute to the mishap?

Objection. Calls for an opinion.

Your Honor, as officer of the deck and navigator, the witness is highly

qualified to offer opinions on seamanship.

Objection overruled.

You may answer the question, Lieutenant.

I think they could have contributed, yes, sir.

Then was the captain's mast warranted?

Yes, sir, I suppose it was.

Thank you.

Your witness.

You say that the captain's mast was warranted, but was it conducted

I can't say. You were there, weren't you? Yes.

But I had the con.

I was focused on steering the ship.

I see.

Is Lieutenant Nelson a competent ship handler?

I'd say so, yes.

Capable of coping with the types of errors made by Seaman Rivera?

He was coping with them.

So he could have prevented a collision had Commander Burke not intervened.

In my opinion, he probably could have, yes.

Then Commander Burke's intervention was premature, was it not? The hasty

reaction of a fretful and impulsive man.

I object, Your Honor.

Sidebar.

We'll lay the ground rules right here, gentlemen.

I will not permit innuendo or unfounded allegations against commanding officers

in my court. Sir, our entire defense is predicated on the unlawfulness of the

order.

Then pursue the order, Commander.

Not the man.

Is that clear, Lieutenant?

Yes, sir.

Very clear, sir.

Perfectly clear, Your Honor.

Very well.

Step back.

Objection sustained.

Move on, then.

But, sir, I can show the first captain impetuously. Lieutenant, move on.

Petty Officer Botts is bosun made of the watch. You're in a position to observe

bridge activity, are you not?

Usually, yes, sir. Were you able to observe the so -called captain's mast on

night of the... I object, sir.

Sustained.

Refrain, Lieutenant.

Yes, sir.

Were you in a position to observe any non -judicial punishment on the bridge

night of the incident?

Not real closely, sir. I had the helm, and that took all of my attention.

I see.

Petty Officer Botts, have you ever witnessed any deficiency in Lieutenant

Nelson's performance of his duties?

No, sir, I have not.

Lieutenant Nelson's a fine officer. I'd be proud to serve under him any time.

Thank you.

No further questions.

You understand Lieutenant Nelson is not on trial for deficient performance, but

for disobeying an order, correct?

Yes, sir. I understand that. Good.

By the way, who's responsible for training and supervising Seaman Rivera?

The deck division officer supervises the helmsman, sir.

And who has that billet aboard the USS Ellison?

Lieutenant Nelson, sir.

Thank you.

When you go before the committee Friday, look out for Congresswoman Latham.

Mr. Secretary, I always look out for Congresswoman Latham.

If there's nothing else, sir... Just one more thing, A .J.

Unofficially, how's it look?

Bottom line? Yeah.

It's your son's word against Commander Burke.

Members will side with Burke.

Well, I would.

Have you talked to Brian?

No. The White House wants me to keep my distance to avoid the appearance of

impropriety. What the hell with the White House, Mr. Secretary? This is your

son.

Talk to Brian?

Ask him to apologize?

Actually, Brian and I don't talk much.

We haven't for some time.

Well, my daughter was angry at me for years after I left her mother.

I demanded excellence in everything Brian did.

I even took him off the baseball team because he failed to get straight A's.

I pushed so hard, eventually I pushed him away.

So far away, he won't come back?

Well, sir, old buddy holds a grudge like her own children.

He's a good boy, A .J.

He was arrogant, fractious.

and unable to handle constructive criticism.

Did you counsel him, Commander?

Absolutely. I take a personal interest in all my officers, and I set about

correcting what I consider to be a serious leadership problem.

How so?

By not letting him get away with anything.

I was determined to tear down his shell of conceit and turn him into a leader.

Take the night of the incident.

When performing intricate maneuvers, a rhythm, develops between con and helm.

It requires intense focus.

Seaman Rivera had lost his focus.

I set about imposing punishment.

But you ordered Lieutenant Nelson to lock him up.

Correct. Well, why not wait for the master -at -arms, sir?

I was teaching Lieutenant Nelson he was responsible for disciplining his men.

And what did Lieutenant Nelson do when you issued that order, sir?

He refused to obey it.

Thank you.

You're a witness.

Commander Burke, I have Lieutenant Nelson's fitness reports from his two

previous commands.

Defensive activities.

These fit reps show Lieutenant Nelson to be an exemplary officer in every

regard.

Can you explain, sir, his high marks for two previous COs and yet his dismal

failure with you?

I can't speak for other COs. I can only speak for myself.

Well, then, sir, speaking for yourself, can you...

Tell us why you decided to discipline Seaman Rivera without due process.

There was due process.

I held a captain's mass.

Did you inform him of his rights, sir?

Which particular rights were you referring to?

The rights to be informed of his offenses, to remain silent to examine

to have a spokesperson present to produce witnesses, to submit written

We get your point, Commander.

Let him answer.

Seaman Rivera knew of his offense because he had just committed it.

I offered him a chance to speak, and he chose to remain silent.

Witnesses, all present, including myself.

And as for a spokesperson, who better than Lieutenant Nelson?

I violated no one's rights.

You know, he made me look like an ill -mannered schoolboy.

I thought you were a good lawyer, sir.

I thought you fought for your clients.

I am fighting for you, Lieutenant.

By debating legal technicalities?

Why didn't you go after him, Commander?

Lieutenant. Are you afraid of him, sir?

Is that it? Now you are acting like an ill -mannered schoolboy.

Hello, Commander.

Sir.

Hello, Brian.

It was my idea to come here.

We'll leave you to it. No, please.

Stay.

I thought we could discuss your situation.

Maybe find an amicable solution.

Maybe I messed up and I should apologize.

I didn't say that. What then?

You wouldn't be here without a reason.

Getting some heat from above?

Just once in your life, Brian, can you assume I have your best interest at

heart?

Well, short of getting me a presidential pardon, I don't see what you can do for

me, sir.

Well, I can tell you I'm proud of you for taking a stand and doing what you

believe is right.

But there is a fine line between integrity and intransigence.

If you want me to apologize?

Yes.

Not for me. For you.

Commander Burke has suspended the helmsman's punishment. You've achieved

objective. There's no reason to continue this. You know, for one second, I

believed that you really came here to support me.

Lieutenant, he's reaching out.

The least you could do is listen. When I lived under his roof...

The information you requested.

It's pretty interesting, sir.

Thanks, Gunny.

The old Harm would have gone for Burke's jugular.

Not you, too.

With tents on the bridge, Commander Burke, things move quickly. Maybe you

hastily. Come on, Harm, you know how to do it.

Oh, the media would love that.

Ship's captain rattled during emergency, Blame's junior officer.

You're supposed to be worrying about your client's image, not Commander

Look, if we're going to make the law our lives, we have two choices.

Respected or manipulated? Your client still takes priority.

If you can't see that, I can recommend Bud take over the case.

Well, that won't be necessary, Colonel.

But just so we're clear, I will not destroy one good man to save another

Not while there are alternatives.

When the alternatives run out, Commander?

Lieutenant Nelson, did you disobey Commander Burke's order to escort Seaman

Rivera to the lockup?

Yes, sir, with great regret.

Why? I felt the order was unlawful.

Seaman Rivera was denied due process.

But Commander Burke held a captain's mast, didn't he?

That was not a fair hearing, sir.

Why not?

Seaman Rivera wasn't allowed time to prepare a defense.

Commander Burke just...

declared him negligent and sentenced him on the spot. It was the law according

to Burke.

What a board shift, Lieutenant. The cabin's word is law, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

But there must be accountability.

He punished a sailor for an honest error to teach me a lesson.

That was wrong.

Do you have any legal training, Lieutenant?

Yes, sir. I took a class at the Naval Academy, NL -400.

NL -400.

And how much of that course dealt with non -judicial punishment?

I believe one lecture, sir.

One whole lecture.

Well, I can certainly see why you consider yourself an expert.

I was raised to know the difference between right and wrong, sir.

I'm sorry we all didn't have the benefit of your special upbringing, Lieutenant.

Objection. Withdrawn. Commander Burke circumvented proper procedures, sir. Did

he?

And did you follow proper procedure on Commander Burke's ruling?

For example, did you send an appeal to the Commodore through the proper chain

command? No, sir, there wasn't time.

So circumventing proper procedure is okay as long as you're the one doing it.

Isn't that correct, Lieutenant? Your Honor, the counsel is badgering the

witness. I'm through with the witness, Your Honor.

Redirect?

No, sir.

We'll adjourn to 0900 tomorrow.

Mr. Secretary.

You were expecting someone?

No, sir.

Please come in.

Have a seat, sir.

I won't stay long.

I have some information for you.

How you use it is your business.

Yes, sir.

Shortly after Brian was assigned to the Ellison, I ran into Commander Burke at

the Pentagon.

I mentioned my son would be serving under him.

I asked him not to show any favoritism. I think my exact words were, see what

he's made of.

You meant that as an order, sir? Not intentionally. But if you can show that

Burke took it as such, the members can rule that his order was unlawful.

Yet it takes Burke off the hook.

Put you on it, sir.

Would you be willing to testify?

Yes. You could be accused of impropriety, sir.

As I said, use the information as you see fit.

Good night, Commander.

Good night, sir.

Commander Rabb, do you wish to call any more witnesses?

Yes, sir.

The defense recalls Commander Burke.

Commander Burke, I remind you, you are still under oath.

Yes, sir.

This won't take long, sir. We know you have a ship to command.

Take all the time you need, Commander.

Oh, thank you, sir.

Have you ever conducted a captain's mast aboard the bridge before, sir?

No. But I'd hold a captain's mast in the head if I felt the situation warranted

it.

Because it's your ship, isn't it, sir? That's right, Commander.

It's my ship.

Well, sir, during your deployment to the Adriatic in the fall of 97, you placed

three sailors on bread -and -water confinement for beating a fellow

correct? Uh, that's right. Um, it was a hazing

incident. The victim refused to identify his assailants. But you told the

assailants that the victim had identified them.

Correct.

You see, what I was trying... You lied.

I object, sir.

Approach.

I warned you I would not tolerate character assassination.

That was not my intention, sir. You accused Commander Burke of lying.

Sir, under RCM 608, the character of a witness may be attacked if probative of

untruthfulness. Your Honor, this is a desperate attempt to discredit a good

officer. My intention, sir, is to show Commander Burke had a hidden motive

issuing his order to Lieutenant Nelson.

While referring to an unrelated incident from two years ago, where's the

relevance? It goes to pattern of behavior.

Sir, my client is entitled to a thorough defense.

And I respectfully suggest the purpose of this court -martial is to seek

justice, not protect Commander Burke.

I know the purpose of this court -martial.

And if you ever speak to me that way again, I'll throw you out of my court.

Understood?

Yes, sir.

Objection sustained.

Commander Burke, why did you suspend Seaman Rivera's sentence?

Because he came to me afterward and apologized, like a man.

Well, could it be, sir, that you regretted a decision you had made in the

of the moment?

A heat of the moment is when a leader often makes decisions.

As an aviator, you should know that, Commander.

It is also when he most requires loyalty.

If I can't rely on my officers at all times, I don't want them around.

Now, sir, you also offered to withdraw charges and reinstate Lieutenant Nelson

to full duty if he apologized. Isn't that correct?

I'm not a vindictive man.

So then his alleged offenses could not have been that serious to you, sir, if a

simple apology would have cleared them. It was very serious.

But if he expresses true remorse and persuades me that he's learned from his

mistakes, yes, I would clear him.

But I'm afraid Lieutenant Nelson...

It's too arrogant for that.

Regimental commander, senior year in Annapolis.

Outstanding fit reps, good ship handler, popular with the crew.

Why is it, sir, Lieutenant Nelson is liked by everybody but you? A leader

doesn't need to be liked. A leader needs to be respected and obeyed. The men

didn't obey Lieutenant Nelson, sir?

Sure they did, because he coddled them.

That only works to a point.

I teach my officers discipline.

is the soul of the Navy.

So that's why you ordered Lieutenant Nelson to lock up Seaman Rivera to teach

him discipline.

Yes, as I said.

Except your plan backfired this time, didn't it, sir?

Nothing backfired.

Lieutenant Nelson disobeyed your order, sir. You couldn't have foreseen that.

Sure I did. It's his character flaw. He's too damn concerned with being

Come on, Commander. You knew Lieutenant Nelson would refuse to lock up Seaman

Rivera. Knowing Lieutenant Nelson, I figured there was a good chance of it.

And you issued the order anyway?

Of course.

So you manipulated him into disobeying an order.

What?

No! When I issue an order, I expect it to be carried out. You just said that

didn't.

You twisted my words.

Your words are crystal clear, Commander.

You intentionally provoked Lieutenant Nelson into disobeying your order for

sole purpose of punishing him later.

That makes your order unlawful, doesn't it, sir?

Lieutenant Nelson, if you and your counsel please rise.

Captain Packard, would you announce the finding, please?

Lieutenant Nelson?

This court -martial finds you guilty of the charge and specification.

This court -martial is adjourned.

First sentencing will start tomorrow.

No comment.

Goodbye, confinement. I can kiss my career goodbye. Nice job, Commander

You almost had me rattled in there.

Well, I'll be no commander. It was nothing personal.

You know, sir, you can still get the guilty verdict as approved.

That's up to him.

Do you have something to say to me, son?

Yes, sir.

I would have made a good officer.

So he wins.

No, Lieutenant.

You lose.