The Pentagon Wars (1998) Movie Script
I think it might be useful to clarify
a few things right off the bat.
By simple definition...
we are in the business
of winning wars.
What else do you need an army for?
Take the Cold War,
we won without firing a single shot.
Why? Number one,
we just flat out out-spent them.
The Russians couldn't shovel money
into the fire as fast as we could.
Number two, and this is where
my command comes in...
technology.
Nobody shapes nature the way we do.
We take atoms and molecules
and before we finished with them...
they're everything
from combat boots to bombs.
The kind of bombs that nobody
from the other side will ever see...
until the damn thing ploughing down
their chimney...
like Santa Claus from hell!
General?
What?
This is not the first time
you've been here.
We've been down this road before,
that is correct.
Several times, in fact.
I haven't been keeping count.
Let me refresh your memory.
You have before you a document.
I do.
The sensor fused anti-tank missile.
I'll be the first to admit...
that this programme
did had its share of difficulties.
We did experience a glitch or two
with the thing, that much is certain.
But even a heat-seeking missile
can miss a target.
General, I see here
that you taped electric hotplates...
to the surface of the vehicle...
to help your heat-seeking missile
find its target...
and that the temperature
of the vehicle was so high...
that it could have fried an egg
at 20 feet!
Commence fire!
There was a verifiable deviation...
of the standard
test data accumulation.
There were other deviations,
were there not?
What about the Paveway bomb?
I'm not going to sit here
and tell you...
- the Paveway never missed.
- It missed by a mean distance...
of five miles and nearly 50 percent
of the time.
You know...
in baseball, a guy who hits .400
is considered pretty damn great.
In baseball the losing team
isn't killed by their opponents.
Be that as it may,
the Paveway is one hell of a bomb.
Laser-guided, state-of-the-art.
And it proved what?
That we have an effective weapon...
as long as the enemy allows us
to build a two-storey crane...
directly above their tanks?
We have had
some spectacular successes.
- Such as?
- That's classified information.
- General...
- Please...
Let's move on to the next item
on our list.
The Bradley fighting vehicle.
What would you say...
the batting average is
for the Bradley, General?
It takes people
with sophisticated knowledge...
and expertise...
to conduct these tests
and to interpret the results.
If the US Army acted on the advice
of every Tom, Dick, and Harry...
who had an opinion
on these matters...
we'd wind up with a bunch of B-52s
powered by outboard motors.
- I fail to see your point.
- My point is...
that a lot of things have
to come together...
to create a new weapon...
and it takes teamwork.
Good, old-fashioned teamwork.
Colonel James Burton,
was he part of your team, General?
More or less.
Post, sir?
Sergeant.
Can you tell me how to get to 4E-624?
Forward into the escalator,
your left, two flights up to four...
your left, E-ring, your right...
proceed past corridor nine,
face left.
Thank you.
It's no secret that
Colonel Burton had a rocky tenure...
that we didn't see eye-to-eye.
But it didn't start out that way.
No!
I spoke to General Hall.
General Hall spoke to General Jones,
General Jones spoke to Admiral Watts.
Well, then, write it down!
That takes care of Spina
in Rhode Island...
and Mays from Nebraska.
Any Democrats?
No, forget him.
Because he's a scum-sucking Judas...
who'd sell his mother
for a handful of votes.
How about the Senate?
That son of a bitch.
After we papered his state
with contracts.
All right then,
let's just make the fuselage...
in Michigan and the landing gear
in Mississippi.
By all means,
let's keep Congressman Groves...
and his bloodsucking buddies happy.
- Welcome, Colonel.
- Thank you, General.
Thought you and I
ought to get to know one another.
I welcome the opportunity, sir.
- Fact is, I'd like to help you.
- Thank you, sir.
I don't mean to alarm you, Colonel.
But this new job of yours...
under certain circumstances,
can turn into...
a real shit-burning detail.
You're going to need friends
as you can get.
I'd like you to count me
as one of them.
I appreciate that, sir.
Air Force Academy...
Strategic Air Command,
MBA from Auburn.
Your commanding officer,
General De Grasso and I...
are old friends.
He says as far as your concern...
the sky is the limit.
But then you draw the short straw.
I was assigned, sir.
Hell, it's a bum deal,
whoever made it.
Every other year, somebody decides
we're spending too much money.
A bunch of pencil-necks
put their pointy little heads...
together and come up with a plan.
This year, it's the joint
live-fire test programme.
Staffed with officers
from every branch of the service.
So now we got the Army, Navy,
Air Force and Marines...
doing a circle-jerk
over weapons testing...
and you get to hold the big dick.
I mean, who thinks up this nonsense?
Congress, sir?
And so it should, that's its job.
You'll never hear me
criticise the Hill.
Although you'd think Congress
has enough of their own shit...
to shovel without wondering
what's going on over here.
Well, I'm not anticipating
any problems with the posting, sir.
Neither am I.
A man doesn't come as far
in his carreer as you have...
without knowing
how to walk a minefield.
Howard Matheson.
Came here two rotations ago.
That marlin is not the only thing
he caught.
I got him into SenCom
when he left here...
and now he's head
of their missile testing.
- Blake Gelmore, you know Blake?
- No, sir.
Man wasn't even a full-bird colonel
when he left for the private sector.
That was four years ago.
A few frequency-gain
modulator contracts later...
and look at him, man could buy
and sell both of us...
a thousand times over.
- Lucky man.
- Smart man.
First-rate soldier,
just like you, Colonel.
Knew how to make the best
of a difficult situation.
Now this new job of yours...
is too tough for any one man
to go it alone.
It's going to require teamwork.
Here you go.
These are a couple of your projects
undergoing testing.
The UH-60 helicopter,
the AV-8B jump-jet...
and the Bradley fighting vehicle.
All outstanding programmes,
all organised and ready to go.
I did a little homework for you.
Give you a leg-up.
I appreciate that, General.
You know,
you could return the favour...
by giving the Bradley there
just a little extra attention.
Attention?
We need it in the field.
The sooner the better.
Just make sure to go on top
of all the things in your inbox...
so it'll get in your outbox
as soon as possible.
As a personal favour to me.
- Best of luck, Colonel.
- Thank you, sir.
- Colonel.
- Sir?
Next time you're told
to report to this office, be on time.
Yes, sir.
Sir.
Colonel James Burton...
I'm here to take a look
at the Bradley fighting vehicle test.
- Straight ahead, sir.
- Thank you.
"I want to be an airborne ranger"
"I want to be an airborne ranger..."
- There he is.
- That's the guy?
That's him,
supposed to be real smart.
Squadron Officer School...
- Air Command and Staff College.
- First tour with the Pentagon?
He was at the Air Force lab
at Albuquerque...
when Congress called.
He's a soldier, not just a manager.
What do you mean?
He's put in his fair share
of flying time.
Looks like a fucking choirboy to me.
Maybe, but nothing goes
into production until he signs off.
"Target is now in position..."
Colonel Burton, JD Bach.
Welcome to the team.
- Colonel Bach.
- Yes, sir. Good to see you.
This is Major Sayers,
our chief tester.
Army Weapons Research Lab.
So how'd an Air Force guy end up
overseeing tests run by the Army?
- Well, it could have been worse.
- How's that?
Congress could have appointed
someone from the Navy.
"The range is now hot."
"Commencing armour penetration tests
on the Bradley fighting vehicle."
"Attention on the firing line."
Are you ready on the right?
"Ready on the left?"
"Firing line is ready."
"Firing detail, commence firing."
"Cease fire."
- Damn impressive armour.
- Congratulations.
All right, drinks are on me,
gentlemen.
Joining us, Colonel Burton?
Congratulations,
thanks for your help on that one.
You know we couldn't have done it
without you.
Thanks for your help on that one.
Say, Colonel,
are you going to join us?
Well...
- Shouldn't we take a closer look?
- No, actually, safety precautions.
See, the fire team
goes out there first...
and then no one else is allowed
near the vehicle...
for at least another hour.
- Why is that?
- With any anti armour test...
involving a live round,
there's a freak chance...
that something might blow
after the fact.
Plus we don't want to lose you
first day on the job, Colonel.
So how about that drink?
Sounds good, Major.
There'll be a phone call for you
in your office...
at exactly 11.00am
It's important you be there.
- Good morning.
- Welcome, sir.
- Welcome, sir.
- Morning.
- Morning, Sergeant.
- Good morning, sir.
I took the liberty of unpacking
a few of your things.
Thank you, Sergeant.
- Family, sir?
- What's that?
- Family.
- That's my uncle.
He was a flier in World War II.
What's that?
This is the plane
I learned to fly in, a T-28.
I used to take her up,
slide the canopy back.
Fly for hours.
Just me and the sky.
Personally, sir,
I like the sky right where it is...
with me on the ground
looking up at it.
So, where you from, sir?
Just outside of Chicago.
And where would that be?
Normal.
Normal, Illinois, is that on the map?
Yes, Sergeant, it is.
Is it normal in Normal?
I think the word is uneventful.
You getting paid by the hour,
Colonel?
No, I got an appointment.
I'll, take this, Sergeant, thank you.
Fine.
Colonel Burton.
Hello?
The test on the Bradley...
I hear you wanted
to take a closer look.
How did you hear that?
When it comes to the Bradley,
follow your instincts, Colonel.
- "Who is this?"
- I can't tell you that right now.
Well, whoever you are,
I don't take unsolicited advice...
from people I don't know.
Just make sure you read
the fine print, Colonel.
Sir, Colonel Burton. Sir.
You're up early, sir.
I thought I drop by I'm on my way
to the office, Sergeant.
Check out the Bradley.
Sir, isn't your office
40 miles that way, sir?
Yes, Sergeant, yes, it is.
Has anything been altered
on this vehicle since the test?
No, sir.
Are you looking for something, sir?
Just reading the fine print,
Sergeant.
Just reading the fine print.
Stinger missiles, 50 cal tracers.
7.62 tracers.
25mm rounds.
- What's this?
- That was used on the Bradley, sir.
This writing, it's Romanian,
isn't it?
Yes, sir, it is.
Sir, Colonel Bach and Major Sayers
won't be here until noon.
That's when our first test of the day
is scheduled, sir.
Well, this isn't exactly
an all-out test, Sergeant.
More like a little pop quiz.
I'm not sure regulations allow us...
to borrow the door
from the ammunition shed...
for a pop quiz, sir.
Sir, regulations state
that the ammunition shed...
should never be left open, sir.
Duly noted, Sergeant.
I believe that regulations
also apply...
to removing
the door entirely, Colonel.
Also duly noted.
Fire when ready.
Backblast area clear!
On the way, sir.
Fire.
Come on straight... Hold!
You wrecked a door?
Colonel, the ammunition
that was used on the last test...
on the Bradley is the same
as we used on this door.
Romanian, arguably the most
ineffective ammunition...
in the world. No wonder the Bradley
come through with flying color.
- Well this is serious.
- It is!
Yes, you destroyed a door.
Colonel, we're talking about a test
on an armoured personnel carrier...
a vehicle that will carry soldiers
into combat.
Right, but this door is property
of the United States government.
- I assume you knew that.
- The shell...
barely penetrated the door.
Okay, but it's all bent out of shape.
How are you going
to get it back on its hinges?
Well, right now I'm not really
worried about putting it back...
Yes, but this door protects
our ammunition.
The ammunition doesn't work!
But we need the ammunition
for our tests.
Look, I'll buy the Army
a new goddamn door.
You can't afford a door like that.
Did you see what it stood up to?
Exactly! Some spitball from Romania!
It was my understanding
that only Soviet arms...
would be used in these tests.
Well, yes, and Romania
is one of the Soviet blocs...
- Isn't it?
- Colonel Burton...
we've been testing
the Bradley for some time now.
You may not be aware
of some steps we've taken.
The Romanian rocket is only 73mm.
That's less than
the 85mm Russian version.
A smaller diameter means
a smaller explosion...
a smaller holes and less shrapnel.
We're interested
in conducting balistic tests...
using all short of ammunition
of varying diameters...
to determine the exact threshold
of the Bradley's tolerance.
So far it's held up against
everything we've thrown at it, sir.
Soviet, Romanian.
Latvian, Lithuanian...
Like a rock.
My apologies.
You're new to the project.
There's a lot to catch up on.
You're right. So if you'll get me
the test reports...
- I can catch right up.
- How's that, Colonel?
Send me the data,
I'll do my homework...
and we can push this thing
right through.
We've got five years of test reports
on this model alone, sir.
- We have a schedule to maintain.
- And let's keep to it.
Get the Bradley into production,
ASAP, what do you say?
Thank you, gentlemen.
I have SINCON recruiting it.
This could blow the whole deal.
I'm telling you, sir, you've got
to nip this in the bud...
like you did with the last guy.
- Don't worry about it.
- Sir, he wants to see the reports.
- How're we going to stop it.
- Just give him the reports.
Are you out of your mind?
I'm not going to show him...
- a single page.
- Now listen to me.
Listen very carefully.
Give him everything he wants.
Every single piece of paper.
Everything.
- Sergeant?
- Here, sir.
What the heck is all this?
Everything you ever wanted
to know about the Bradley...
and weren't afraid to ask.
Every memo
on every last nut and bolt.
I wonder which national forest
lay down its life for this project.
- You read any of this stuff?
- Not yet, sir.
I was hoping you'd show up
with the Cliff Notes.
- I hardly know where to start.
- Maybe that's the whole idea.
- I don't get it.
- What?
- That.
- It's the Bradley.
Well, if that's the Bradley...
then what's this?
- What's the date?
- 1968.
The question is,
how did they get to that...
from this?
Gentlemen, our mission
was to design and implement...
an infantry transport vehicle
that would be a worthy replacement...
for the M-113 armoured
personnel carrier.
We have met that objective
and then some.
The Bradley
armoured personnel carrier...
will bring troops to a combat zone
swiftly, efficiently, and safely.
It will hold 11 men plus a driver...
and features a 20mm cannon...
which will provide ample firepower
and at the same time flexibility.
Lightly armoured, speedy,
and solidly engineered...
our troops will arrive
at the battlefield...
in the finest American technology
has to offer.
And at a million and a half per,
a real bargain.
Nice work, Colonel!
Outstanding!
Damn impressive!
In other words, it was design
to be a big taxicab...
drive guys to the battlefield
and go back home.
But how did it
end up with a turret on top?
This is all well and good,
Colonel Smith, but...
- Something wrong, General?
- With this gorilla in production...
I don't supposed there's going
to be anything left...
- in the budget for my scout.
- I doubt it, Bob.
You don't need scouts.
You have radar, air-recon,
satellites.
You always need a scout,
and you know what I'm thinking...
why couldn't this thing serve
as a scout?
But it's a troop carrier, General.
But this is a speedy vehicle.
Why can't it be both?
Well, for one thing, it's too big.
And for the other,
you can't really see...
out all that much from inside.
- Sounds like a design flaw to me.
- Design flaw? No...
We'll just stick a turret on top
with lots of opticals.
But then, sir, it'll be even bigger.
Well, what's your problem, Smith?
Not elegant enough for you?
Well, the thing is, General...
it's hard to do a "sneak and peek"
when you're over ten feet tall.
- He's got a point, Bob.
- All I know is, we need a scout.
This is fast enough to do the job
and it's funded.
Well, actually,
we're a hair over budget.
You turn the Bradley into a scout
and we're going to be...
selling them off
to some el presidente...
in Chimichanga in no time!
Anything for surveillance
ends up south of the border...
before the paint even dries.
When you needed
that anti-aircraft gun...
who backed you up on that?
- You did, Bob.
- Who testified to Appropriations...
- on behalf of that gun?
- You did, Bob.
I'm talking to Appropriations
next week.
Now do I sell you on my scout
or do I not?
You did, Bob.
And how about some portholes
along the side...
for individual firearms?
So the fellas can stick out
their guns and shoot people!
Good. And you know what, Colonel?
We already have the turret.
We ought to get the biggest bang
we can up there.
I'm sorry, bang, sir?
You can't hurt anybody
with that pansy-ass gun!
Add on some firepower!
Where am I supposed
to fit the extra ammo?
I don't know.
Can't you just shift things around.
- Make some room.
- We already got 4,400 rounds...
of machine gun ammo,
and you want to add 25mm shells?
- The General wants his ammo.
- He can't have his ammo...
unless he runs along,
shut this thing carrying it.
- Well, can you squeeze it in?
- No.
Come on! Just squeeze it in!
We're not trying on Levi's here,
Colonel.
Are you telling me that
in a vehicle this size...
you can't fit a few rounds
of ammunition?
Not in its current configuration,
no, sir.
So, the configuration's wrong.
There must be something you can dump.
- Dump, sir?
- Something you don't need.
General, the interior is very spare.
Besides the ammunition and the men...
Maybe leave one of the fellas behind.
Put the ammo where the men go.
Sir...
It is a troop carrier.
So, make a couple of extra trips,
what's the difference?
They want a transport
that doesn't carry men...
and a scout that's got a cannon
as big as a tank's on it.
- And portholes.
- Great, portholes!
So the guys can shoot at whatever
they can't hit with their cannon.
You don't have to buy the damn thing,
Jones, just draw it.
- That's one hell of a cannon.
- That's the problem.
Why?
You go out on a battlefield
with this pecker sticking out...
of your turret, and the enemy
is going to unload on you...
with all they got.
Might as well, paint a big
red bull's eye on the side.
But it's a troop carrier,
not a tank.
Do you want me to put a sign on it
in 50 languages...
"I am a troop carrier, not a tank,
please don't shoot at me"?
This was going to be so beautiful.
- That's good work, Smith.
- Looks perfect to me.
- Thank you, sir.
- The thing is...
Yes, General?
Looks a little like a tank
with that cannon on top.
Probably going to draw more fire.
Actually, sir,
that has come to our attention.
We know it's not a tank,
but will the other side?
I guess we could always
thicken the armour.
Toughened up the hide a bit.
Colonel Smith, could you explain
why you put those portholes there?
Yes, sir, as per your request...
so the men can shoot out
at the enemy.
- You're joking, aren't you?
- Besides portholes?
What are we now? The navy?
Say... you think you could
make this thing amphibious?
You know, get the troops
across a river?
No.
No, sir. No.
No.
Amphibious?
The Bradley's supposed to swim?
In theory, at least.
Amphibious troop carrier
slash scout...
Slash tank.
A couple more months,
I bet they can get this thing to fly.
What's this in the margin?
"Please help me...
I am losing my mind...
RLS."
Lieutenant Colonel
Robert Laurel Smith...
head of oversight and development.
Aluminium.
This thing's got an aluminium skin.
Anything an enemy tank fired at it
is going to through it...
like a hot knife through butter.
We're doing this back on using
steel rather than aluminium.
Of course, steel is
much heavier than aluminium...
so it won't go as fast.
No, we can't lose speed...
we lose speed,
it won't work as a scout vehichle.
It won't keep pace with tanks,
either.
Think armour's a reactive measure.
Let's think proactive here.
I say equip the thing
with anti-tank missiles...
then it can blast those enemy tanks
before they get a chance to fire.
What do you think, Colonel?
Fine.
- Anti-tank missiles?
- I don't know.
Just where would I put them?
The men will have to wear
the missiles as hats!
I don't know, Jones.
That's why you get paid big bucks.
Colonel, there's no room,
we're not talking about...
About a pair of Levi's. I know!
God damn it!
What we are are talking about is
11 years with nothing to show for it!
Except an ulcer the size
of the district of Columbia...
and a career on permanent hold!
You see this?
I've been...
I've been a bird colonel so long...
I swear I'm growing feathers!
Now if you have to design hats...
to haul those goddamn missiles,
then just do it.
Excuse me, sir...
Ladies and gentlemen,
if I can have your attention, please.
If you'd all just take your seats.
Thank you.
We are pleased to present
a scale model...
of the new Bradley fighting vehicle.
Featuring scout, troop transport,
and anti-tank capabilities...
It carries six men.
How many was it supposed to carry?
- 11.
- The Bradley is outfitted...
with sophisticated surveillance
equipment ever developed.
It is also equipped
with a rapid-fire cannon...
and an anti-tank rocket launcher.
Which means it's loaded with...
1,500 shells
and ten TOW anti-tank missiles.
So in summation, gentlemen,
what you have before you is...
A troop transport
that can't carry troops...
a reconnaissance vehicle
that's too conspicuous...
to do reconnaissance...
And a quasi-tank that has
less armour than a snow-blower
but has enough ammo
to take out half of DC.
- Fantastic.
- Congratulations, General Smith.
- General?
- Hell of a job!
General?
Let's build it.
They're building it?
This is what we're building?
Please be seated.
This will be brief,
as I'm needed at the Oval Office.
I want to call your attention
this morning's New York Times.
If you'd be so kind to turn
to the editorial page.
It essentially says
that every weapon we produce...
is overpriced piece of junk.
Now, that's not news.
Critics have said it for years.
What was news to me...
touched on our supposedly spectacular
"Sergeant York" anti-aircraft gun.
It says there
when the Sergeant York proved...
incapable of hitting airplanes...
we test-fired it
at hovering helicopters.
When it failed to hit
hovering helicopters...
we fired at stationary targets
and it missed those.
Now is this possible, General Keane?
There was a problem
with the proximity fusing.
According to this...
one missile locked on
to a ventilation fan in the latrine!
And destroyed the latrine.
Were we test-firing at latrines
that day?
My first sergeant was in that latrine
at the time...
and I can assure you,
he's around to swear otherwise.
Why am I learning about this thing
in the newspaper?
It makes me look foolish,
and I am not a foolish man.
General Cushing,
are you having any problems...
with the Maverick missile
you're testing?
No, sir.
Admiral Morehouse,
any problems with the 812?
- None whatsoever, sir.
- General Partridge...
- Sir!
- Any problems with the Bradley?
No, sir, absolutely not.
Production is imminent.
Mr Secretary, I believe
the press is on a wild-goose chase...
looking for problems
where none exist.
Let's hope you're right, General.
Because there are people...
in this administration
who do have problems.
Terrorists in Lebanon,
and Colonel Qadhafi in Libya...
and Sandinistas in Nicaragua...
and let's not forget
our ongoing problems...
with the Soviet Union.
Frankly, I don't appreciate calls
from reporters and congressmen...
asking me why nothing
we are working on works...
and I can't answer them
because the men in charge...
of developing these systems
tell me everything is just peachy!
So, if you don't have problems, good.
If you do, get rid of them.
I want these weapons built.
If not by you, I'll find men who can.
You wanted to see me, sir?
Yes, I do.
Close the damn door, come on.
About these tests you've been
thinking about...
conducting on the Bradley.
I understand your concern...
but if you knew the vehicle
as I do...
if you were an armoured warfare
expert instead of a flier...
you won't be concern to understand
the Bradley is a good vehicle.
4,000 Americans will be employed
building it, the Army wants it.
Once you've had the chance
to read the files...
I've read the files, sir.
200 pages on the rear door...
250 pages on the paint job...
computer simulations
of combat conditions...
not a single test that actually
indicates what might happen...
if the Bradley takes a hit.
Which is why I've ordered
a full-up live fire test.
I want to equip a Bradley
with all the ammunition...
it would take into battle...
fill all the fuel tanks, and hit it
with a Soviet anti-tank weapon...
- to see how it'll hold up.
- Cancel it.
- Sir?
- I think we're having...
a communication meltdown here,
Colonel.
Whatever problems there are,
we'll fix them.
In the field, after they're deployed.
- But General...
- That's the way things are done...
around here, Colonel.
That's the way we're going to do it.
Nobody takes your job
more seriously than I do...
but I also have a job.
I got to get that Bradley deploy.
I want that rocket launcher
pointed at the Soviets.
Here.
Jesus.
Dismissed.
- Afternoon.
- Good afternoon, sir.
- Fanning!
- Yes, sir?
- What happened to you?
- Don't ask. What's this?
It was on your desk
when I got back from lunch.
"Some ammunition
for your Bradley battle."
It's a British Army test report.
Top secret too.
Until it landed here.
General Smith, Jim Burton.
How did you find me?
You have
very distinctive handwriting.
I've been reading memos
on the Bradley going back to 1968...
with your handwritten notes
in the margin, or...
Initialled by you.
- This handwriting?
- We should not be seen talking.
Look, you contacted me, General.
No. You received an anonymous leak
about which I know nothing.
So the British found out
that aluminium armor burns...
and gives off a toxic gas
when hit by a shell.
Bad news for men in aluminium
armoured vehicles enough said.
Couldn't we...
Couldn't we sit down
somewhere and actually talk?
Are you out of your mind, Colonel?
If the Pentagon had their choice
of busting us...
or nailing a Soviet spy
they would choose us in a heartbeat.
Who exactly is "us", General?
There are some people who work
in the Pentagon...
who are fed up watching billions
of dollars thrown away...
on defective weapons
upon which our troops...
are supposed
to stake their lives.
People like you, Colonel.
We are the enemy.
- To whom?
- To majors who want to be colonels.
To colonels
who want to be generals...
the generals
who want that four stars...
you bet we are the enemy.
Nobody moves up,
without getting things done.
So what you don't want to be
is the one who drops the ball...
because if you drop the ball,
no promotion, no star...
no cushy job with a contractor
when you retire.
Which is why, Colonel,
any and everyone attached...
to the Bradley will see to it.
To stop your tests.
General, I appreciate your interests
if not your methods.
Whatever disagreements
I may or may not be having...
over the Bradley
will be resolved above board.
Now, if you have something to say...
I'm sure the Washington Post
would love to talk to you.
Me? The press? Are you crazy?
The Army is my life.
Like you, Colonel,
I work inside the system...
and you don't have a prayer
in hell of running your tests...
not unless you're willing
to sacrifice your career.
And if you think you're safe
because Congress gave you your job...
you better think again.
Good day, Colonel. And good luck.
So why did you send me that report?
Sir.
- Nice to see you, General.
- Good to see you.
- Evening, sir.
- Evening, sir.
So she leaned over to me
and whispered, "Why do you think...
the General always stands
at attention?"
Sorry to distrub you, sir,
but Major Sayers is in the library.
Tell Major Sayers I'm busy.
I'm sorry sir, but he said
to tell you the little prick...
- ordered tests on the Bradley.
- What?
I'll have his ass in a sling so fast.
Whose ass, sir? Major Sayers
or the little prick?
General, he knows about
the study that the Brits did.
- What study?
- Brits did a study on aluminium.
That would be the same aluminium
sheeting used on the Bradley, sir.
When hit by a shell,
it has the tendency to burn...
and when it burns,
it gives off a toxic gas.
God damn it.
We fought a revolution so we wouldn't
have to pay any attention...
to the fucking British!
So why they mess things up now?
- I thought you talked to him.
- I did.
- The man must be a fool.
- Can't you stop him, sir?
No, I'm not his commanding officer.
Some draft-dodging junior congressman
decided we needed more objectivity...
in the testing process.
Goddamn checks and balances.
General, with all due respect,
this isn't just a check, sir...
it's more of
a full fucking body block!
If we don't get the Bradley
out there now...
it'll be stuck
in development forever.
Start production now.
Throw Burton a bone or two.
Let him run a couple of tests.
Yes, sir. General, actually,
he'd like to blow it up.
I don't give a flying fuck
what Burton wants.
Let him do some piddly-shit stuff,
take it for a test drive!
See if he can parallel park
that fucker!
Just get it into production.
Am I to understand
that you were not in favour...
of the tests Colonel Burton proposed?
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not, yes,
or absolutely not, no?
Absolutely not absolutely.
Are you questioning
his motives or his methods, General?
I have no reason to question
Colonel Burton's motives.
I can only speak to his methods.
Which, by anyone's definition
were somewhat peculiar.
I mean there were other ways
to find out...
if clothing would catch fire
inside the Bradley...
when it took a hit.
Let's take the...
The mannequin thing.
- Colonel.
- Yes?
Phone call for you, sir.
They said it's important.
Very good.
- Dalton.
- Yes, sir.
I'll meet you back
at the firing area.
Yes, sir.
- Strip the dummies.
- Sir?
Strip the dummies, Sergeant, now.
Thank you.
Let's go.
Fire when ready.
Backblast area clear!
- Out of the way, sir.
- Fire.
Hold it there.
Let me see those.
That looks good, uniforms look good.
Great, there you go.
Wait a minute, what's that?
That's part of our test, Colonel.
Wait a minute.
"Certainly no one in my command..."
"gave the order to strip
the dummies..."
"and put their clothes
inside a fireproof container..."
"inside the vehicle while
Colonel Burton wasn't around."
You're a pair of clowns!
"The insults that were traded
that day..."
"had definitely no business
showing up in the test reports."
They were deleted
from the final report.
All except Colonel Bach's unfortunate
reference to Colonel Burton's mother.
Understand temperatures
were running high.
Apparently inside the Bradley
as well.
There's a degree of uncertainty
involved in every test.
That's the point of doing tests,
to find out what happens.
If we knew what the results would be,
we wouldn't need to do the test.
And just because the tests
didn't always come out...
the way Colonel Burton expected...
is no reason to assume that
anything devious was going on.
I ask you, General,
filling the fuel tanks with water...
for a test designed to check
the combustibility of those tanks...
that wasn't devious?
If the tanks had been
filled with fuel...
there's a good chance
the vehicle would have exploded.
Isn't that the point?
If the vehicle had exploded,
we couldn't run additional tests.
I can't order up an unlimited number
of Bradleys just to blow them up!
Unless you're telling me
to spend more money.
which I can't imagine you are.
General, I believe that efforts
were made...
to make the Bradley amphibious?
Yes, although how that's relevant
I fail to comprehend.
How many Bradleys
were lost during that experiment?
Lost?
The report says four of the Bradleys
sank during testing.
That is a matter of opinion.
It's not opinion, General.
Four of them sank.
Technically, yes.
General,
can we get back to the fuel tanks?
Come on. Good.
Sergeant, have the tanks
always been filled with water?
No, sir.
Only when the vehicle
is being tested, sir.
What else don't I know?
Sergeant, I'm asking you a question.
What else don't I know
about these tests?
The ammunition stored
in the Bradley, sir.
What about it?
Sand.
That's affirmative, sir.
Tell me...
did the term "court-martial"
ever enter anyone's mind here?
- No, sir.
- Really?
That's truly amazing, Sergeant.
I mean here we are watching
water drip out of the gas tanks...
and sand spill out
of the ammunition...
right after a test that was done
to figure out...
whether or not the damn thing
is safe!
And no one here even thinks
of the term "court-martial"?
Now why, if you don't mind my asking,
is that?
We were under orders, sir.
Do you think acting on those orders
conscionable, Sergeant?
It doesn't matter what I think
or do, sir...
because you desk warriors
from Washington will show up...
and find a million different ways...
to make the tests turn out
whatever way you want, sir.
I'm not here to manipulate
test results.
- I'm here to learn the truth.
- You want the truth, sir?
We get a new white knight
every other year, sir.
Some guy just like you,
and you all start off the same.
Big speeches that turn to shit
after six months...
when your next promotion comes due.
And then it's business as usual.
Where did you pick up
this lousy attitude, Sergeant?
Right here, sir...
watching guys like you.
Well, I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry to hear that.
Because unlike you,
I take my job seriously.
Really?
Well, maybe...
maybe you can explain to me,
Colonel...
why the Bradley has been
ordered into production...
before you have done your job.
Do you mind telling me what is this?
100 Bradleys have been ordered?
We have a schedule, Colonel Burton.
And I'm not going to have it
on my record...
that the Bradley
fell behind schedule...
just because you fussing over
of some goddamn tests.
Those goddamn tests could save lives.
The Bradley will save lives,
Colonel...
by bringing men to the front line
where the needed.
Do you have any idea Colonel,
what would happen to those men...
if the Bradley takes a hit
and the aluminium burns?
I know all about the British study,
Colonel. And it is bullshit.
That thing could be a deathtrap.
- Says who?
- Says me.
And how do you know?
Have you put people in there...
during the test?
- No, of...
- So you don't know, Colonel.
Actually know anything.
And until you do,
all you're doing is wasting our time.
Are you suggesting Colonel Burton
had no reason to be concerned?
I am suggesting
that Colonel Burton and his tests...
did not reveal anything
we didn't already know.
Except his own penchant
for theatrics.
- Theatrics, General?
- Yes, theatrics.
Cheap theatrics at that.
So, Billy now the little prick
has issued a memo...
that stipulates that for the tests
he'd like to use sheep.
Jesus, we already started work
on the chassis zone.
Dave, don't worry about it.
Because if the sheep come out
of this thing tits up...
we're going to have
to stop production.
There are ways around it.
Ways around anything.
- Absolutely.
- Like what?
Well, we could sick the animal rights
people on him.
Well, it is cruel and unusual
treatment of sheep.
Rack of lamb.
Yeah, that would be me.
- Yes.
- "Major Sayers just called, sir."
- When do they plan to run the tests?
- "Immediately."
"Just as soon as we send
over the sheep."
"We"? I thought they were
in charge of the sheep.
They say it's being handled
at our end.
The Surgeon General's office.
What does the Surgeon General
have to do with sheep?
- Excuse me.
- You must be Colonel Burton.
- We were told you might show up.
- Who told you that?
Colonel Bach, he established
this office last week...
with the Surgeon General.
You're the one
who's trying to kill the Bradley.
Who told you that?
I'm sorry, sir, all information
in this office is classified.
So, what is
"ruminant procurement" anyway?
That's what this office
has been created to do.
Yeah, but what is it?
The analysis and policy determination
for the premise about which...
will be tendered research data
on the optimal test ruminant.
- Such ruminants are to be...
- Sheep...
You're talking about sheep.
You're in charge of buying sheep,
correct?
We can't just go out and buy sheep,
sir.
Why not?
We're doing a vaporifics test
on sheep.
I mean, vaporifics
is all about what happens...
when a warhead penetrates armour.
The metal particles vaporize...
And form a large fireball
that fills...
Lieutenant, I know
what a vaporifics test is.
I'm the one who called for it.
Well, then you know we have to have
sheep specs before we can proceed.
Sheep specs, what is sheep specs?
Specifications!
Shorn or unshorn, rams,
ewes or lambs?
Merinos or short hair?
Shorn merino ewes
or unshorn merino lambs?
Bighorns or domestic?
Domestic shorn lambs
or bighorn unshorn?
Just, how long will it take you
to get your sheep specs?
Not long at all, six,
eight months, tops.
Then we can
go to tender research data.
But then we'll require another
eight months to evaluate the data.
After which we can move
into prototype ruminant evaluation...
- How much?
- Well...
All right, bring it back.
Keep it coming.
A little more.
Sir, Colonel Bach is
on his way over here, sir.
I'm sure he is.
For your information sir...
it sounded like
a world-class shit-fit, sir.
I'm sure it is, Sergeant.
- Come on, move it.
- What are these sheep doing here?
- I bought them.
- Well, you can't do that!
- Well, I did.
- There are no sheep specs, Colonel!
- I devised the sheep specs, Major.
- What are they?
They're live and kicking,
and that's good enough for me.
Testing is a science, Colonel.
Every tests has to be
controlled experiments.
- Just sticking sheep into a...
- All right, you don't want sheep?
Lennon, Chavez,
get the sheep out of there...
- and get in the Bradley. Dalton!
- Yes, sir?
Get in the Bradley.
- Sir?
- I need a vaporifics test...
get in the Bradley.
Everyone in the Bradley.
Are you out of your fucking mind,
Colonel?
You think this is some kind of joke,
Colonel?
Well, let see.
All right, we'll just use the sheep.
That's a terrific idea.
Use the sheep in the Bradley.
Go on, sheep, in the Bradley.
Get in there... God damn it!
Backblast area, clear!
- On the way, sir.
- Fire!
God, Granger, don't breathe!
- What the hell happened?
- The damn fumes!
Stay back!
- How are you doing?
- I'm okay.
Jesus, just one tiny whiff...
Did you get a look inside?
Nothing could have
survived those fumes.
Sergeant, where are the sheep?
Major Sayers said
they had to be incinerated.
- What?
- They carted them away, sir.
No! Stop!
- Follow those sheep!
- Sir?
- Stop that truck, that's an order!
- Yes, sir.
Sergeant.
I need them, for autopsy.
To verify test results.
I see him, we got him, sir.
- Pay no attention to them!
- Sir?
Concentrate on the sheep.
Look out!
Move it!
Come on!
Damn it,
what are you stopping us for?
- Stop the sheep!
- What's the hurry, sir?
Not one of the tests I've ordered
has been conducted according to plan.
- And since my job...
- Your job...
is to stop whining
and serve the United States...
- as befits an officer!
- My job, General, is to oversee...
the joint live-fire test programme
and deliver a report...
of my findings to Congress.
In order to do that...
I'm going to have to insist
on a live-fire test of the Bradley...
under combat conditions.
Listen to me,
you fucking fly-boy...
you don't know jack shit
about combat!
I know there are a lot of ways
to die in that vehicle, sir.
Don't you preach to me,
you son of a bitch!
I want a realistic...
- The number one priority is...
- People first, vehicles second!
Those are my priorities.
Unfortunately, the Army's priorities
seem to be the exact opposite.
You are way out of line here.
I won't sign off on the Bradley
without the live fire test.
- "Sir?"
- Who is Burton's commanding officer?
"General De Grasso, sir."
Get him for me now.
It's an economic move, Colonel,
department-wide...
you're being reassigned.
In the meantime, should I...
Should I continue
in my present assignment?
Your present assignment
has been eliminated, Colonel.
I didn't think my job
could be eliminated.
- I was appointed by Congress.
- But you're paid by the Army.
If they can't afford you,
and they can't, you have no job.
Colonel, it's time to move on.
Let's not let this little blip
on the screen ground you permanently.
Would the Colonel ever consider...
having a drink
with an enlisted soldier?
Does the enlisted soldier
think the Colonel needs one?
What are they going to do, fire you?
Okay, just a little one.
You know what's really ironic?
General Omar Bradley
was a brilliant tactician...
and a great leader.
No ego, just did the job.
And he looked out for the morale
and the safety of his men.
And they go and put his name
on this thing!
Talk about a kick in the ass.
The closest the brass
ever get to a battlefield...
is the first tee
on a Saturday morning.
You know, Fanning...
I've been around long enough to know
that the Pentagon is not a charity...
it's cashflows and egos.
That's part of it, it's what helps
drive it, fine, but...
Somehow...
Somehow I always thought
the men came first.
I always thought that
the people on top knew...
that it was about the soldier
in the field.
You gave it your best shot.
- Did I?
- Yes, sir, you did.
Well,
now it's somebody else's problem.
My problem is salvaging my career.
Which apparently is not beyond repair
if I'm a good little boy.
So, that's it.
That's it.
The man said, "war is hell".
He should've tried peacetime.
- You don't mind, do you?
- No, be my guest.
I don't believe in government waste.
- Burton.
- "So they're moving you out?"
Is there anything
you don't hear about?
Well, how far are you willing to go
with this thing?
The question is...
how far are they going to send me?
I think you ought to take a trip
to California this weekend.
I'm not really up for a vacation
right now.
No one goes to Fresno
for a vacation, Colonel.
- Can I help you, sir? ID please.
- Colonel Burton.
I'm here to see the project manager.
- Colonel Burton?
- Yes.
Steve Johnson, project manager.
Hi, thank you.
All set, let's go!
What the hell is going on here?
Who changed the specs?
The Israelis.
The Israelis? When?
When they placed their order.
- So these are for export?
- Yes.
- All of them?
- Yes, Colonel.
You're telling me we're manufacturing
two different versions...
of this vehicle?
The Israelis wouldn't take
the Bradley as designed, Colonel.
They wanted the fuel tanks
on the outside...
reinforced armour,
a different ventilation system...
All right. What about the specs
for our Bradleys?
Exactly like the ones
you're testing, Colonel. No change.
- You think you were followed?
- Followed?
I drove around for hours.
I don't even know where we are.
Maybe you'd prefer to meet
at the officers' club?
- So when did the Israelis test it?
- They didn't have to test it...
they knew by looking at it
that it was a deathtrap.
So while we're sending our guys
off to die...
the Pentagon brass is redesigning
the damn thing for somebody else!
They can't sell it overseas
like it is.
Business as usual.
So maybe you'd like to keep
fighting the bastards?
I've lost my job, General.
They're moving me out.
So, they're moving you out,
you haven't been discharged.
Work from inside,
from wherever they send you.
And turn into you?
Passing anonymous notes
and meeting in parking lots?
You know you're great at sitting
in the shadows.
And telling people what to do,
why don't you get off your ass...
- and do something?
- I can't.
- Help me!
- I have done everything that I can.
I've been fighting this battle
for almost 20 years.
I'm not going to go
to the mat over this!
I... I've got too much to lose.
70,000 troops.
70,000 American boys...
will ride into battle
in the Bradley...
if America fights another war.
We can't be a part
of sending them to their deaths.
One call.
- What?
- One call.
I'll make one call and that's it.
Sit down.
General Partridge, you've read
today's Washington Post?
- I have, Mr. Secretary.
- And I take you have seen...
the story attributed to an anonymous
highly placed Pentagon source?
Yes, I have, sir, and may I say
I am as deeply distressed...
as you that anyone in the Pentagon
would stoop so low.
Leaks within the Pentagon, General,
are how I get most of my information.
Mr. Secretary...
are you suggesting that the Pentagon
is less than forthcoming?
Less than forthcoming, General?
Then perhaps you can explain to me
why I have to learn from the press...
that the man in charge of testing
the Bradley fighting vehichle...
has been fired?
He wasn't fired, sir,
he was reassigned.
- By whom?
- By General De Grasso...
his commanding officer.
I'm as shocked as you are.
My guess is that
there was some confusion...
between the Army,
the Air Force commands...
The sort of trouble you always get...
with these cross-departmental
joint-testing programmes.
Yes.
"Congressman Stratton
is on the phone."
Sam, what can I do for you?
What article?
That article.
No, completely untrue,
inter-office SNAFU.
File it under creative journalism.
I'm looking into it now,
you'll be the first to know.
Right.
My best to Ellen.
General, I want a full update
on the Bradley...
- and I want it in writing.
- Right away, sir.
That is the last call
I expect to receive on this matter...
from Congressman Stratton
or anyone else on the Hill.
Do I make myself clear, General?
Perfectly.
Colonel Burton, I want you to write
your report on the Bradley.
Sir? I was under the impression
that my job had...
Your job has been reinstated.
I want your report on my desk
by 6.00pm tomorrow.
- Yes, sir.
- And Colonel...
in case you are unaware,
as per the military manual...
you will deliver your report
to me and to me alone.
Should so much as a single copy
of the report be made public...
I will bring you up on charges
of willfull subversion...
of military procedure
and have you court-martialled.
Stop packing, we're staying.
We're staying?
How'd you do that?
I didn't do anything.
- Do we have a rule book?
- A rule book, sir?
- You know a book with rules in it.
- What do you need a rule book for?
To play by the rules,
because I always play by the rules.
How do you know
you're playing by rules...
if you need a rule book
to tell you what the rules are?
I need a rule book to tell me
which rules I...
Just get me the book.
You need anything else, sir?
Chinese food, No-Doz?
No, thank you, Sergeant, I'm fine.
Well, then, night, sir.
What sounds better?
"The Bradley has so far
failed virtually every test"
or "The testing program
of the Bradley...
has been without any
coherent standards"?
They both sound like something...
the General wouldn't want
in his report.
This is not just a report,
it's a deadly weapon.
Sir, an M-16 is a deadly weapon.
A report is just a pile of paper...
unless you plan to inflict a lot
of extremely vicious paper cuts.
Go home, Sergeant.
Good night, sir.
"The failure of the Bradley
to incorporate..."
"even the most elementary safeguards"
"to protect the troops inside..."
"raises questions
about the integrity."
"And the manner in which
the vaporifics test..."
"was carried out
suggests either negligence..."
"or a failure
in the chain of command."
"Had any troops been
inside the vehicle..."
"as it is currently configured..."
"they would have been killed
by toxic fumes, flames..."
"or by the overpressure
created by..."
"the powerful expanding gas
in the compartment."
"And as a result of manifest
deficiencies in every area..."
"this office..."
"As a result of
manifest deficiencies in the area...
this office is advising
the immediate necessity...
of live fire-testing
under combat conditions"!
- Rewrite it!
- Sir?
Rewrite the fucking piece of garbage
so it smells like a rose!
Jesus Christ!
"The Bradley test standards
have been consistently altered...
in extreme ways."
"The Bradley tests have been
extremely consistent."
"They have altered
the standards for testing."
"Test after test has revealed
design flaws in the Bradley."
"The marginalised optimal
performance data..."
"The marginalised optimal
performance data...
suggests no vaporific shift
at this time."
That's brilliant, Lieutenant,
that's abso-fucking-lutely brilliant.
Thank you, sir.
- But, sir...
- What?
What does it mean?
What do you mean, what does it mean?
You wrote it.
- Afternoon, sir.
- Good afternoon.
"The Bradley tests have been
extremely consistent.
They have altered
the standard for testing..."
Have you actually read this thing...
is exactly the opposite
of what you wrote.
How can they do that?
They're playing by the book,
Sergeant.
And so am I.
Paper cuts...
Vicious paper cuts.
"The characterisation
in your report...
is at best a serious
misunderstanding...
of the testing procedures
on a vehicle as flawed...
as the Bradley.
As noted in my original report,
the integrity..."
Jesus Christ! Who did
this fucking thing go to?
The distribution page listed
198 names.
Court-martial the son of a bitch!
Lock him up now!
- We can't.
- We sure as hell can!
Burton's played by the book.
His report was classified,
it was sent to you...
you revised it and sent it back
to him.
He wrote a memo on your revision...
which in accordance to regulation
can be sent to anyone...
remotely involved with the Bradley.
In this case, 198 people.
I will fucking kill him.
I will fillet him, draw,
and quarter him...
- I stick his head in a vice.
- We can't touch him, sir.
It's by the book.
Then you find something
in that goddamn book...
that'll help me fry
the son of a bitch!
What?
Sir, the Washington Post
is on the phone.
Well, that was fast.
Leaks don't usually get to them
till after lunch.
Yes. No, we cannot comment
on that right now. Thank you.
Yes?
No, he cannot comment on that.
I'm sorry, but under military rules,
I'm unable to comment.
I... I can't comment.
No. No comment.
Sorry, goodbye.
I'm getting lockjaw
from not saying anything.
Burton.
I... I can't comment.
Is there anything I can comment on?
Well, yes.
I've just received orders
that I am to report for duty in...
Alaska.
Alaska is a prestige posting,
Senator.
No, I assure you that memo of his
had absolutely nothing to do...
with his being transferred.
Senator, I'm sorry,
I've just been informed that...
Secretary Weinberger is
on the other line.
Yes, I'll get right back to you.
I promise, thank you.
Sir, before you pick up,
Weinberger is on two...
line 1 is the Times.
Line 3 is the Wall Street Journal,
line 4 is Newsweek...
line 5 is the House
Armed Services Committee.
The House Armed Services Committee?
What do they want?
Hearings, sir. On the Bradley.
Alaska?
- What?
- I said Alaska, General.
As I said in my opening remarks,
Madam Chairman...
a lot of things have to come together
to create teamwork.
- Good old-fashioned teamwork.
- Yes, you told us, General.
And Colonel Burton's
not a team player...
he's a rogue operator.
I'm not a name-caller,
Madam Chairman.
But if you wish
to make that connection...
that would be your choice,
not mine.
Did you ever say to Colonel Burton...
"If I get one more call
from the Hill...
about your expletive deleted reports
you'll be sitting on your brains"?
Does that sound like me, sir?
Just answer the question, General,
please.
I don't remember saying it.
Not that I wasn't provoked.
Two witnesses testified that you said
those exact words...
to Colonel Burton
outside the Pentagon pharmacy.
I have visited the pharmacy.
Quite a bit lately for antacids.
But I would never say
anything like that to anyone.
Let alone a fellow officer.
But you make no secret
of your antagonism...
towards Colonel Burton?
It's his report
that I don't approve of.
Colonel Burton's report
is fallacious...
misinformed, and accusatory.
And I have no use for an officer...
who is more interested in
grabbing headlines...
than he is in defending this country.
I thought he was in Anchorage.
Madam Chairman,
Colonel Burton's here.
At this time he committee would like
to call as witness...
Colonel James G Burton,
United States Air Force.
- Madam Chairman.
- Yes, General?
As you must know under the rules
of military conduct...
no man can appear
at these hearings...
without the express order
of his commanding officer.
Unfortunately, General De Grasso
is on fact-finding tour...
of our bases in Germany.
I don't believe General De Grasso
has given any ordered...
- for Colonel Burton to testify.
- You're quite right, General.
But as Colonel Burton
has been transferred to Alaska...
he's no longer under
General De Grasso's command.
Am I correct?
Do you swear to tell the truth...
the whole truth
and nothing but the truth...
- so help you God?
- I do.
Looks like you've stirred up
a hornet's nest, Colonel.
It was never my intention, ma'am.
What was your intention?
Simply to do the job
I was assigned to do.
The Army test reports do not make
the possibility...
of casualties a top priority.
In fact, General Partridge's
report on the Bradley...
doesn't even mention
the word casualty, not once.
I came to the conclusion
that what was required...
was a live-fire test.
I requested such a test, repeatedly.
- Did you get that test?
- No, ma'am, I did not.
Why not?
I wanted more realism
than Army testing...
was accustomed to providing.
You want realism?
General, you are out of order!
Madam Chairman, in the interest
of resolving some of these issues...
presented here today,
I'd like to say something.
Please be brief, General.
Of course.
Colonel Burton wants more realism...
so let's talk about the real world
for a moment.
The real world has enemies in it.
There are forces at work,
even now as we speak...
with one objective in mind...
the destruction of this country.
We must not, we will not
allow those forces to prevail...
for if we do,
you can be certain that you and I...
and everyone else
will never again enjoy the luxury...
of meeting in this building
to debate anything!
As I said at the outset,
we are in the business of winning.
That takes teamwork.
General, the teamwork you so prize,
I take it it was in full force...
during the development
of the Bradley fighting vehichle?
Textbook!
Perhaps you'd like to tell us
how much has been spent so far...
to develop the Bradley?
How much?
Well, you have the figures,
don't you?
Of course.
- More or less.
- 14.
- 14.
- Million?
Bill... ion.
What did you say, General?
Billion.
Billion... with a B?
With a B.
14 billion dollars for designing
one armoured vehicle?
That's one way of looking at it.
Of taxpayers' money.
We are all taxpayers, after all.
We're in this together.
General, how many years
has this programme been running?
Bear with me, just a moment.
Let me...
Let's see. 12, 15...
- 17.
- What?
Which is evidence...
of the enormous care
my team takes in the development...
of every weapons system
undertaken by the Pentagon.
17 years.
14 billion dollars
of the taxpayers' money.
General, I think it's time
the American public...
gets the live-fire test
that Colonel Burton wants.
Tomorrow's the big day, sir.
I'll tell you one thing.
Every damn one of these nuts
and bolts...
has been taken off
and put back on again.
This wouldn't be flame retardant,
would it?
You think they made the men
trick this whole thing up?
It wouldn't surprise me.
Not a bit.
Room, attention.
At ease, gentlemen.
Looks like you've been working hard.
- Corporal.
- Sir?
Let me have one of those M-16s.
I want to tell you a story.
You got a problem with that,
Sergeant?
No, sir.
About a year ago,
I went to the veterans' hospital...
to visit a friend of mine
from my flying days.
Only I took a wrong turn
when I got off the elevator.
Now, when I look back on it...
I think I was meant to go down
that corridor.
Because that's where I met Phil.
Thank you, Corporal.
- But, sir...
- Let me finish, Dalton.
I want to pass on something
I learned about the M-16 from Phil.
You all know the M-16
better than I do.
A lot of you used it in Vietnam.
But you were lucky.
In the early days of that war...
they sent guys off to fight
with M-16s that jammed in combat.
A little bit of dust,
a little bit of rain...
and the gun was useless.
Maybe those early M-16s
weren't tested properly.
Maybe somebody somewhere
was more worried...
about a production schedule
or a promotion...
than he was about those grunts
in some faraway jungle...
who might end up
with their stomachs in their hands.
But you don't know anyone
that happened to, do you?
No. I'm sure not.
Otherwise you'd be out there
right now...
making sure that that Bradley
is exactly, and I mean exactly...
the way it would be
under normal combat conditions.
With some of your buddies
riding inside, guys like Phil.
Only Phil has been in a coma
for the last 20 years.
Since the day his M-16 jammed
somewhere outside of Vinh Long.
But hell, you don't know the guy.
Or anybody like him.
Right?
Sir?
Over here!
Ma'am!
- General!
- Good morning, sir.
- Everything all right?
- Fine, sir, just fine.
Keep coming.
A little more. Keep coming.
- Sergeant.
- Sir.
- Everything all right, Sergeant?
- Fine, sir.
- Thank you.
- Welcome, sir.
Welcome, Sergeant.
Jeez. Looks like some party.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please be seated.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished members of Congress.
I think it's fair to say that
you'll be seeing enough...
from this test, to give you
the basis once and for all...
to form your own conclusion...
about the sort of systemic excellence
we've been pursuing.
I will be giving the signal shortly.
When I do, I want you
to visualise combat conditions.
Imagine that the men firing
that round are the enemy.
And that the Bradley,
I don't have to tell you...
the Bradley is on our side.
Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished members of Congress...
I give you
your Bradley fighting vehicle.
Can you believe this?
Sergeant.
Everything's going to go as planned,
isn't it?
It will go exactly as it should, sir.
As planned, right?
Corporal, this is Sergeant Dalton.
Move the vehicle about
five yards forward...
- and then clear out. Over.
- "Roger that."
For your further edification,
the Bradley can be fired...
How much fuel is
in those tanks, Sergeant?
Just enough to do those manoeuvres?
No more than it would have
if it was in combat, sir.
Seven TOW missiles fired
from a launcher...
mounted on the left side...
And the ammunition
inside the Bradley?
Up to spec, sir.
- Whose specs?
- Manoeuvrable...
- and capable of keeping pace with...
- No!
Carrying infantry troops
needed to support tank operations...
more than we have
in the test conditions.
And the hour is at hand.
All eyes front
on the Bradley fighting vehicle.
The vehicle that will carry our boys
to victory...
for many, many years to come.
Backblast area clear!
Fire!
Who's the best, baby?
Dalton, Granger!
- Sir.
- Sir.
Could you explain, please?
We tried to tell you, sir.
You see, sir, when you gave us
that speech last night...
we had already fixed the vehicle
back to the way it should be.
So you were...
- You were ahead of me.
- I don't know about ahead...
but we've been behind you...
ever since
you fried those mannequins.
And the sheep, sir.
Man, that was epic!
I'm sorry I made you listen
to that lecture now, I...
Sir, you have nothing
to apologise for, sir.
We had you figured wrong.
The men come first with you,
and you proved that.
It was a hell of a good speech
though, sir.
Any time you want
to give another one...
you know where to find us.
Thank you, men. Thank you, all.
Sir.
a few things right off the bat.
By simple definition...
we are in the business
of winning wars.
What else do you need an army for?
Take the Cold War,
we won without firing a single shot.
Why? Number one,
we just flat out out-spent them.
The Russians couldn't shovel money
into the fire as fast as we could.
Number two, and this is where
my command comes in...
technology.
Nobody shapes nature the way we do.
We take atoms and molecules
and before we finished with them...
they're everything
from combat boots to bombs.
The kind of bombs that nobody
from the other side will ever see...
until the damn thing ploughing down
their chimney...
like Santa Claus from hell!
General?
What?
This is not the first time
you've been here.
We've been down this road before,
that is correct.
Several times, in fact.
I haven't been keeping count.
Let me refresh your memory.
You have before you a document.
I do.
The sensor fused anti-tank missile.
I'll be the first to admit...
that this programme
did had its share of difficulties.
We did experience a glitch or two
with the thing, that much is certain.
But even a heat-seeking missile
can miss a target.
General, I see here
that you taped electric hotplates...
to the surface of the vehicle...
to help your heat-seeking missile
find its target...
and that the temperature
of the vehicle was so high...
that it could have fried an egg
at 20 feet!
Commence fire!
There was a verifiable deviation...
of the standard
test data accumulation.
There were other deviations,
were there not?
What about the Paveway bomb?
I'm not going to sit here
and tell you...
- the Paveway never missed.
- It missed by a mean distance...
of five miles and nearly 50 percent
of the time.
You know...
in baseball, a guy who hits .400
is considered pretty damn great.
In baseball the losing team
isn't killed by their opponents.
Be that as it may,
the Paveway is one hell of a bomb.
Laser-guided, state-of-the-art.
And it proved what?
That we have an effective weapon...
as long as the enemy allows us
to build a two-storey crane...
directly above their tanks?
We have had
some spectacular successes.
- Such as?
- That's classified information.
- General...
- Please...
Let's move on to the next item
on our list.
The Bradley fighting vehicle.
What would you say...
the batting average is
for the Bradley, General?
It takes people
with sophisticated knowledge...
and expertise...
to conduct these tests
and to interpret the results.
If the US Army acted on the advice
of every Tom, Dick, and Harry...
who had an opinion
on these matters...
we'd wind up with a bunch of B-52s
powered by outboard motors.
- I fail to see your point.
- My point is...
that a lot of things have
to come together...
to create a new weapon...
and it takes teamwork.
Good, old-fashioned teamwork.
Colonel James Burton,
was he part of your team, General?
More or less.
Post, sir?
Sergeant.
Can you tell me how to get to 4E-624?
Forward into the escalator,
your left, two flights up to four...
your left, E-ring, your right...
proceed past corridor nine,
face left.
Thank you.
It's no secret that
Colonel Burton had a rocky tenure...
that we didn't see eye-to-eye.
But it didn't start out that way.
No!
I spoke to General Hall.
General Hall spoke to General Jones,
General Jones spoke to Admiral Watts.
Well, then, write it down!
That takes care of Spina
in Rhode Island...
and Mays from Nebraska.
Any Democrats?
No, forget him.
Because he's a scum-sucking Judas...
who'd sell his mother
for a handful of votes.
How about the Senate?
That son of a bitch.
After we papered his state
with contracts.
All right then,
let's just make the fuselage...
in Michigan and the landing gear
in Mississippi.
By all means,
let's keep Congressman Groves...
and his bloodsucking buddies happy.
- Welcome, Colonel.
- Thank you, General.
Thought you and I
ought to get to know one another.
I welcome the opportunity, sir.
- Fact is, I'd like to help you.
- Thank you, sir.
I don't mean to alarm you, Colonel.
But this new job of yours...
under certain circumstances,
can turn into...
a real shit-burning detail.
You're going to need friends
as you can get.
I'd like you to count me
as one of them.
I appreciate that, sir.
Air Force Academy...
Strategic Air Command,
MBA from Auburn.
Your commanding officer,
General De Grasso and I...
are old friends.
He says as far as your concern...
the sky is the limit.
But then you draw the short straw.
I was assigned, sir.
Hell, it's a bum deal,
whoever made it.
Every other year, somebody decides
we're spending too much money.
A bunch of pencil-necks
put their pointy little heads...
together and come up with a plan.
This year, it's the joint
live-fire test programme.
Staffed with officers
from every branch of the service.
So now we got the Army, Navy,
Air Force and Marines...
doing a circle-jerk
over weapons testing...
and you get to hold the big dick.
I mean, who thinks up this nonsense?
Congress, sir?
And so it should, that's its job.
You'll never hear me
criticise the Hill.
Although you'd think Congress
has enough of their own shit...
to shovel without wondering
what's going on over here.
Well, I'm not anticipating
any problems with the posting, sir.
Neither am I.
A man doesn't come as far
in his carreer as you have...
without knowing
how to walk a minefield.
Howard Matheson.
Came here two rotations ago.
That marlin is not the only thing
he caught.
I got him into SenCom
when he left here...
and now he's head
of their missile testing.
- Blake Gelmore, you know Blake?
- No, sir.
Man wasn't even a full-bird colonel
when he left for the private sector.
That was four years ago.
A few frequency-gain
modulator contracts later...
and look at him, man could buy
and sell both of us...
a thousand times over.
- Lucky man.
- Smart man.
First-rate soldier,
just like you, Colonel.
Knew how to make the best
of a difficult situation.
Now this new job of yours...
is too tough for any one man
to go it alone.
It's going to require teamwork.
Here you go.
These are a couple of your projects
undergoing testing.
The UH-60 helicopter,
the AV-8B jump-jet...
and the Bradley fighting vehicle.
All outstanding programmes,
all organised and ready to go.
I did a little homework for you.
Give you a leg-up.
I appreciate that, General.
You know,
you could return the favour...
by giving the Bradley there
just a little extra attention.
Attention?
We need it in the field.
The sooner the better.
Just make sure to go on top
of all the things in your inbox...
so it'll get in your outbox
as soon as possible.
As a personal favour to me.
- Best of luck, Colonel.
- Thank you, sir.
- Colonel.
- Sir?
Next time you're told
to report to this office, be on time.
Yes, sir.
Sir.
Colonel James Burton...
I'm here to take a look
at the Bradley fighting vehicle test.
- Straight ahead, sir.
- Thank you.
"I want to be an airborne ranger"
"I want to be an airborne ranger..."
- There he is.
- That's the guy?
That's him,
supposed to be real smart.
Squadron Officer School...
- Air Command and Staff College.
- First tour with the Pentagon?
He was at the Air Force lab
at Albuquerque...
when Congress called.
He's a soldier, not just a manager.
What do you mean?
He's put in his fair share
of flying time.
Looks like a fucking choirboy to me.
Maybe, but nothing goes
into production until he signs off.
"Target is now in position..."
Colonel Burton, JD Bach.
Welcome to the team.
- Colonel Bach.
- Yes, sir. Good to see you.
This is Major Sayers,
our chief tester.
Army Weapons Research Lab.
So how'd an Air Force guy end up
overseeing tests run by the Army?
- Well, it could have been worse.
- How's that?
Congress could have appointed
someone from the Navy.
"The range is now hot."
"Commencing armour penetration tests
on the Bradley fighting vehicle."
"Attention on the firing line."
Are you ready on the right?
"Ready on the left?"
"Firing line is ready."
"Firing detail, commence firing."
"Cease fire."
- Damn impressive armour.
- Congratulations.
All right, drinks are on me,
gentlemen.
Joining us, Colonel Burton?
Congratulations,
thanks for your help on that one.
You know we couldn't have done it
without you.
Thanks for your help on that one.
Say, Colonel,
are you going to join us?
Well...
- Shouldn't we take a closer look?
- No, actually, safety precautions.
See, the fire team
goes out there first...
and then no one else is allowed
near the vehicle...
for at least another hour.
- Why is that?
- With any anti armour test...
involving a live round,
there's a freak chance...
that something might blow
after the fact.
Plus we don't want to lose you
first day on the job, Colonel.
So how about that drink?
Sounds good, Major.
There'll be a phone call for you
in your office...
at exactly 11.00am
It's important you be there.
- Good morning.
- Welcome, sir.
- Welcome, sir.
- Morning.
- Morning, Sergeant.
- Good morning, sir.
I took the liberty of unpacking
a few of your things.
Thank you, Sergeant.
- Family, sir?
- What's that?
- Family.
- That's my uncle.
He was a flier in World War II.
What's that?
This is the plane
I learned to fly in, a T-28.
I used to take her up,
slide the canopy back.
Fly for hours.
Just me and the sky.
Personally, sir,
I like the sky right where it is...
with me on the ground
looking up at it.
So, where you from, sir?
Just outside of Chicago.
And where would that be?
Normal.
Normal, Illinois, is that on the map?
Yes, Sergeant, it is.
Is it normal in Normal?
I think the word is uneventful.
You getting paid by the hour,
Colonel?
No, I got an appointment.
I'll, take this, Sergeant, thank you.
Fine.
Colonel Burton.
Hello?
The test on the Bradley...
I hear you wanted
to take a closer look.
How did you hear that?
When it comes to the Bradley,
follow your instincts, Colonel.
- "Who is this?"
- I can't tell you that right now.
Well, whoever you are,
I don't take unsolicited advice...
from people I don't know.
Just make sure you read
the fine print, Colonel.
Sir, Colonel Burton. Sir.
You're up early, sir.
I thought I drop by I'm on my way
to the office, Sergeant.
Check out the Bradley.
Sir, isn't your office
40 miles that way, sir?
Yes, Sergeant, yes, it is.
Has anything been altered
on this vehicle since the test?
No, sir.
Are you looking for something, sir?
Just reading the fine print,
Sergeant.
Just reading the fine print.
Stinger missiles, 50 cal tracers.
7.62 tracers.
25mm rounds.
- What's this?
- That was used on the Bradley, sir.
This writing, it's Romanian,
isn't it?
Yes, sir, it is.
Sir, Colonel Bach and Major Sayers
won't be here until noon.
That's when our first test of the day
is scheduled, sir.
Well, this isn't exactly
an all-out test, Sergeant.
More like a little pop quiz.
I'm not sure regulations allow us...
to borrow the door
from the ammunition shed...
for a pop quiz, sir.
Sir, regulations state
that the ammunition shed...
should never be left open, sir.
Duly noted, Sergeant.
I believe that regulations
also apply...
to removing
the door entirely, Colonel.
Also duly noted.
Fire when ready.
Backblast area clear!
On the way, sir.
Fire.
Come on straight... Hold!
You wrecked a door?
Colonel, the ammunition
that was used on the last test...
on the Bradley is the same
as we used on this door.
Romanian, arguably the most
ineffective ammunition...
in the world. No wonder the Bradley
come through with flying color.
- Well this is serious.
- It is!
Yes, you destroyed a door.
Colonel, we're talking about a test
on an armoured personnel carrier...
a vehicle that will carry soldiers
into combat.
Right, but this door is property
of the United States government.
- I assume you knew that.
- The shell...
barely penetrated the door.
Okay, but it's all bent out of shape.
How are you going
to get it back on its hinges?
Well, right now I'm not really
worried about putting it back...
Yes, but this door protects
our ammunition.
The ammunition doesn't work!
But we need the ammunition
for our tests.
Look, I'll buy the Army
a new goddamn door.
You can't afford a door like that.
Did you see what it stood up to?
Exactly! Some spitball from Romania!
It was my understanding
that only Soviet arms...
would be used in these tests.
Well, yes, and Romania
is one of the Soviet blocs...
- Isn't it?
- Colonel Burton...
we've been testing
the Bradley for some time now.
You may not be aware
of some steps we've taken.
The Romanian rocket is only 73mm.
That's less than
the 85mm Russian version.
A smaller diameter means
a smaller explosion...
a smaller holes and less shrapnel.
We're interested
in conducting balistic tests...
using all short of ammunition
of varying diameters...
to determine the exact threshold
of the Bradley's tolerance.
So far it's held up against
everything we've thrown at it, sir.
Soviet, Romanian.
Latvian, Lithuanian...
Like a rock.
My apologies.
You're new to the project.
There's a lot to catch up on.
You're right. So if you'll get me
the test reports...
- I can catch right up.
- How's that, Colonel?
Send me the data,
I'll do my homework...
and we can push this thing
right through.
We've got five years of test reports
on this model alone, sir.
- We have a schedule to maintain.
- And let's keep to it.
Get the Bradley into production,
ASAP, what do you say?
Thank you, gentlemen.
I have SINCON recruiting it.
This could blow the whole deal.
I'm telling you, sir, you've got
to nip this in the bud...
like you did with the last guy.
- Don't worry about it.
- Sir, he wants to see the reports.
- How're we going to stop it.
- Just give him the reports.
Are you out of your mind?
I'm not going to show him...
- a single page.
- Now listen to me.
Listen very carefully.
Give him everything he wants.
Every single piece of paper.
Everything.
- Sergeant?
- Here, sir.
What the heck is all this?
Everything you ever wanted
to know about the Bradley...
and weren't afraid to ask.
Every memo
on every last nut and bolt.
I wonder which national forest
lay down its life for this project.
- You read any of this stuff?
- Not yet, sir.
I was hoping you'd show up
with the Cliff Notes.
- I hardly know where to start.
- Maybe that's the whole idea.
- I don't get it.
- What?
- That.
- It's the Bradley.
Well, if that's the Bradley...
then what's this?
- What's the date?
- 1968.
The question is,
how did they get to that...
from this?
Gentlemen, our mission
was to design and implement...
an infantry transport vehicle
that would be a worthy replacement...
for the M-113 armoured
personnel carrier.
We have met that objective
and then some.
The Bradley
armoured personnel carrier...
will bring troops to a combat zone
swiftly, efficiently, and safely.
It will hold 11 men plus a driver...
and features a 20mm cannon...
which will provide ample firepower
and at the same time flexibility.
Lightly armoured, speedy,
and solidly engineered...
our troops will arrive
at the battlefield...
in the finest American technology
has to offer.
And at a million and a half per,
a real bargain.
Nice work, Colonel!
Outstanding!
Damn impressive!
In other words, it was design
to be a big taxicab...
drive guys to the battlefield
and go back home.
But how did it
end up with a turret on top?
This is all well and good,
Colonel Smith, but...
- Something wrong, General?
- With this gorilla in production...
I don't supposed there's going
to be anything left...
- in the budget for my scout.
- I doubt it, Bob.
You don't need scouts.
You have radar, air-recon,
satellites.
You always need a scout,
and you know what I'm thinking...
why couldn't this thing serve
as a scout?
But it's a troop carrier, General.
But this is a speedy vehicle.
Why can't it be both?
Well, for one thing, it's too big.
And for the other,
you can't really see...
out all that much from inside.
- Sounds like a design flaw to me.
- Design flaw? No...
We'll just stick a turret on top
with lots of opticals.
But then, sir, it'll be even bigger.
Well, what's your problem, Smith?
Not elegant enough for you?
Well, the thing is, General...
it's hard to do a "sneak and peek"
when you're over ten feet tall.
- He's got a point, Bob.
- All I know is, we need a scout.
This is fast enough to do the job
and it's funded.
Well, actually,
we're a hair over budget.
You turn the Bradley into a scout
and we're going to be...
selling them off
to some el presidente...
in Chimichanga in no time!
Anything for surveillance
ends up south of the border...
before the paint even dries.
When you needed
that anti-aircraft gun...
who backed you up on that?
- You did, Bob.
- Who testified to Appropriations...
- on behalf of that gun?
- You did, Bob.
I'm talking to Appropriations
next week.
Now do I sell you on my scout
or do I not?
You did, Bob.
And how about some portholes
along the side...
for individual firearms?
So the fellas can stick out
their guns and shoot people!
Good. And you know what, Colonel?
We already have the turret.
We ought to get the biggest bang
we can up there.
I'm sorry, bang, sir?
You can't hurt anybody
with that pansy-ass gun!
Add on some firepower!
Where am I supposed
to fit the extra ammo?
I don't know.
Can't you just shift things around.
- Make some room.
- We already got 4,400 rounds...
of machine gun ammo,
and you want to add 25mm shells?
- The General wants his ammo.
- He can't have his ammo...
unless he runs along,
shut this thing carrying it.
- Well, can you squeeze it in?
- No.
Come on! Just squeeze it in!
We're not trying on Levi's here,
Colonel.
Are you telling me that
in a vehicle this size...
you can't fit a few rounds
of ammunition?
Not in its current configuration,
no, sir.
So, the configuration's wrong.
There must be something you can dump.
- Dump, sir?
- Something you don't need.
General, the interior is very spare.
Besides the ammunition and the men...
Maybe leave one of the fellas behind.
Put the ammo where the men go.
Sir...
It is a troop carrier.
So, make a couple of extra trips,
what's the difference?
They want a transport
that doesn't carry men...
and a scout that's got a cannon
as big as a tank's on it.
- And portholes.
- Great, portholes!
So the guys can shoot at whatever
they can't hit with their cannon.
You don't have to buy the damn thing,
Jones, just draw it.
- That's one hell of a cannon.
- That's the problem.
Why?
You go out on a battlefield
with this pecker sticking out...
of your turret, and the enemy
is going to unload on you...
with all they got.
Might as well, paint a big
red bull's eye on the side.
But it's a troop carrier,
not a tank.
Do you want me to put a sign on it
in 50 languages...
"I am a troop carrier, not a tank,
please don't shoot at me"?
This was going to be so beautiful.
- That's good work, Smith.
- Looks perfect to me.
- Thank you, sir.
- The thing is...
Yes, General?
Looks a little like a tank
with that cannon on top.
Probably going to draw more fire.
Actually, sir,
that has come to our attention.
We know it's not a tank,
but will the other side?
I guess we could always
thicken the armour.
Toughened up the hide a bit.
Colonel Smith, could you explain
why you put those portholes there?
Yes, sir, as per your request...
so the men can shoot out
at the enemy.
- You're joking, aren't you?
- Besides portholes?
What are we now? The navy?
Say... you think you could
make this thing amphibious?
You know, get the troops
across a river?
No.
No, sir. No.
No.
Amphibious?
The Bradley's supposed to swim?
In theory, at least.
Amphibious troop carrier
slash scout...
Slash tank.
A couple more months,
I bet they can get this thing to fly.
What's this in the margin?
"Please help me...
I am losing my mind...
RLS."
Lieutenant Colonel
Robert Laurel Smith...
head of oversight and development.
Aluminium.
This thing's got an aluminium skin.
Anything an enemy tank fired at it
is going to through it...
like a hot knife through butter.
We're doing this back on using
steel rather than aluminium.
Of course, steel is
much heavier than aluminium...
so it won't go as fast.
No, we can't lose speed...
we lose speed,
it won't work as a scout vehichle.
It won't keep pace with tanks,
either.
Think armour's a reactive measure.
Let's think proactive here.
I say equip the thing
with anti-tank missiles...
then it can blast those enemy tanks
before they get a chance to fire.
What do you think, Colonel?
Fine.
- Anti-tank missiles?
- I don't know.
Just where would I put them?
The men will have to wear
the missiles as hats!
I don't know, Jones.
That's why you get paid big bucks.
Colonel, there's no room,
we're not talking about...
About a pair of Levi's. I know!
God damn it!
What we are are talking about is
11 years with nothing to show for it!
Except an ulcer the size
of the district of Columbia...
and a career on permanent hold!
You see this?
I've been...
I've been a bird colonel so long...
I swear I'm growing feathers!
Now if you have to design hats...
to haul those goddamn missiles,
then just do it.
Excuse me, sir...
Ladies and gentlemen,
if I can have your attention, please.
If you'd all just take your seats.
Thank you.
We are pleased to present
a scale model...
of the new Bradley fighting vehicle.
Featuring scout, troop transport,
and anti-tank capabilities...
It carries six men.
How many was it supposed to carry?
- 11.
- The Bradley is outfitted...
with sophisticated surveillance
equipment ever developed.
It is also equipped
with a rapid-fire cannon...
and an anti-tank rocket launcher.
Which means it's loaded with...
1,500 shells
and ten TOW anti-tank missiles.
So in summation, gentlemen,
what you have before you is...
A troop transport
that can't carry troops...
a reconnaissance vehicle
that's too conspicuous...
to do reconnaissance...
And a quasi-tank that has
less armour than a snow-blower
but has enough ammo
to take out half of DC.
- Fantastic.
- Congratulations, General Smith.
- General?
- Hell of a job!
General?
Let's build it.
They're building it?
This is what we're building?
Please be seated.
This will be brief,
as I'm needed at the Oval Office.
I want to call your attention
this morning's New York Times.
If you'd be so kind to turn
to the editorial page.
It essentially says
that every weapon we produce...
is overpriced piece of junk.
Now, that's not news.
Critics have said it for years.
What was news to me...
touched on our supposedly spectacular
"Sergeant York" anti-aircraft gun.
It says there
when the Sergeant York proved...
incapable of hitting airplanes...
we test-fired it
at hovering helicopters.
When it failed to hit
hovering helicopters...
we fired at stationary targets
and it missed those.
Now is this possible, General Keane?
There was a problem
with the proximity fusing.
According to this...
one missile locked on
to a ventilation fan in the latrine!
And destroyed the latrine.
Were we test-firing at latrines
that day?
My first sergeant was in that latrine
at the time...
and I can assure you,
he's around to swear otherwise.
Why am I learning about this thing
in the newspaper?
It makes me look foolish,
and I am not a foolish man.
General Cushing,
are you having any problems...
with the Maverick missile
you're testing?
No, sir.
Admiral Morehouse,
any problems with the 812?
- None whatsoever, sir.
- General Partridge...
- Sir!
- Any problems with the Bradley?
No, sir, absolutely not.
Production is imminent.
Mr Secretary, I believe
the press is on a wild-goose chase...
looking for problems
where none exist.
Let's hope you're right, General.
Because there are people...
in this administration
who do have problems.
Terrorists in Lebanon,
and Colonel Qadhafi in Libya...
and Sandinistas in Nicaragua...
and let's not forget
our ongoing problems...
with the Soviet Union.
Frankly, I don't appreciate calls
from reporters and congressmen...
asking me why nothing
we are working on works...
and I can't answer them
because the men in charge...
of developing these systems
tell me everything is just peachy!
So, if you don't have problems, good.
If you do, get rid of them.
I want these weapons built.
If not by you, I'll find men who can.
You wanted to see me, sir?
Yes, I do.
Close the damn door, come on.
About these tests you've been
thinking about...
conducting on the Bradley.
I understand your concern...
but if you knew the vehicle
as I do...
if you were an armoured warfare
expert instead of a flier...
you won't be concern to understand
the Bradley is a good vehicle.
4,000 Americans will be employed
building it, the Army wants it.
Once you've had the chance
to read the files...
I've read the files, sir.
200 pages on the rear door...
250 pages on the paint job...
computer simulations
of combat conditions...
not a single test that actually
indicates what might happen...
if the Bradley takes a hit.
Which is why I've ordered
a full-up live fire test.
I want to equip a Bradley
with all the ammunition...
it would take into battle...
fill all the fuel tanks, and hit it
with a Soviet anti-tank weapon...
- to see how it'll hold up.
- Cancel it.
- Sir?
- I think we're having...
a communication meltdown here,
Colonel.
Whatever problems there are,
we'll fix them.
In the field, after they're deployed.
- But General...
- That's the way things are done...
around here, Colonel.
That's the way we're going to do it.
Nobody takes your job
more seriously than I do...
but I also have a job.
I got to get that Bradley deploy.
I want that rocket launcher
pointed at the Soviets.
Here.
Jesus.
Dismissed.
- Afternoon.
- Good afternoon, sir.
- Fanning!
- Yes, sir?
- What happened to you?
- Don't ask. What's this?
It was on your desk
when I got back from lunch.
"Some ammunition
for your Bradley battle."
It's a British Army test report.
Top secret too.
Until it landed here.
General Smith, Jim Burton.
How did you find me?
You have
very distinctive handwriting.
I've been reading memos
on the Bradley going back to 1968...
with your handwritten notes
in the margin, or...
Initialled by you.
- This handwriting?
- We should not be seen talking.
Look, you contacted me, General.
No. You received an anonymous leak
about which I know nothing.
So the British found out
that aluminium armor burns...
and gives off a toxic gas
when hit by a shell.
Bad news for men in aluminium
armoured vehicles enough said.
Couldn't we...
Couldn't we sit down
somewhere and actually talk?
Are you out of your mind, Colonel?
If the Pentagon had their choice
of busting us...
or nailing a Soviet spy
they would choose us in a heartbeat.
Who exactly is "us", General?
There are some people who work
in the Pentagon...
who are fed up watching billions
of dollars thrown away...
on defective weapons
upon which our troops...
are supposed
to stake their lives.
People like you, Colonel.
We are the enemy.
- To whom?
- To majors who want to be colonels.
To colonels
who want to be generals...
the generals
who want that four stars...
you bet we are the enemy.
Nobody moves up,
without getting things done.
So what you don't want to be
is the one who drops the ball...
because if you drop the ball,
no promotion, no star...
no cushy job with a contractor
when you retire.
Which is why, Colonel,
any and everyone attached...
to the Bradley will see to it.
To stop your tests.
General, I appreciate your interests
if not your methods.
Whatever disagreements
I may or may not be having...
over the Bradley
will be resolved above board.
Now, if you have something to say...
I'm sure the Washington Post
would love to talk to you.
Me? The press? Are you crazy?
The Army is my life.
Like you, Colonel,
I work inside the system...
and you don't have a prayer
in hell of running your tests...
not unless you're willing
to sacrifice your career.
And if you think you're safe
because Congress gave you your job...
you better think again.
Good day, Colonel. And good luck.
So why did you send me that report?
Sir.
- Nice to see you, General.
- Good to see you.
- Evening, sir.
- Evening, sir.
So she leaned over to me
and whispered, "Why do you think...
the General always stands
at attention?"
Sorry to distrub you, sir,
but Major Sayers is in the library.
Tell Major Sayers I'm busy.
I'm sorry sir, but he said
to tell you the little prick...
- ordered tests on the Bradley.
- What?
I'll have his ass in a sling so fast.
Whose ass, sir? Major Sayers
or the little prick?
General, he knows about
the study that the Brits did.
- What study?
- Brits did a study on aluminium.
That would be the same aluminium
sheeting used on the Bradley, sir.
When hit by a shell,
it has the tendency to burn...
and when it burns,
it gives off a toxic gas.
God damn it.
We fought a revolution so we wouldn't
have to pay any attention...
to the fucking British!
So why they mess things up now?
- I thought you talked to him.
- I did.
- The man must be a fool.
- Can't you stop him, sir?
No, I'm not his commanding officer.
Some draft-dodging junior congressman
decided we needed more objectivity...
in the testing process.
Goddamn checks and balances.
General, with all due respect,
this isn't just a check, sir...
it's more of
a full fucking body block!
If we don't get the Bradley
out there now...
it'll be stuck
in development forever.
Start production now.
Throw Burton a bone or two.
Let him run a couple of tests.
Yes, sir. General, actually,
he'd like to blow it up.
I don't give a flying fuck
what Burton wants.
Let him do some piddly-shit stuff,
take it for a test drive!
See if he can parallel park
that fucker!
Just get it into production.
Am I to understand
that you were not in favour...
of the tests Colonel Burton proposed?
Absolutely not.
Absolutely not, yes,
or absolutely not, no?
Absolutely not absolutely.
Are you questioning
his motives or his methods, General?
I have no reason to question
Colonel Burton's motives.
I can only speak to his methods.
Which, by anyone's definition
were somewhat peculiar.
I mean there were other ways
to find out...
if clothing would catch fire
inside the Bradley...
when it took a hit.
Let's take the...
The mannequin thing.
- Colonel.
- Yes?
Phone call for you, sir.
They said it's important.
Very good.
- Dalton.
- Yes, sir.
I'll meet you back
at the firing area.
Yes, sir.
- Strip the dummies.
- Sir?
Strip the dummies, Sergeant, now.
Thank you.
Let's go.
Fire when ready.
Backblast area clear!
- Out of the way, sir.
- Fire.
Hold it there.
Let me see those.
That looks good, uniforms look good.
Great, there you go.
Wait a minute, what's that?
That's part of our test, Colonel.
Wait a minute.
"Certainly no one in my command..."
"gave the order to strip
the dummies..."
"and put their clothes
inside a fireproof container..."
"inside the vehicle while
Colonel Burton wasn't around."
You're a pair of clowns!
"The insults that were traded
that day..."
"had definitely no business
showing up in the test reports."
They were deleted
from the final report.
All except Colonel Bach's unfortunate
reference to Colonel Burton's mother.
Understand temperatures
were running high.
Apparently inside the Bradley
as well.
There's a degree of uncertainty
involved in every test.
That's the point of doing tests,
to find out what happens.
If we knew what the results would be,
we wouldn't need to do the test.
And just because the tests
didn't always come out...
the way Colonel Burton expected...
is no reason to assume that
anything devious was going on.
I ask you, General,
filling the fuel tanks with water...
for a test designed to check
the combustibility of those tanks...
that wasn't devious?
If the tanks had been
filled with fuel...
there's a good chance
the vehicle would have exploded.
Isn't that the point?
If the vehicle had exploded,
we couldn't run additional tests.
I can't order up an unlimited number
of Bradleys just to blow them up!
Unless you're telling me
to spend more money.
which I can't imagine you are.
General, I believe that efforts
were made...
to make the Bradley amphibious?
Yes, although how that's relevant
I fail to comprehend.
How many Bradleys
were lost during that experiment?
Lost?
The report says four of the Bradleys
sank during testing.
That is a matter of opinion.
It's not opinion, General.
Four of them sank.
Technically, yes.
General,
can we get back to the fuel tanks?
Come on. Good.
Sergeant, have the tanks
always been filled with water?
No, sir.
Only when the vehicle
is being tested, sir.
What else don't I know?
Sergeant, I'm asking you a question.
What else don't I know
about these tests?
The ammunition stored
in the Bradley, sir.
What about it?
Sand.
That's affirmative, sir.
Tell me...
did the term "court-martial"
ever enter anyone's mind here?
- No, sir.
- Really?
That's truly amazing, Sergeant.
I mean here we are watching
water drip out of the gas tanks...
and sand spill out
of the ammunition...
right after a test that was done
to figure out...
whether or not the damn thing
is safe!
And no one here even thinks
of the term "court-martial"?
Now why, if you don't mind my asking,
is that?
We were under orders, sir.
Do you think acting on those orders
conscionable, Sergeant?
It doesn't matter what I think
or do, sir...
because you desk warriors
from Washington will show up...
and find a million different ways...
to make the tests turn out
whatever way you want, sir.
I'm not here to manipulate
test results.
- I'm here to learn the truth.
- You want the truth, sir?
We get a new white knight
every other year, sir.
Some guy just like you,
and you all start off the same.
Big speeches that turn to shit
after six months...
when your next promotion comes due.
And then it's business as usual.
Where did you pick up
this lousy attitude, Sergeant?
Right here, sir...
watching guys like you.
Well, I'm sorry.
I'm really sorry to hear that.
Because unlike you,
I take my job seriously.
Really?
Well, maybe...
maybe you can explain to me,
Colonel...
why the Bradley has been
ordered into production...
before you have done your job.
Do you mind telling me what is this?
100 Bradleys have been ordered?
We have a schedule, Colonel Burton.
And I'm not going to have it
on my record...
that the Bradley
fell behind schedule...
just because you fussing over
of some goddamn tests.
Those goddamn tests could save lives.
The Bradley will save lives,
Colonel...
by bringing men to the front line
where the needed.
Do you have any idea Colonel,
what would happen to those men...
if the Bradley takes a hit
and the aluminium burns?
I know all about the British study,
Colonel. And it is bullshit.
That thing could be a deathtrap.
- Says who?
- Says me.
And how do you know?
Have you put people in there...
during the test?
- No, of...
- So you don't know, Colonel.
Actually know anything.
And until you do,
all you're doing is wasting our time.
Are you suggesting Colonel Burton
had no reason to be concerned?
I am suggesting
that Colonel Burton and his tests...
did not reveal anything
we didn't already know.
Except his own penchant
for theatrics.
- Theatrics, General?
- Yes, theatrics.
Cheap theatrics at that.
So, Billy now the little prick
has issued a memo...
that stipulates that for the tests
he'd like to use sheep.
Jesus, we already started work
on the chassis zone.
Dave, don't worry about it.
Because if the sheep come out
of this thing tits up...
we're going to have
to stop production.
There are ways around it.
Ways around anything.
- Absolutely.
- Like what?
Well, we could sick the animal rights
people on him.
Well, it is cruel and unusual
treatment of sheep.
Rack of lamb.
Yeah, that would be me.
- Yes.
- "Major Sayers just called, sir."
- When do they plan to run the tests?
- "Immediately."
"Just as soon as we send
over the sheep."
"We"? I thought they were
in charge of the sheep.
They say it's being handled
at our end.
The Surgeon General's office.
What does the Surgeon General
have to do with sheep?
- Excuse me.
- You must be Colonel Burton.
- We were told you might show up.
- Who told you that?
Colonel Bach, he established
this office last week...
with the Surgeon General.
You're the one
who's trying to kill the Bradley.
Who told you that?
I'm sorry, sir, all information
in this office is classified.
So, what is
"ruminant procurement" anyway?
That's what this office
has been created to do.
Yeah, but what is it?
The analysis and policy determination
for the premise about which...
will be tendered research data
on the optimal test ruminant.
- Such ruminants are to be...
- Sheep...
You're talking about sheep.
You're in charge of buying sheep,
correct?
We can't just go out and buy sheep,
sir.
Why not?
We're doing a vaporifics test
on sheep.
I mean, vaporifics
is all about what happens...
when a warhead penetrates armour.
The metal particles vaporize...
And form a large fireball
that fills...
Lieutenant, I know
what a vaporifics test is.
I'm the one who called for it.
Well, then you know we have to have
sheep specs before we can proceed.
Sheep specs, what is sheep specs?
Specifications!
Shorn or unshorn, rams,
ewes or lambs?
Merinos or short hair?
Shorn merino ewes
or unshorn merino lambs?
Bighorns or domestic?
Domestic shorn lambs
or bighorn unshorn?
Just, how long will it take you
to get your sheep specs?
Not long at all, six,
eight months, tops.
Then we can
go to tender research data.
But then we'll require another
eight months to evaluate the data.
After which we can move
into prototype ruminant evaluation...
- How much?
- Well...
All right, bring it back.
Keep it coming.
A little more.
Sir, Colonel Bach is
on his way over here, sir.
I'm sure he is.
For your information sir...
it sounded like
a world-class shit-fit, sir.
I'm sure it is, Sergeant.
- Come on, move it.
- What are these sheep doing here?
- I bought them.
- Well, you can't do that!
- Well, I did.
- There are no sheep specs, Colonel!
- I devised the sheep specs, Major.
- What are they?
They're live and kicking,
and that's good enough for me.
Testing is a science, Colonel.
Every tests has to be
controlled experiments.
- Just sticking sheep into a...
- All right, you don't want sheep?
Lennon, Chavez,
get the sheep out of there...
- and get in the Bradley. Dalton!
- Yes, sir?
Get in the Bradley.
- Sir?
- I need a vaporifics test...
get in the Bradley.
Everyone in the Bradley.
Are you out of your fucking mind,
Colonel?
You think this is some kind of joke,
Colonel?
Well, let see.
All right, we'll just use the sheep.
That's a terrific idea.
Use the sheep in the Bradley.
Go on, sheep, in the Bradley.
Get in there... God damn it!
Backblast area, clear!
- On the way, sir.
- Fire!
God, Granger, don't breathe!
- What the hell happened?
- The damn fumes!
Stay back!
- How are you doing?
- I'm okay.
Jesus, just one tiny whiff...
Did you get a look inside?
Nothing could have
survived those fumes.
Sergeant, where are the sheep?
Major Sayers said
they had to be incinerated.
- What?
- They carted them away, sir.
No! Stop!
- Follow those sheep!
- Sir?
- Stop that truck, that's an order!
- Yes, sir.
Sergeant.
I need them, for autopsy.
To verify test results.
I see him, we got him, sir.
- Pay no attention to them!
- Sir?
Concentrate on the sheep.
Look out!
Move it!
Come on!
Damn it,
what are you stopping us for?
- Stop the sheep!
- What's the hurry, sir?
Not one of the tests I've ordered
has been conducted according to plan.
- And since my job...
- Your job...
is to stop whining
and serve the United States...
- as befits an officer!
- My job, General, is to oversee...
the joint live-fire test programme
and deliver a report...
of my findings to Congress.
In order to do that...
I'm going to have to insist
on a live-fire test of the Bradley...
under combat conditions.
Listen to me,
you fucking fly-boy...
you don't know jack shit
about combat!
I know there are a lot of ways
to die in that vehicle, sir.
Don't you preach to me,
you son of a bitch!
I want a realistic...
- The number one priority is...
- People first, vehicles second!
Those are my priorities.
Unfortunately, the Army's priorities
seem to be the exact opposite.
You are way out of line here.
I won't sign off on the Bradley
without the live fire test.
- "Sir?"
- Who is Burton's commanding officer?
"General De Grasso, sir."
Get him for me now.
It's an economic move, Colonel,
department-wide...
you're being reassigned.
In the meantime, should I...
Should I continue
in my present assignment?
Your present assignment
has been eliminated, Colonel.
I didn't think my job
could be eliminated.
- I was appointed by Congress.
- But you're paid by the Army.
If they can't afford you,
and they can't, you have no job.
Colonel, it's time to move on.
Let's not let this little blip
on the screen ground you permanently.
Would the Colonel ever consider...
having a drink
with an enlisted soldier?
Does the enlisted soldier
think the Colonel needs one?
What are they going to do, fire you?
Okay, just a little one.
You know what's really ironic?
General Omar Bradley
was a brilliant tactician...
and a great leader.
No ego, just did the job.
And he looked out for the morale
and the safety of his men.
And they go and put his name
on this thing!
Talk about a kick in the ass.
The closest the brass
ever get to a battlefield...
is the first tee
on a Saturday morning.
You know, Fanning...
I've been around long enough to know
that the Pentagon is not a charity...
it's cashflows and egos.
That's part of it, it's what helps
drive it, fine, but...
Somehow...
Somehow I always thought
the men came first.
I always thought that
the people on top knew...
that it was about the soldier
in the field.
You gave it your best shot.
- Did I?
- Yes, sir, you did.
Well,
now it's somebody else's problem.
My problem is salvaging my career.
Which apparently is not beyond repair
if I'm a good little boy.
So, that's it.
That's it.
The man said, "war is hell".
He should've tried peacetime.
- You don't mind, do you?
- No, be my guest.
I don't believe in government waste.
- Burton.
- "So they're moving you out?"
Is there anything
you don't hear about?
Well, how far are you willing to go
with this thing?
The question is...
how far are they going to send me?
I think you ought to take a trip
to California this weekend.
I'm not really up for a vacation
right now.
No one goes to Fresno
for a vacation, Colonel.
- Can I help you, sir? ID please.
- Colonel Burton.
I'm here to see the project manager.
- Colonel Burton?
- Yes.
Steve Johnson, project manager.
Hi, thank you.
All set, let's go!
What the hell is going on here?
Who changed the specs?
The Israelis.
The Israelis? When?
When they placed their order.
- So these are for export?
- Yes.
- All of them?
- Yes, Colonel.
You're telling me we're manufacturing
two different versions...
of this vehicle?
The Israelis wouldn't take
the Bradley as designed, Colonel.
They wanted the fuel tanks
on the outside...
reinforced armour,
a different ventilation system...
All right. What about the specs
for our Bradleys?
Exactly like the ones
you're testing, Colonel. No change.
- You think you were followed?
- Followed?
I drove around for hours.
I don't even know where we are.
Maybe you'd prefer to meet
at the officers' club?
- So when did the Israelis test it?
- They didn't have to test it...
they knew by looking at it
that it was a deathtrap.
So while we're sending our guys
off to die...
the Pentagon brass is redesigning
the damn thing for somebody else!
They can't sell it overseas
like it is.
Business as usual.
So maybe you'd like to keep
fighting the bastards?
I've lost my job, General.
They're moving me out.
So, they're moving you out,
you haven't been discharged.
Work from inside,
from wherever they send you.
And turn into you?
Passing anonymous notes
and meeting in parking lots?
You know you're great at sitting
in the shadows.
And telling people what to do,
why don't you get off your ass...
- and do something?
- I can't.
- Help me!
- I have done everything that I can.
I've been fighting this battle
for almost 20 years.
I'm not going to go
to the mat over this!
I... I've got too much to lose.
70,000 troops.
70,000 American boys...
will ride into battle
in the Bradley...
if America fights another war.
We can't be a part
of sending them to their deaths.
One call.
- What?
- One call.
I'll make one call and that's it.
Sit down.
General Partridge, you've read
today's Washington Post?
- I have, Mr. Secretary.
- And I take you have seen...
the story attributed to an anonymous
highly placed Pentagon source?
Yes, I have, sir, and may I say
I am as deeply distressed...
as you that anyone in the Pentagon
would stoop so low.
Leaks within the Pentagon, General,
are how I get most of my information.
Mr. Secretary...
are you suggesting that the Pentagon
is less than forthcoming?
Less than forthcoming, General?
Then perhaps you can explain to me
why I have to learn from the press...
that the man in charge of testing
the Bradley fighting vehichle...
has been fired?
He wasn't fired, sir,
he was reassigned.
- By whom?
- By General De Grasso...
his commanding officer.
I'm as shocked as you are.
My guess is that
there was some confusion...
between the Army,
the Air Force commands...
The sort of trouble you always get...
with these cross-departmental
joint-testing programmes.
Yes.
"Congressman Stratton
is on the phone."
Sam, what can I do for you?
What article?
That article.
No, completely untrue,
inter-office SNAFU.
File it under creative journalism.
I'm looking into it now,
you'll be the first to know.
Right.
My best to Ellen.
General, I want a full update
on the Bradley...
- and I want it in writing.
- Right away, sir.
That is the last call
I expect to receive on this matter...
from Congressman Stratton
or anyone else on the Hill.
Do I make myself clear, General?
Perfectly.
Colonel Burton, I want you to write
your report on the Bradley.
Sir? I was under the impression
that my job had...
Your job has been reinstated.
I want your report on my desk
by 6.00pm tomorrow.
- Yes, sir.
- And Colonel...
in case you are unaware,
as per the military manual...
you will deliver your report
to me and to me alone.
Should so much as a single copy
of the report be made public...
I will bring you up on charges
of willfull subversion...
of military procedure
and have you court-martialled.
Stop packing, we're staying.
We're staying?
How'd you do that?
I didn't do anything.
- Do we have a rule book?
- A rule book, sir?
- You know a book with rules in it.
- What do you need a rule book for?
To play by the rules,
because I always play by the rules.
How do you know
you're playing by rules...
if you need a rule book
to tell you what the rules are?
I need a rule book to tell me
which rules I...
Just get me the book.
You need anything else, sir?
Chinese food, No-Doz?
No, thank you, Sergeant, I'm fine.
Well, then, night, sir.
What sounds better?
"The Bradley has so far
failed virtually every test"
or "The testing program
of the Bradley...
has been without any
coherent standards"?
They both sound like something...
the General wouldn't want
in his report.
This is not just a report,
it's a deadly weapon.
Sir, an M-16 is a deadly weapon.
A report is just a pile of paper...
unless you plan to inflict a lot
of extremely vicious paper cuts.
Go home, Sergeant.
Good night, sir.
"The failure of the Bradley
to incorporate..."
"even the most elementary safeguards"
"to protect the troops inside..."
"raises questions
about the integrity."
"And the manner in which
the vaporifics test..."
"was carried out
suggests either negligence..."
"or a failure
in the chain of command."
"Had any troops been
inside the vehicle..."
"as it is currently configured..."
"they would have been killed
by toxic fumes, flames..."
"or by the overpressure
created by..."
"the powerful expanding gas
in the compartment."
"And as a result of manifest
deficiencies in every area..."
"this office..."
"As a result of
manifest deficiencies in the area...
this office is advising
the immediate necessity...
of live fire-testing
under combat conditions"!
- Rewrite it!
- Sir?
Rewrite the fucking piece of garbage
so it smells like a rose!
Jesus Christ!
"The Bradley test standards
have been consistently altered...
in extreme ways."
"The Bradley tests have been
extremely consistent."
"They have altered
the standards for testing."
"Test after test has revealed
design flaws in the Bradley."
"The marginalised optimal
performance data..."
"The marginalised optimal
performance data...
suggests no vaporific shift
at this time."
That's brilliant, Lieutenant,
that's abso-fucking-lutely brilliant.
Thank you, sir.
- But, sir...
- What?
What does it mean?
What do you mean, what does it mean?
You wrote it.
- Afternoon, sir.
- Good afternoon.
"The Bradley tests have been
extremely consistent.
They have altered
the standard for testing..."
Have you actually read this thing...
is exactly the opposite
of what you wrote.
How can they do that?
They're playing by the book,
Sergeant.
And so am I.
Paper cuts...
Vicious paper cuts.
"The characterisation
in your report...
is at best a serious
misunderstanding...
of the testing procedures
on a vehicle as flawed...
as the Bradley.
As noted in my original report,
the integrity..."
Jesus Christ! Who did
this fucking thing go to?
The distribution page listed
198 names.
Court-martial the son of a bitch!
Lock him up now!
- We can't.
- We sure as hell can!
Burton's played by the book.
His report was classified,
it was sent to you...
you revised it and sent it back
to him.
He wrote a memo on your revision...
which in accordance to regulation
can be sent to anyone...
remotely involved with the Bradley.
In this case, 198 people.
I will fucking kill him.
I will fillet him, draw,
and quarter him...
- I stick his head in a vice.
- We can't touch him, sir.
It's by the book.
Then you find something
in that goddamn book...
that'll help me fry
the son of a bitch!
What?
Sir, the Washington Post
is on the phone.
Well, that was fast.
Leaks don't usually get to them
till after lunch.
Yes. No, we cannot comment
on that right now. Thank you.
Yes?
No, he cannot comment on that.
I'm sorry, but under military rules,
I'm unable to comment.
I... I can't comment.
No. No comment.
Sorry, goodbye.
I'm getting lockjaw
from not saying anything.
Burton.
I... I can't comment.
Is there anything I can comment on?
Well, yes.
I've just received orders
that I am to report for duty in...
Alaska.
Alaska is a prestige posting,
Senator.
No, I assure you that memo of his
had absolutely nothing to do...
with his being transferred.
Senator, I'm sorry,
I've just been informed that...
Secretary Weinberger is
on the other line.
Yes, I'll get right back to you.
I promise, thank you.
Sir, before you pick up,
Weinberger is on two...
line 1 is the Times.
Line 3 is the Wall Street Journal,
line 4 is Newsweek...
line 5 is the House
Armed Services Committee.
The House Armed Services Committee?
What do they want?
Hearings, sir. On the Bradley.
Alaska?
- What?
- I said Alaska, General.
As I said in my opening remarks,
Madam Chairman...
a lot of things have to come together
to create teamwork.
- Good old-fashioned teamwork.
- Yes, you told us, General.
And Colonel Burton's
not a team player...
he's a rogue operator.
I'm not a name-caller,
Madam Chairman.
But if you wish
to make that connection...
that would be your choice,
not mine.
Did you ever say to Colonel Burton...
"If I get one more call
from the Hill...
about your expletive deleted reports
you'll be sitting on your brains"?
Does that sound like me, sir?
Just answer the question, General,
please.
I don't remember saying it.
Not that I wasn't provoked.
Two witnesses testified that you said
those exact words...
to Colonel Burton
outside the Pentagon pharmacy.
I have visited the pharmacy.
Quite a bit lately for antacids.
But I would never say
anything like that to anyone.
Let alone a fellow officer.
But you make no secret
of your antagonism...
towards Colonel Burton?
It's his report
that I don't approve of.
Colonel Burton's report
is fallacious...
misinformed, and accusatory.
And I have no use for an officer...
who is more interested in
grabbing headlines...
than he is in defending this country.
I thought he was in Anchorage.
Madam Chairman,
Colonel Burton's here.
At this time he committee would like
to call as witness...
Colonel James G Burton,
United States Air Force.
- Madam Chairman.
- Yes, General?
As you must know under the rules
of military conduct...
no man can appear
at these hearings...
without the express order
of his commanding officer.
Unfortunately, General De Grasso
is on fact-finding tour...
of our bases in Germany.
I don't believe General De Grasso
has given any ordered...
- for Colonel Burton to testify.
- You're quite right, General.
But as Colonel Burton
has been transferred to Alaska...
he's no longer under
General De Grasso's command.
Am I correct?
Do you swear to tell the truth...
the whole truth
and nothing but the truth...
- so help you God?
- I do.
Looks like you've stirred up
a hornet's nest, Colonel.
It was never my intention, ma'am.
What was your intention?
Simply to do the job
I was assigned to do.
The Army test reports do not make
the possibility...
of casualties a top priority.
In fact, General Partridge's
report on the Bradley...
doesn't even mention
the word casualty, not once.
I came to the conclusion
that what was required...
was a live-fire test.
I requested such a test, repeatedly.
- Did you get that test?
- No, ma'am, I did not.
Why not?
I wanted more realism
than Army testing...
was accustomed to providing.
You want realism?
General, you are out of order!
Madam Chairman, in the interest
of resolving some of these issues...
presented here today,
I'd like to say something.
Please be brief, General.
Of course.
Colonel Burton wants more realism...
so let's talk about the real world
for a moment.
The real world has enemies in it.
There are forces at work,
even now as we speak...
with one objective in mind...
the destruction of this country.
We must not, we will not
allow those forces to prevail...
for if we do,
you can be certain that you and I...
and everyone else
will never again enjoy the luxury...
of meeting in this building
to debate anything!
As I said at the outset,
we are in the business of winning.
That takes teamwork.
General, the teamwork you so prize,
I take it it was in full force...
during the development
of the Bradley fighting vehichle?
Textbook!
Perhaps you'd like to tell us
how much has been spent so far...
to develop the Bradley?
How much?
Well, you have the figures,
don't you?
Of course.
- More or less.
- 14.
- 14.
- Million?
Bill... ion.
What did you say, General?
Billion.
Billion... with a B?
With a B.
14 billion dollars for designing
one armoured vehicle?
That's one way of looking at it.
Of taxpayers' money.
We are all taxpayers, after all.
We're in this together.
General, how many years
has this programme been running?
Bear with me, just a moment.
Let me...
Let's see. 12, 15...
- 17.
- What?
Which is evidence...
of the enormous care
my team takes in the development...
of every weapons system
undertaken by the Pentagon.
17 years.
14 billion dollars
of the taxpayers' money.
General, I think it's time
the American public...
gets the live-fire test
that Colonel Burton wants.
Tomorrow's the big day, sir.
I'll tell you one thing.
Every damn one of these nuts
and bolts...
has been taken off
and put back on again.
This wouldn't be flame retardant,
would it?
You think they made the men
trick this whole thing up?
It wouldn't surprise me.
Not a bit.
Room, attention.
At ease, gentlemen.
Looks like you've been working hard.
- Corporal.
- Sir?
Let me have one of those M-16s.
I want to tell you a story.
You got a problem with that,
Sergeant?
No, sir.
About a year ago,
I went to the veterans' hospital...
to visit a friend of mine
from my flying days.
Only I took a wrong turn
when I got off the elevator.
Now, when I look back on it...
I think I was meant to go down
that corridor.
Because that's where I met Phil.
Thank you, Corporal.
- But, sir...
- Let me finish, Dalton.
I want to pass on something
I learned about the M-16 from Phil.
You all know the M-16
better than I do.
A lot of you used it in Vietnam.
But you were lucky.
In the early days of that war...
they sent guys off to fight
with M-16s that jammed in combat.
A little bit of dust,
a little bit of rain...
and the gun was useless.
Maybe those early M-16s
weren't tested properly.
Maybe somebody somewhere
was more worried...
about a production schedule
or a promotion...
than he was about those grunts
in some faraway jungle...
who might end up
with their stomachs in their hands.
But you don't know anyone
that happened to, do you?
No. I'm sure not.
Otherwise you'd be out there
right now...
making sure that that Bradley
is exactly, and I mean exactly...
the way it would be
under normal combat conditions.
With some of your buddies
riding inside, guys like Phil.
Only Phil has been in a coma
for the last 20 years.
Since the day his M-16 jammed
somewhere outside of Vinh Long.
But hell, you don't know the guy.
Or anybody like him.
Right?
Sir?
Over here!
Ma'am!
- General!
- Good morning, sir.
- Everything all right?
- Fine, sir, just fine.
Keep coming.
A little more. Keep coming.
- Sergeant.
- Sir.
- Everything all right, Sergeant?
- Fine, sir.
- Thank you.
- Welcome, sir.
Welcome, Sergeant.
Jeez. Looks like some party.
Ladies and gentlemen,
please be seated.
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished members of Congress.
I think it's fair to say that
you'll be seeing enough...
from this test, to give you
the basis once and for all...
to form your own conclusion...
about the sort of systemic excellence
we've been pursuing.
I will be giving the signal shortly.
When I do, I want you
to visualise combat conditions.
Imagine that the men firing
that round are the enemy.
And that the Bradley,
I don't have to tell you...
the Bradley is on our side.
Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished members of Congress...
I give you
your Bradley fighting vehicle.
Can you believe this?
Sergeant.
Everything's going to go as planned,
isn't it?
It will go exactly as it should, sir.
As planned, right?
Corporal, this is Sergeant Dalton.
Move the vehicle about
five yards forward...
- and then clear out. Over.
- "Roger that."
For your further edification,
the Bradley can be fired...
How much fuel is
in those tanks, Sergeant?
Just enough to do those manoeuvres?
No more than it would have
if it was in combat, sir.
Seven TOW missiles fired
from a launcher...
mounted on the left side...
And the ammunition
inside the Bradley?
Up to spec, sir.
- Whose specs?
- Manoeuvrable...
- and capable of keeping pace with...
- No!
Carrying infantry troops
needed to support tank operations...
more than we have
in the test conditions.
And the hour is at hand.
All eyes front
on the Bradley fighting vehicle.
The vehicle that will carry our boys
to victory...
for many, many years to come.
Backblast area clear!
Fire!
Who's the best, baby?
Dalton, Granger!
- Sir.
- Sir.
Could you explain, please?
We tried to tell you, sir.
You see, sir, when you gave us
that speech last night...
we had already fixed the vehicle
back to the way it should be.
So you were...
- You were ahead of me.
- I don't know about ahead...
but we've been behind you...
ever since
you fried those mannequins.
And the sheep, sir.
Man, that was epic!
I'm sorry I made you listen
to that lecture now, I...
Sir, you have nothing
to apologise for, sir.
We had you figured wrong.
The men come first with you,
and you proved that.
It was a hell of a good speech
though, sir.
Any time you want
to give another one...
you know where to find us.
Thank you, men. Thank you, all.
Sir.