JAG s05e03 Episode Script
True Callings
Flight deck, move out.
Form 4200, on the double, let's go.
Flight deck, move out.
Form 4200.
COD incoming, sir.
Stand clear, 014.
Hawkeye approaching.
Stand clear, 014.
Hawkeye approaching.
There's a woman getting off the COD.
There's a woman in your plane if you haven't noticed.
Not like this one.
Smuggling pregnant Albanian women onboard ship is not part of our mission, Petty Officer Curran.
I know, sir, but she needed help bad.
Do you know where she is, sir? In sickbay getting checked out.
But I think you'd better worry about yourself right now, son.
Yes, sir.
How much trouble am I in, sir? Well, Commander Rabb is the wing legal officer.
He's gonna 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 this Zepa Barisha 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 the supply shed at the Prishtina Airport.
Do you wanna tell us why you smuggled a pregnant woman aboard the ship? Yes, sir.
Zepa's fiancé was gonna 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 Ms.
Barisha? Yes, sir.
Well, that and she was crying so hard.
She told me she was gonna be murdered.
I had to do something, sir.
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.
Gunnery Sergeant Galindez reporting as ordered, sir.
At ease, gunny.
I'm 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 gonna 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 gonna be as tough as Iwo Jima, lieutenant.
Well, you know, colonel, everything is relative.
In my world, just tracking down two simple concert tickets has turned into the trials of Job.
That's what I get for letting Admiral Drake's wife enlist me for the Navy relief auction.
- Sir, I'm sure that I can help you.
- What's the concert, sir? 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 utilise the Marine Corps pipeline on that one, sir.
I've got a buddy who knows some people connected to the rock 'n' roll world.
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.
Doctors say after I feel better, they send me back.
Well, the ship's sickbay 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 feel such shame.
Maybe you should send me back.
Send me now or let me jump in sea.
Ms.
Barisha, you wanna tell me what this is all about? What about? Look at me.
The baby is not your fiancé's? It is Serbs.
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.
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 it why you Americans come to Kosovo? She has a point.
You look in her eyes, you can almost feel what she's been through.
And the kid, the petty officer who helped her? Well, his heart was in the right place, I guess.
What place is it gonna go to next? The brig? That part's not up to me.
I sent my report in to JAG Allied Forces Southern Europe.
I emphasised the extenuating circumstances, but you know the Navy.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I want you all to check out a special delivery from our old friend X-Man, direct from Dallas, I give you the original Texas Tornado, Miss Patrick Henry.
Never complains, never talks back, and all you have to do at the end of the night is deflate her.
Hawkeye, I think she's got her name written all over you.
Well, if this is the best they can do for a floorshow, I'm gonna 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.
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'm here to see Commander Rabb.
Yes, sir.
You keep that thing away from me, Jonas, or I will personally let the air out of its tyres.
Yes, sir.
Any word yet on what they're planning 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 onboard 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.
Why do I get the impression you're building me up before you let me down? Well, 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.
Yeah, another tour or two, and I'll be flying a desk.
You've been gone eight years, Harm.
You've 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.
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.
Now 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? - That desk.
- Yes, sir.
Petty Officer Dooley sits there.
He's TAD at Pensacola.
I wasn't aware of that, sir.
There was nothing on it.
I hadn't looked in the drawers.
Well, I would have 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.
- 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 an 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? No, wait, 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.
Two hundred and fifty bucks.
- Two hundred and fifty dollars? - Yeah.
Now I know why they call them scalpers.
Well, do you want them or not? Forget about it, Dewey.
- I'll go to Plan B.
- Okay.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is enemy territory.
The Serb-held portion of Bosnia.
We have no friends there.
None.
But that is where we are 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 Milosevic 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 will come 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 practise.
So remember what you learned in survival school.
Hunker down for night extraction.
Let's fly.
Hey, Skates, just think about dinner.
It gets me back to the boat every time.
Damn it, the ladder is greasy.
Sorry, ma'am, I should have wiped it down.
Skates, you got a track file on that airliner yet? Hey, Skates, are you with us? Oh, yeah.
This new software's just dropping 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.
Lieutenant, you got a minute? Commander Rabb, I thought you were up at the unfriendly skies.
I made it back down.
Always a good feeling, I'll bet.
Usually.
I understand you're representing Petty Officer Curran at court-martial.
That's right.
I was under the impression you're more on 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.
You think that's fair to Petty Officer Curran? I know what I'm doing, sir.
Then you know that the obvious defence in this case would be-- Duress.
I've 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 another innocent person.
I know what the book says.
Do you know how to argue it in a court of law? I think I can handle it, commander.
It's an affirmative defence, lieutenant.
It has to be ain'tight.
Under control, commander.
Thank you.
Well, 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.
Thank you.
Damn, $120.
Damn.
Damn.
Harriet, hey, it's me again.
How close are we to our credit card limit? Good.
Take that, Cavalier.
What is going on with Tiner? I've never seen him so damn industrious.
I'm not sure, 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 get in my favour? Well, there's a new gunny in town, sir.
Glad I brought him aboard.
Right.
We had a one-night liberty in Prishtina, 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.
Your job, along with the defendant, Petty Officer Curran, was taking care of the back of the plane? - Yes, sir.
- Equipment, paperwork, passengers? That's right, sir, Sean and I were a team until he locked me in a storage shed.
Please tell us the events that led up to that, Petty Officer Simpkins.
Well, we had a night off in Prishtina.
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? 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? Sure.
Sean saw me pass out twice in Italy, sir.
Objection overruled.
He saw you pass out after you'd been drinking? 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 Prishtina? 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, because I was sleeping on a rope.
I looked at my watch, I saw that it was flight time.
Tried to get out of the shed, the door was locked.
And if you had made it to the plane, would you have known that Zepa Barisha was not an authorised 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 offence 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 Honour, 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 principal, 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 principal need not be prosecuted for the charge against the accomplice to stand.
That's in the MCM? 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.
Might've missed the plane, 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, counsellor.
You don't ask a question you don't know the answer to.
I think, on balance, I did fairly 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, 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.
So the new gunny is a take-charge guy, don't you think? Yeah, 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.
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.
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? He does, doesn't he, ma'am? Well, we 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.
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.
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 send them to fight the Serbs and get killed.
There is no way ever to end shame while you live.
- But you wanted to live.
- Yes.
So Petty Officer Curran saved your life by bringing you onto this aircraft carrier.
Yes.
Your witness.
Ms.
Barisha, 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 Prishtina, 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 was in danger.
I am in danger.
So you said.
During his stay in Prishtina, 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 Honour.
I'm done.
So here you are.
The 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 wanna tell me what's going on? It's nothing.
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.
It's a bizarre time to realise I'm not bulletproof.
Hey, you never were.
I 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 is back in the days when I was sure they were gonna be naming an airport after me.
Small airport, but You know, I woke up one morning, and I was sure if I got on 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? No.
You know why it went away? I don't know.
I just know if you keep flying, it will go away.
I'd read the papers, sir.
I knew what happened there.
The murders, the rapes, the atrocities.
So you believed Ms.
Barisha 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 Ms.
Barisha was telling the truth.
It wasn't just that she's pretty, sir.
You saw her, you've heard her.
Did it sound like she was lying? No, it didn't.
Your witness.
So you did notice that's 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 Ms.
Barisha belonging on that flight.
I'm really sorry about that.
I didn't know what else to do, sir.
And that's your defence? That you committed the crimes you're charged with because you had no other way to save Ms.
Barisha's life? I didn't see any other way, sir.
Did you happen to notice a big red cross on a building at the Prishtina Airport? I think so, sir.
Were you aware that that building is filled with dedicated professionals working to help people like Zepa Barisha? I never went into the building, sir.
Were you aware of another building half a mile away occupied by NATO war crime investigators, police and counsellors? No, sir, I wasn't.
Did you ask anybody about the existence of such services? No, sir.
You believed Ms.
Barisha needed help.
He has just completely destroyed your duress defence.
What should I do? Ask him about the small town he grew up in, his Boy Scout values.
You know, his basic decency, trust, goodness, how sorry he is.
Anything else? I got plenty, lieutenant, but I have a plane to fly.
Good luck.
I guess maybe I could have asked around, sir.
Yes, I guess maybe you could have.
- Gunny.
- 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.
No, Lieutenant Sims, whose desk this is-- Was.
--is my wife.
I figured, sir.
I guess I seem like a poacher to you.
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 CNO's staff, locksmith, plumbers.
The admiral's preferences for restaurants, airline seats.
His daughter's phone numbers in Italy.
And Lieutenant Sims' special codes for the filing system.
Outstanding, sir.
The whole Junior Woodchucks Survival Guide.
Look, gunny, this place has been kind of a mess.
We could really use some help.
Thank you, sir.
JAG OPS, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.
Tuna, you're the photo beanie.
You take the lead, I'll cover your 6.
Photo beanie going in.
Camera on.
Your six is clear.
Fly trap.
Hang on.
Break left.
Reverse your turn.
I took a hit, Pappy.
I'm shutting down the 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 gotta get out of Indian country.
- Can you make it feet wet? - Negative.
We're going down, Harm.
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
Big Mother, this is Badman 1.
Badman 2 has battle-damaged aircraft.
Cannot maintain flight, attempting to make feet wet.
Big Mother's been listening, Badman 1.
We're en route.
Do you hear that, Tuna? All you gotta do is get there.
Fat chance.
Head for the boat, let us eject in peace, would you, Harm? What, into the arms of those maniacs? Forget it.
- We're going down.
- No, you're not.
Drop your tailhook.
- Why? - Just do it, lieutenant.
Hold your course, Tuna.
What are you doing? Push them someplace they can eject without getting themselves killed.
- If that thing comes through the-- - 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? Twelve miles to feet wet.
Damn it.
Skates? We're closing at six knots.
Four knots.
- Two knots.
- Here we go again.
Okay.
Is that thing gonna hold? Oh, God, there's a ridge coming up.
The ocean's gotta 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? We're passing 6,200 feet.
Rate of descent, 1,800 feet per minute.
Time to ridge, two minutes.
We can get them over.
Oh, it's gonna be close.
- Tuna, dump your fuel.
- You got it.
Keep talking, Skates.
Rate of descent down to 1,400 feet.
You gotta 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.
Are we gonna make it? - Talk to me, Skates.
- Thirty seconds out.
Forty-two hundred.
Fifteen seconds out.
Four thousand.
Thirty-nine's the limit.
- Are we punching out? - No.
Keep talking, Skates.
We're over the ridge.
At 3,900 feet.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
Are you sure about that cushion? You gave me the call, I made it.
Three miles to feet wet.
Two miles.
One and a half.
Coming up on the line.
Now, now, now.
Tuna, you are clear for nylon descent.
Thanks for the lift, Harm.
Big Mother, this is Badman 1.
Badman 2 has ejected.
Two good chutes.
Awaiting your arrival.
Badman 1 is on-scene, commander.
How'd you even think of trying something like that? Desperation.
You made it, Skates.
Does this mean you're gonna be flying with us for a while? Harm, if I can live through your stunts, I can live through anything.
Commander Rabb.
We all thought it was time you got a new call sign.
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.
And so, Your Honour, 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.
- I'd like to make a motion.
- But 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 Honour.
Let's eliminate the middleman.
Lieutenant, who is your ventriloquist? Lieutenant Commander Rabb, an attorney.
I've been assisting in the defence 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 Honour.
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 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.
There was no criminal purpose or design, so Petty Officer Curran cannot 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.
Which the Military Court of Review says Article 97 applies only to those individuals acting under the colour 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 MCM 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 Officer Curran did by coming to the aid of a defenceless woman he perceived to have been a victim of enemy atrocities, 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 during-- All right, I've heard enough.
Petty Officer Curran, please rise.
On the charges under Articles 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.
I am very happy for you, Sean.
Yeah, $400 is nothing.
But they're still gonna 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.
Ms.
Barisha 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.
They're backed up in Italy at the moment.
- Could take-- - Weeks, maybe a couple of months.
Of course, by then, her child will have been born aboard ship.
Which would mean she would be the mother of an American citizen.
Does that mean she can 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.
Here you are, admiral.
Two seats, third row centre.
Where the hell did you get these? It turns out I know a drill instructor at Perris Island.
His cousin is a roadie for some thrash rapper Limp Bizkit used to open for.
I don't know what 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 at 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, I'll get you a receipt for the donation, unless you wanna go to the concert.
I hear they really rock.
I'm gonna miss you.
Am I going somewhere, sir? Back to JAG.
You've got nothing else to prove as an aviator to the world or yourself or your father.
If 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 can 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'd 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.
You already know that.
That's why you've already decided.
Form 4200, on the double, let's go.
Flight deck, move out.
Form 4200.
COD incoming, sir.
Stand clear, 014.
Hawkeye approaching.
Stand clear, 014.
Hawkeye approaching.
There's a woman getting off the COD.
There's a woman in your plane if you haven't noticed.
Not like this one.
Smuggling pregnant Albanian women onboard ship is not part of our mission, Petty Officer Curran.
I know, sir, but she needed help bad.
Do you know where she is, sir? In sickbay getting checked out.
But I think you'd better worry about yourself right now, son.
Yes, sir.
How much trouble am I in, sir? Well, Commander Rabb is the wing legal officer.
He's gonna 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 this Zepa Barisha 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 the supply shed at the Prishtina Airport.
Do you wanna tell us why you smuggled a pregnant woman aboard the ship? Yes, sir.
Zepa's fiancé was gonna 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 Ms.
Barisha? Yes, sir.
Well, that and she was crying so hard.
She told me she was gonna be murdered.
I had to do something, sir.
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.
Gunnery Sergeant Galindez reporting as ordered, sir.
At ease, gunny.
I'm 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 gonna 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 gonna be as tough as Iwo Jima, lieutenant.
Well, you know, colonel, everything is relative.
In my world, just tracking down two simple concert tickets has turned into the trials of Job.
That's what I get for letting Admiral Drake's wife enlist me for the Navy relief auction.
- Sir, I'm sure that I can help you.
- What's the concert, sir? 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 utilise the Marine Corps pipeline on that one, sir.
I've got a buddy who knows some people connected to the rock 'n' roll world.
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.
Doctors say after I feel better, they send me back.
Well, the ship's sickbay 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 feel such shame.
Maybe you should send me back.
Send me now or let me jump in sea.
Ms.
Barisha, you wanna tell me what this is all about? What about? Look at me.
The baby is not your fiancé's? It is Serbs.
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.
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 it why you Americans come to Kosovo? She has a point.
You look in her eyes, you can almost feel what she's been through.
And the kid, the petty officer who helped her? Well, his heart was in the right place, I guess.
What place is it gonna go to next? The brig? That part's not up to me.
I sent my report in to JAG Allied Forces Southern Europe.
I emphasised the extenuating circumstances, but you know the Navy.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I want you all to check out a special delivery from our old friend X-Man, direct from Dallas, I give you the original Texas Tornado, Miss Patrick Henry.
Never complains, never talks back, and all you have to do at the end of the night is deflate her.
Hawkeye, I think she's got her name written all over you.
Well, if this is the best they can do for a floorshow, I'm gonna 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.
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'm here to see Commander Rabb.
Yes, sir.
You keep that thing away from me, Jonas, or I will personally let the air out of its tyres.
Yes, sir.
Any word yet on what they're planning 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 onboard 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.
Why do I get the impression you're building me up before you let me down? Well, 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.
Yeah, another tour or two, and I'll be flying a desk.
You've been gone eight years, Harm.
You've 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.
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.
Now 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? - That desk.
- Yes, sir.
Petty Officer Dooley sits there.
He's TAD at Pensacola.
I wasn't aware of that, sir.
There was nothing on it.
I hadn't looked in the drawers.
Well, I would have 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.
- 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 an 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? No, wait, 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.
Two hundred and fifty bucks.
- Two hundred and fifty dollars? - Yeah.
Now I know why they call them scalpers.
Well, do you want them or not? Forget about it, Dewey.
- I'll go to Plan B.
- Okay.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is enemy territory.
The Serb-held portion of Bosnia.
We have no friends there.
None.
But that is where we are 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 Milosevic 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 will come 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 practise.
So remember what you learned in survival school.
Hunker down for night extraction.
Let's fly.
Hey, Skates, just think about dinner.
It gets me back to the boat every time.
Damn it, the ladder is greasy.
Sorry, ma'am, I should have wiped it down.
Skates, you got a track file on that airliner yet? Hey, Skates, are you with us? Oh, yeah.
This new software's just dropping 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.
Lieutenant, you got a minute? Commander Rabb, I thought you were up at the unfriendly skies.
I made it back down.
Always a good feeling, I'll bet.
Usually.
I understand you're representing Petty Officer Curran at court-martial.
That's right.
I was under the impression you're more on 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.
You think that's fair to Petty Officer Curran? I know what I'm doing, sir.
Then you know that the obvious defence in this case would be-- Duress.
I've 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 another innocent person.
I know what the book says.
Do you know how to argue it in a court of law? I think I can handle it, commander.
It's an affirmative defence, lieutenant.
It has to be ain'tight.
Under control, commander.
Thank you.
Well, 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.
Thank you.
Damn, $120.
Damn.
Damn.
Harriet, hey, it's me again.
How close are we to our credit card limit? Good.
Take that, Cavalier.
What is going on with Tiner? I've never seen him so damn industrious.
I'm not sure, 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 get in my favour? Well, there's a new gunny in town, sir.
Glad I brought him aboard.
Right.
We had a one-night liberty in Prishtina, 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.
Your job, along with the defendant, Petty Officer Curran, was taking care of the back of the plane? - Yes, sir.
- Equipment, paperwork, passengers? That's right, sir, Sean and I were a team until he locked me in a storage shed.
Please tell us the events that led up to that, Petty Officer Simpkins.
Well, we had a night off in Prishtina.
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? 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? Sure.
Sean saw me pass out twice in Italy, sir.
Objection overruled.
He saw you pass out after you'd been drinking? 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 Prishtina? 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, because I was sleeping on a rope.
I looked at my watch, I saw that it was flight time.
Tried to get out of the shed, the door was locked.
And if you had made it to the plane, would you have known that Zepa Barisha was not an authorised 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 offence 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 Honour, 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 principal, 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 principal need not be prosecuted for the charge against the accomplice to stand.
That's in the MCM? 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.
Might've missed the plane, 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, counsellor.
You don't ask a question you don't know the answer to.
I think, on balance, I did fairly 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, 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.
So the new gunny is a take-charge guy, don't you think? Yeah, 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.
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.
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? He does, doesn't he, ma'am? Well, we 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.
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.
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 send them to fight the Serbs and get killed.
There is no way ever to end shame while you live.
- But you wanted to live.
- Yes.
So Petty Officer Curran saved your life by bringing you onto this aircraft carrier.
Yes.
Your witness.
Ms.
Barisha, 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 Prishtina, 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 was in danger.
I am in danger.
So you said.
During his stay in Prishtina, 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 Honour.
I'm done.
So here you are.
The 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 wanna tell me what's going on? It's nothing.
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.
It's a bizarre time to realise I'm not bulletproof.
Hey, you never were.
I 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 is back in the days when I was sure they were gonna be naming an airport after me.
Small airport, but You know, I woke up one morning, and I was sure if I got on 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? No.
You know why it went away? I don't know.
I just know if you keep flying, it will go away.
I'd read the papers, sir.
I knew what happened there.
The murders, the rapes, the atrocities.
So you believed Ms.
Barisha 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 Ms.
Barisha was telling the truth.
It wasn't just that she's pretty, sir.
You saw her, you've heard her.
Did it sound like she was lying? No, it didn't.
Your witness.
So you did notice that's 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 Ms.
Barisha belonging on that flight.
I'm really sorry about that.
I didn't know what else to do, sir.
And that's your defence? That you committed the crimes you're charged with because you had no other way to save Ms.
Barisha's life? I didn't see any other way, sir.
Did you happen to notice a big red cross on a building at the Prishtina Airport? I think so, sir.
Were you aware that that building is filled with dedicated professionals working to help people like Zepa Barisha? I never went into the building, sir.
Were you aware of another building half a mile away occupied by NATO war crime investigators, police and counsellors? No, sir, I wasn't.
Did you ask anybody about the existence of such services? No, sir.
You believed Ms.
Barisha needed help.
He has just completely destroyed your duress defence.
What should I do? Ask him about the small town he grew up in, his Boy Scout values.
You know, his basic decency, trust, goodness, how sorry he is.
Anything else? I got plenty, lieutenant, but I have a plane to fly.
Good luck.
I guess maybe I could have asked around, sir.
Yes, I guess maybe you could have.
- Gunny.
- 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.
No, Lieutenant Sims, whose desk this is-- Was.
--is my wife.
I figured, sir.
I guess I seem like a poacher to you.
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 CNO's staff, locksmith, plumbers.
The admiral's preferences for restaurants, airline seats.
His daughter's phone numbers in Italy.
And Lieutenant Sims' special codes for the filing system.
Outstanding, sir.
The whole Junior Woodchucks Survival Guide.
Look, gunny, this place has been kind of a mess.
We could really use some help.
Thank you, sir.
JAG OPS, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez.
Tuna, you're the photo beanie.
You take the lead, I'll cover your 6.
Photo beanie going in.
Camera on.
Your six is clear.
Fly trap.
Hang on.
Break left.
Reverse your turn.
I took a hit, Pappy.
I'm shutting down the 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 gotta get out of Indian country.
- Can you make it feet wet? - Negative.
We're going down, Harm.
Mayday, mayday, mayday.
Big Mother, this is Badman 1.
Badman 2 has battle-damaged aircraft.
Cannot maintain flight, attempting to make feet wet.
Big Mother's been listening, Badman 1.
We're en route.
Do you hear that, Tuna? All you gotta do is get there.
Fat chance.
Head for the boat, let us eject in peace, would you, Harm? What, into the arms of those maniacs? Forget it.
- We're going down.
- No, you're not.
Drop your tailhook.
- Why? - Just do it, lieutenant.
Hold your course, Tuna.
What are you doing? Push them someplace they can eject without getting themselves killed.
- If that thing comes through the-- - 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? Twelve miles to feet wet.
Damn it.
Skates? We're closing at six knots.
Four knots.
- Two knots.
- Here we go again.
Okay.
Is that thing gonna hold? Oh, God, there's a ridge coming up.
The ocean's gotta 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? We're passing 6,200 feet.
Rate of descent, 1,800 feet per minute.
Time to ridge, two minutes.
We can get them over.
Oh, it's gonna be close.
- Tuna, dump your fuel.
- You got it.
Keep talking, Skates.
Rate of descent down to 1,400 feet.
You gotta 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.
Are we gonna make it? - Talk to me, Skates.
- Thirty seconds out.
Forty-two hundred.
Fifteen seconds out.
Four thousand.
Thirty-nine's the limit.
- Are we punching out? - No.
Keep talking, Skates.
We're over the ridge.
At 3,900 feet.
- Yes.
- Yeah.
Are you sure about that cushion? You gave me the call, I made it.
Three miles to feet wet.
Two miles.
One and a half.
Coming up on the line.
Now, now, now.
Tuna, you are clear for nylon descent.
Thanks for the lift, Harm.
Big Mother, this is Badman 1.
Badman 2 has ejected.
Two good chutes.
Awaiting your arrival.
Badman 1 is on-scene, commander.
How'd you even think of trying something like that? Desperation.
You made it, Skates.
Does this mean you're gonna be flying with us for a while? Harm, if I can live through your stunts, I can live through anything.
Commander Rabb.
We all thought it was time you got a new call sign.
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.
And so, Your Honour, 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.
- I'd like to make a motion.
- But 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 Honour.
Let's eliminate the middleman.
Lieutenant, who is your ventriloquist? Lieutenant Commander Rabb, an attorney.
I've been assisting in the defence 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 Honour.
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 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.
There was no criminal purpose or design, so Petty Officer Curran cannot 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.
Which the Military Court of Review says Article 97 applies only to those individuals acting under the colour 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 MCM 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 Officer Curran did by coming to the aid of a defenceless woman he perceived to have been a victim of enemy atrocities, 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 during-- All right, I've heard enough.
Petty Officer Curran, please rise.
On the charges under Articles 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.
I am very happy for you, Sean.
Yeah, $400 is nothing.
But they're still gonna 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.
Ms.
Barisha 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.
They're backed up in Italy at the moment.
- Could take-- - Weeks, maybe a couple of months.
Of course, by then, her child will have been born aboard ship.
Which would mean she would be the mother of an American citizen.
Does that mean she can 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.
Here you are, admiral.
Two seats, third row centre.
Where the hell did you get these? It turns out I know a drill instructor at Perris Island.
His cousin is a roadie for some thrash rapper Limp Bizkit used to open for.
I don't know what 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 at 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, I'll get you a receipt for the donation, unless you wanna go to the concert.
I hear they really rock.
I'm gonna miss you.
Am I going somewhere, sir? Back to JAG.
You've got nothing else to prove as an aviator to the world or yourself or your father.
If 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 can 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'd 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.
You already know that.
That's why you've already decided.