The Code (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 12 - Legit Bad Day - full transcript
- Previously on The Code...
- Your brother can't run.
Matty doesn't
have schizophrenia.
It's called delusional disorder.
- We're having twins.
- Your wife is showing signs
that are consistent
with early labor.
The reason I was
pushing myself so hard.
It's not so I can
get back to my unit.
I want to get out of here so I
can take the medical separation.
My lawyer's going
to ask you to testify.
He thinks I can win
a wrongful death suit.
The Feres Doctrine says
that you can't file a civil suit
for something that happened
on active duty.
The Feres Doctrine is the
law until it isn't.
You need to get yourself
out of this.
Consider
yourself warned.
Captain Abraham, I need you
to come with me.
Why? What's the charge?
Article 94.
Mutiny and sedition.
People in Helmand...
they look to the Noorzais for guidance.
Your farm is the most
prosperous farm in the valley.
If you grow wheat
instead of opium,
others will follow your lead.
And if they don't?
We're asking you to take a risk.
It's only fair
to compensate you.
Noorzai-sayib.
It's not long until sunset.
My men and I, we need
to get back to the base.
Do you have a decision
for us?
Excellent.
We'll protect you
during the transition.
You have my word.
We're rolling out
in two minutes, Marines.
Sir? We're down a man.
Where the hell
is the lieutenant?
His name's Inky.
If you get into trouble,
he'll squirt the bad guy
- right in the face.
- Lieutenant Abraham.
Major says
we're on the move.
You can't understand
a word I'm saying.
Inky.
Inky.
Inky.
I think he means now,
Lieutenant.
Thank you for your contribution
to the war effort, Lieutenant.
Hearts and minds, Major.
Hearts and minds.
So it's reasonable to
say that you enjoyed your visits
to the Noorzai family farm?
Captain Abraham,
it's a simple
question.
It's reasonable to say
people like the Noorzais
were the linchpin
of our strategy.
They were no fans of life
under the Taliban.
They were willing to grow
something other than opium.
- And you liked them?
- Objection.
What does Captain Abraham's
opinion of the Noorzais
- have to do with the charges?
- Your Honor, the government plans
to demonstrate that the
defendant's attachment
to the family in question
led him to commit mutiny...
What say we let the panel
decide whether or not Captain
Abraham committed mutiny?
If it's all right
with Colonel Schuylkill.
The defendant's attachment
to the Noorzai family
led him to disobey an order
on March 5, 2010.
You can answer,
Captain.
Yes.
Yes, you liked them?
You brought a stuffed animal
to Laila Noorzai,
didn't you?
That's correct.
And on the
evening of March 5, 2010,
you went on a mission to
the Noorzai family compound,
- correct?
- The mission is already a matter of record, Your Honor.
Captain
Abraham's the one facing
charges of mutiny.
I'd just as soon
hear the story from him.
I did, yes.
And you
were evacuated shortly
before dawn on the morning
of March 6, 2010.
- Is that correct?
- Yes, with an exit wound in my leg the size of your fist.
I never saw combat again.
And we appreciate your service,
misguided though it was
- on this particular...
- Objection!
Sustained. Counselor,
this courtroom is not
your personal
op-ed page.
Captain Abraham, can you
describe the state
of the Noorzai family
compound on the morning
of March 6, 2010?
There was no compound
by the end of the night.
Everything was...
pretty much gone.
It was gone because
you destroyed it.
You and your men leveled that
place the night before
on March 5, 2010,
didn't you?
Yes. We did.
We'll try again.
We can't afford
another round of IVF.
We'll save.
I'm 38.
I loved being pregnant.
I loved it.
I don't understand.
I was doing so well.
We were gonna have twins.
We'll get there again.
Do you really believe that?
What is it?
NCIS just apprehended Abe.
NCIS...
received a call from
Camp Pendleton
this afternoon with orders
to apprehend Captain Abraham.
Apparently, this
investigation originates
- on the West Coast.
- How long
has this been
going on, ma'am?
When NCIS
took Abe, they told him
the charges stemmed
from something he did
in March of 2010.
And they're just getting
around to charging him now?
There is no statute
of limitations on mutiny, Major.
This is a bad faith prosecution.
They've been warning Abe
to back off for months.
Discredit Abe by branding him
a mutineer and you wound
the lawsuit
challenging Feres.
You might just
kill it outright.
Are we supposed
to prosecute Abe?
I'm hoping it doesn't
get that far.
Maya and I are
on defense?
Find out what happened that day.
We are going to
kill this stupid stunt
before it goes any further.
- Ma'am...
- Rami. What are you doing here?
You're supposed to be taking
your oath of citizenship today.
I can do it next month.
I want to help.
There's a Colonel Schuylkill
here to see you.
Kit.
I see you let yourself in.
Good to see you,
Glenn.
We've been tracking the
situation out west with your son.
- How's he doing?
- Adam's fine.
Why is your shop harassing
my people?
- Harassing?
- You're digging around in something
that happened
almost 10 years ago.
I would call that harassment.
My office only recently
heard about the incident.
Captain Abraham's battalion
commander from Afghanistan
reached out a few months back.
He was retiring. He wanted to
get something off his chest.
Something he's managed to
live with since 2010.
Lieutenant Colonel Arcineaux
didn't report it at the time,
it's true.
It tends to reflect poorly
on a commander when his men
resort to mutiny.
And this has nothing to do
with the lawsuit? Feres?
I have nothing but disdain
for Captain Abraham's decision
to testify
against the Corps.
He's not testifying
against the Corps.
He's describing a thing
- that happened.
- Well, you can be loyal to the uniform,
or to something else.
Your man's trying
to have it both ways.
That's what a kid does.
Regardless,
these are separate issues,
and I won't have you
implying otherwise.
Chain of command is sacred
to what we do, Glenn.
Kit. This all could have fit
just fine in an e-mail.
I'm handling the prosecution.
You are the C.O. of the
J.A. Division at Pendleton.
When's the last time
you went to court?
I still have a vague idea
how it works.
I'll need some office space.
And I want someone local
for second chair.
Looks like Lieutenant Li
is doing good work.
Your ultrasound
appointment was today.
Oh. Right.
Yeah. It went fine.
It's great.
It was incredible.
I mean, it's...
you know, as they say,
hearts beat so fast.
The hearts?
Oh, heart. Sorry.
- Uh, I'm just a little distracted.
- Mm.
Everything go okay
in New York?
My brother had a meltdown
before the fund-raiser.
The party's pulling
its support.
Meltdown?
The truth is,
he's been getting worse.
They want me to run
in his place.
Well, you're active duty.
You can't run for office.
I've had my commission for just
over eight years.
I can resign any time.
Is that something you want?
Long-term? Absolutely.
I didn't expect to be making
a decision this week.
But the national party
just handed me
a gift-wrapped
campaign.
We were gonna drop
the Feres case.
Not that it's my call,
but Alex wanted to drop it.
- Why?
- We couldn't be together
and move forward with the case.
We picked being together.
Are you sure this Article
118 charge is connected
to your participation
in the Feres lawsuit?
General Winston Geiger came
to see me the other day.
The C.O. of MARFORPAC?
He tried to warn me off
the Feres case.
Said there were all kinds of
shadowy conversations about me,
and that the wrath of God
was headed my way
if I didn't back down.
He admitted to being part
of a conspiracy against you.
There's our proof.
He'll never cop
to the conversation.
He knew my dad,
he warned me off as a favor.
If he sent up a flare,
he's having mixed feelings.
It's a way in.
Get out to Hawaii.
See what you can dig up
on this conspiracy,
and I'll stay local.
If you come up empty, we'll have
to mount a conventional defense.
Let's hope it doesn't
come to that.
They're smart to use this
against me.
I disobeyed an order
that night.
Whether it was mutiny or not,
it's more or less a matter
of perspective.
Tell us.
Major Arcineaux
briefed us on the mission.
It was kill/capture.
Intel put a high-value target
in the village of Farah.
An Iranian national
named Mishdar,
in country to make bombs
for the Taliban.
We were to escort a forward
observer into the village,
where he'd paint the building
where Mishdar was hiding
with a laser target.
The Hellfire missile
would finish the job.
- When you say "we"?
- Four Humvees
in a convoy,
15 Marines under my command.
And did your convoy ever make it
to the village of Farah?
We came under small arms fire
about two miles
before we got there.
It came from
the Noorzai family compound.
Get eyes on those shooters.
That's when the sniper hit us.
Corporal Kersen
was the first to go down.
I'm confused;
earlier today you told us
the Noorzais were friendly
to coalition forces.
The Noorzai farm
had visitors that night.
The Taliban was squatting there.
Around 20 I could see
through my NVGs.
More inside
the houses.
Why so many, Captain?
Our intel was wrong.
Mishdar wasn't hiding
in the village.
I saw him running
into a building
on the Noorzai compound.
So you were taking fire
and looking through
your night vision binoculars,
how could you be
sure it was Mishdar?
We couldn't be sure.
But the other fighters
were clearly protecting him.
Mishdar was Iranian.
They wrap their turbans
in this kind of flat way.
Based on my report,
Major Arcineaux made a call.
- Mishdar was on that farm.
- So you had your target.
- Why not call in the airstrike as planned?
- We were going to.
- The Predator was en route.
- What happened?
The Noorzais were
still on that farm.
They were civilians.
That missile was gonna...
turn their compound
into sawdust.
You believed there were
civilians; they wouldn't be
the first Afghans to take
American money and keep right on
collaborating
with the Taliban.
- Laila Noorzai was nine.
- Did you inform
your commanding officer
that you thought there were
- civilians in the compound?
- My staff sergeant
apprised him
of the situation.
What did Major
Arcineaux say?
Copy that, sir. Understood.
All right,
the airstrike is still on.
What?
There must be 15,
20 civilians in there.
We've been to that
farm how many times?
We told those people
we'd protect them.
I said the same thing
to Major Arcineaux, sir.
We can't knowingly target
civilians under
- the new rules of engagement.
- All right, the major says
anyone still on that farm
- is an enemy combatant.
- That is not true!
Sir, our orders are to return
fire until the Predator hits.
You want to take it up
with the major?
We need Marines in there;
they can't bomb the compound
if our own people are there.
- Our orders are clear, sir.
- I'll take
a fire team, we'll get
the Noorzais to safety
and we'll take out Mishdar.
- Must be 30 Taliban in there.
- We are about to kill kids!
We saw them in there
and in five minutes
they'll be dead.
Yes, sir.
So in that moment,
you and your staff sergeant
conspired to disobey
a direct order.
I believed the order
to be counter
- to the rules of engagement.
- You committed mutiny.
Objection.
Your Honor, the
defense stipulates
that the defendant
disobeyed an order.
The question is whether
the order was lawful.
Sustained.
You told Staff Sergeant Parisi
that you planned
to take one fire team with you.
Who were they?
There was PFC Demarcus Dixon.
Everyone called him Double-D.
He was green
but he didn't think twice
when I told him we were going
into that compound.
Ready when you are, L-T.
Reese and Crowell
were joined at the hip.
Yes, sir. Hey, Crowell.
The lieutenant says
we're charging that farm.
Copy that.
Seems like a good night
to die in the dirt.
Cortez...
wasn't wired quite right but...
the man could fight like Chesty.
Copy that.
I've been waiting for a chance
to use this, sir.
So that's Dixon, Reese,
Crowell and Cortez.
Am I missing anyone, Captain?
Just me.
Of course. Dixon, Reese,
Crowell, Cortez and you.
And of the five Marines
you led on that raid,
how many of you
survived the night?
Captain Abraham.
How many of you lived?
Just me.
Well, tell them
she needs more morphine.
You're in charge,
not the doctor.
Aiden, I need
to ask you a question,
and I don't want you
to get pissed off.
Are you sober
right now? Good.
'Cause my sister's
counting on you.
Did you print out the DNR?
Yes, it's saved under
my name, my first name.
No, not Kit. Kermit.
Just find it,
print it out,
I'll call you back.
Anything I can do, sir?
You've been successful here;
you have a good clearance rate,
and to top it off,
you didn't fold in combat.
But these... research files
you submitted,
they're terrible.
It's almost like
your heart isn't in it.
Is your heart in it,
Lieutenant Li? Speak freely.
Speak freely.
I think what you're doing
is... despicable.
John Abraham is
a good Marine,
and you're
smearing him.
I can just picture it.
You and whatever band
of wrinkled old golf goats
you're working with
digging around in his record
until you found something
that you could twist into
a disgusting web of half-truths.
It'd be funny,
maybe even a little bit sad,
except for some reason,
the world is taking you
seriously.
Well.
Let's say you're right.
Let's for a second pretend
that the prosecution
is tied to Captain Abraham's
participation in the lawsuit
and that we're dealing from
the bottom of the deck, call it.
So what?
I don't give a single
solitary damn
if John Abraham is a nice guy.
This is a matter
of national security.
And when national security
is at stake, guess what.
You deal from the bottom
of the deck.
We used flamethrowers
to burn the Japanese alive
in their tunnels under Iwo Jima.
And we dropped bombs that'll
suck the air out of your lungs
from a mile away.
Fighting is ugly, Lieutenant.
Conflict is ugly.
It is thus
and has always been thus.
I expect your best work
going forward.
If you don't give it to me,
I will ruin your life.
You're dismissed.
The plan went south
pretty much right away.
Someone sounded a warning
while we were on the flank.
The sniper got Crowell
before we broke into the house.
There anything more you can
tell me about how he went down?
He was behind me
when he got hit.
- What?
- These are your men
we're talking about,
and you sound like a robot.
I'm telling you what happened.
I'm gonna be honest
with you, Abe.
We have a pretty decent
legal argument.
The rules of engagement
changed in 2009.
Right, that's what
I keep saying.
We have a good case,
and I'm not sure it matters.
Marines hated
those rules of engagement.
You know that.
And the panel is going
to be inclined to believe
any argument that the strike
was necessary.
So this whole deal
is pretty much subjective.
If we're gonna win,
the panel has to like you.
That's fine.
I'm a... I'm a likable guy.
I'm not talking about
your usual bag of tricks.
A joke and a smile
are not gonna get you acquitted.
Now, there's something
you are not telling me.
What happened
out there?
- I've told you the whole story at least a dozen times.
- You understand they can
put you in the brig
for the rest of your life?
Of course I do. You're gonna
walk out of here, Trey,
and I'm going back to my cell.
I'm sorry.
How's Nona doing, anyway?
I haven't even thought to ask.
Oh, Trey.
- You shouldn't be doing this, man.
- Stop it.
You should be home with Nona.
Abe.
You're my friend.
And Nona understands.
She wants me here.
You're gonna be a father, Trey.
Now, listen to me.
Every night I go
to sleep in here,
I say a few words.
You know, call it a prayer,
call it whatever.
I remind myself
of one thing.
There is justice
in the universe.
And if there is,
someone like you...
you're gonna be a father.
I wish I believed that.
Good start.
But that's the leg
you've actually got.
Good.
Now come to me.
Look up.
Hmm.
I did okay, huh?
They said I could get out
of here in a couple weeks.
- You looked great.
- Thanks.
I still got a bone
to pick with you.
Dad told me you made
brigadier general.
Oh, my name is on a list.
A-And now I wait.
Mom. How many women
have been generals in the Corps?
Maybe ten?
Six, actually.
Why didn't you say anything?
I'm not sure I'm happy about it.
You're leaving the Marines.
I shouldn't
have told you.
I'm not angry. I'm...
I led you into this.
And Dad and Grandpa.
I was proud...
sending you off to OCS.
This life,
this uniform, it...
it means something good to me.
But I didn't
have my leg cut off.
And you, you who
I've given so much...
I gave the same
as everyone else in this room.
And it means nothing to you.
And I should have
known you better.
I didn't think you'd be mad
at me for leaving.
I knew you'd
blame yourself.
I don't know if this is
going to help, but...
I don't blame you.
I had a mom who
loved what she did.
Who believed every morning
that she was heading off
to do something
that matters.
Sounds weird to say this here,
but...
I'm lucky.
Good morning. I don't guess
General Geiger's available.
I'm afraid the general's day
is packed, Captain Dobbins.
Again.
Yes. Again.
If you'd like to wait, a hole
could open up in his schedule.
Great.
I'll just wait right here.
Again.
General Geiger's office.
Hello, Mrs. Geiger.
No, ma'am,
the general's appointment
is at the hospital today.
That's right, ma'am, Waipio.
Yes, I will call to let them
know you're on your way.
You're welcome.
Would you like any coffee or...
General Geiger.
Are you the one
from Quantico?
Huh.
Well, I knew someone
would come.
You're sick?
Stage four.
Any idea what that means?
Yes, sir. My father.
I'm sorry.
John Abraham didn't
commit mutiny.
You know that.
That's why you warned him.
How long have you been
in the Marines?
Eight years, sir.
This institution is my life,
and I would die
to protect it.
And those aren't just some words
I said one time.
General...
you're dying now, sir.
Do you really want to send
an innocent Marine to the brig
from your deathbed?
So three of your men
from the fire unit made it
to Sayed Noorzai's house.
What happened
once you were inside?
Corporal Cortez
kicked the door in.
He barely made it inside.
We fought our way
through the house
and gathered up the Noorzais
where we found them.
Me, Reese
and Double-D.
It was Double-D's first action,
and he got through
without a scratch.
We all did,
until we found Laila Noorzai.
Shh.
You're okay. You're okay.
I knew right away
it was a nasty hit.
Upper thigh, arterial bleeding.
You were injured.
You had the civilians.
Why didn't you fall back
right then,
let the Hellfire
missile do its job?
And Laila's mother,
she overheard
two Taliban fighters talking.
She knew which building
Mishdar was hiding in.
We didn't have time
to wait for the Predator
to circle back
into firing range.
So I tied a tourniquet around
my leg, and I made a call.
Get these people to the convoy.
Keep your bodies
between them and the enemy
while Staff Sergeant Parisi
lays down suppressing fire.
You're not coming, sir?
I'm going after Mishdar.
I know what I'm doing,
Lance Corporal.
Get these people out of here.
Yes, sir.
Lieutenant.
I'm coming with you.
This isn't a safe one, Double-D.
I didn't join up
to stay safe, sir.
Lance Corporal Reese
escorted the Noorzais back
to the convoy.
Double-D, he wanted
to keep fighting.
It's funny, when he first
joined our unit,
we all thought he'd just stand
there staring at the ground
when the bullets started flying.
That happens
to some guys.
Turns out he was braver
than any of us.
So the Noorzai family
made it to cover.
But Lance Corporal Reese?
He took a hit to the stomach.
Went into shock
on the operating table.
And why were
you hesitant
to let PFC Dixon
pursue Mishdar with you?
It wasn't what you'd call
a high-percentage undertaking.
There were maybe 20 Taliban
fighters left in the compound.
Any mission plan,
any rational analysis,
they all would have looked
at the situation
and told you
exactly the same thing.
I was gonna die that night.
Draft of an e-mail
to Tiffany Dixon-Green.
"I appreciate your patience,
ma'am.
"I know you want to announce
that I'm stepping in
"on the same day
my brother withdraws.
"I am beyond flattered
by the party's interest, and...
"you're right.
"This is something I want.
"Unfortunately, I'm not ready
to resign my commission.
I'm not finished
being a Marine."
- Captain Dobbins.
- Lieutenant.
General Geiger wants
to see you, ma'am.
You should hurry.
Started out informal.
The e-mails back and forth.
Group of us who like
to protect the old ways.
The old Corps.
Who was on this mailing list?
Someone brought
Lieutenant Colonel Ferrara
onto the chain.
She's the one that told us about
that night with Captain Abraham.
About March 5, 2010.
That's when it got real.
- Who, General?
- Ten of us.
Maybe 12. We had a meeting.
Here on Oahu.
Who was there?
Schuylkill, Brad Coburn.
Somebody from
the sergeant major's office
at HQMC...
John Basilone.
Sir, did you just say
John Basilone
helped plan this?
That's correct.
John Basilone died
on Iwo Jima in 1945.
How much morphine
has he had?
No.
The court-martial starts
in a week. I need you back here.
Yeah, I'll see you at Quantico.
General Geiger made a statement
describing a conspiracy
to prosecute you for mutiny.
But he was wearing
a morphine patch for his pain.
Apparently, he was
in and out of coherence.
Can't we just wait
for the morphine
to wear off and do it again?
The general died an hour ago.
Look, we'll keep working
the malicious prosecution angle
from here,
but it looks like
we're gonna have to win
this one on the case law.
So I need you
to talk about that night.
- That's all we've been doing.
- No.
I need you to talk about it
in a way
that'll get the panel
on your side.
Corporal Crowell
got hit by a sniper
while you were approaching
Sayed Noorzai's house.
Corporal Cortez died
breaching the doorway.
Lance Corporal Reese went down
while he was escorting
the Noorzais to safety.
What happened to Dixon?
- He didn't make it. They captured him.
- How?
I don't know.
We were fighting our
way through the house
where Mishdar was hiding.
One second he was on comms,
the next he wasn't.
Double-D was just... gone.
- Can you draw a diagram of the house?
- Why?
This has nothing to do with
whether or not
I committed mutiny.
Those men died because of
a decision you made
that night.
It has everything to do with it.
And if you don't believe me,
you watch the panel
when you start talking like this
on the stand.
Something happened that night,
and you don't want people
to know about it.
You practically cringe
every time
I mention Double-D.
Well, I hope you're right.
I hope the law
is all we need.
But you've never seen
Kit Schuylkill
cross-examine a witness.
So, in spite of everything,
you had a chance to complete
your original mission.
You had a chance to
capture or kill Farhan Mishdar.
Tell us what happened once
you were inside the house
where Laila Noorzai's mother
told you Mishdar was hiding.
There was no resistance
at first.
By the time I got close
to where he was hiding,
it was just me.
The fighting outside
was dying down.
I was losing
a lot of blood.
Why did you think Mishdar
was hiding
in this particular room?
The enemy had centered their
resources around defending it.
I had to kill two of them before
I could even throw smoke inside.
I took a position
with a clean firing line
and waited to see
what came out
of that room.
And then a man in
a flat black turban ran out.
A turban
like Farhan Mishdar wore?
I took him down.
He landed on his stomach.
And when you turned him over?
It wasn't him.
It wasn't Mishdar.
Where was Farhan Mishdar?
They knew we'd be
looking for that turban,
so they switched.
They put his turban on
someone else, and he snuck out
of the compound
with a small group of fighters.
So your mission was a failure,
and everything you did
after rescuing the
Noorzai family
was a waste of time
and American lives.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
We assassinated Farhan
Mishdar in Yemen
with a drone strike in 2015.
How many Americans were
killed by his bombs
in the years between your
mission and that day?
- Objection!
- 43.
That's right, Captain Abraham,
43... 43 lives lost
because we missed our chance
to kill Farhan Mishdar
in 2010.
43.
No further questions,
Your Honor.
You may step down, Captain.
Permission to
redirect, Your Honor?
Captain Abraham,
have you told
us everything
about the night
of March 5, 2010?
I'm under oath, Major.
I don't doubt
that you've told the truth.
Have you told us everything?
What happened
to PFC Demarcus Dixon?
- What happened to Double-D?
- Objection, Your Honor.
Is counsel really suggesting
his client lied on the stand?
Captain Abraham
left something out.
That is not the same thing
as lying, Your Honor.
Is Major Ferry right?
Are you leaving
something out?
Tell me, Abe.
Tell us.
Yes.
Double-D fought with me through
the first few rooms
of the house.
I didn't
lose track of him.
I know how he got captured.
And how's that?
After we cleared
one room,
we found Sayed Noorzai.
They were keeping him
hostage, but he had
a bullet wound
in his stomach.
I called
for a medevac,
told Double-D to take Noorzai
to a nearby clearing
and put down chem lights
to make an LZ.
Make a landing zone? That's it?
That order's well
within your purview.
Double-D wanted to stay.
He wanted to keep fighting.
And more importantly,
he wanted to stay together.
That's what we're trained to do:
stay together.
Double-D wasn't
a born warrior.
He... he joined up
for the benefits.
But he dug into the deepest part
of himself that night, and he...
he found something
that let him fight.
Marines say, "One is none."
We're nothing
if we don't stick together.
I was Double-D's
C.O.,
and I should've known better
than to send him off alone
when that compound
was crawling with Taliban.
Did PFC Dixon
create the LZ,
like you ordered him to?
Yes. I found it after the fight.
But he wasn't there?
Mishdar and his men found him on
their way out of the compound.
They took Double-D prisoner.
What happened to him?
They kept him for a few weeks.
Then they killed him.
They cut his head off
and put it on the Internet.
He was one of my men.
He had a son.
I should've
kept him with me.
I should've
kept him safe.
And if someone had to die
in a prison camp
with a machete at his throat...
...it should have been me.
Double-D!
Double-D!
It should've been me.
When we have no other choice,
when everything else
has failed, we go to war.
We got to war
to protect our interests.
We stand in front
of our enemy,
and we make a plan
to defeat him.
We make a plan,
and God laughs
because war is chaos.
It's confusion.
It is lunacy.
And there is one North Star that
carries us through the madness,
and that is the sacred principle
that we follow orders.
Captain John Abraham
held himself above
that principle.
The results speak
for themselves.
The rules of engagement
on March 5, 2010
held that it was
illegal to knowingly target
Afghan civilians.
They were dictated
by no less than the
commander in chief
himself.
The order to bomb
that compound
was unlawful.
John Abraham
did his duty that night.
He fought and he suffered
alongside the men
who died under
his command,
and, as we've seen,
he continues to suffer.
He deserves our gratitude,
and he deserves
a commendation,
not a conviction.
Ready to get out
of here, Turnbull?
You have no idea.
Show me what you got.
I've got a hop to Lejeune.
The wounded warriors await.
There's someplace
I want to stop.
They finally restored it.
The unveiling was
two weeks ago.
Your grandfather's on here?
He died near
Paris, right?
Belleau Wood.
The Germans started calling us
"devil dogs" during that fight.
That's where the nickname comes from.
Why are we here?
I don't know.
I never met the man,
but I still come here sometimes.
I think about him.
I honor him.
You're part of a legacy,
Adam, and...
you can choose not to give
anything more to it.
God knows you've
earned that.
But you're still
part of it,
and I hope,
I pray...
that eventually it will mean
something to you again.
We should get you
to your flight.
Can you give me a minute?
Ladies and gentlemen
of the panel,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Captain Abraham,
would you stand?
How do you find?
The panel is split,
Lieutenant Colonel.
By a margin of
five votes to four,
we find the defendant,
Captain John Abraham...
...not guilty
on all charges.
You made me go there.
Thank you.
You're gonna be a dad, Trey.
You are.
You look good, Matty.
I'd vote for you.
Too bad I'm about to withdraw.
Nice of the
party to find
a fancy place for me
to make my speech.
Is there press out there?
It's a pretty good crowd.
I kept the details vague
in my speech.
"Health crisis."
Didn't take my spot, huh?
I'm not ready yet.
I'm gonna be there when you are.
This thing limits what I can do.
Don't interrupt. It does.
You know it.
We're here, right?
There are things I can't do,
but...
there are things I can.
I'm gonna find them.
Because when you are ready,
I want to be there.
Not the mission
I signed up for, but...
it's still a pretty good one.
I'm lucky to have it.
I'm lucky to have you.
Whew.
Can I stand beside you?
You better.
It's good to see you
in that chair, sir.
I have a hop to
SERE school.
See you in six weeks.
Survival,
Evasion, Resistance and Escape.
Sounds like a typical day
working for Colonel Schuylkill.
I-I didn't want to do it, Abe.
I told him I thought
the whole thing was disgusting.
You're a Marine, Harper,
an honest-to-goodness,
ground-pounding,
salty-ass devil dog.
You did your duty,
and I'm proud of you.
Thank you, sir.
I'm catching
a civilian bird myself.
Alex and I are flying to
Gary, Indiana for a couple days.
What's in Gary?
Demarcus Dixon's family.
I'm gonna sit with his widow
and tell her what happened.
That, um...
that sounds like a good thing.
I should've done it years ago.
Hey.
How would you two like
to be happy for a few minutes?
Everyone ready? Repeat after me.
I hereby declare, on oath...
I hereby declare, on oath...
...that I absolutely renounce
and abjure any allegiance
to any foreign
state...
...that I absolutely
renounce and abjure
any allegiance
to any foreign state...
...that I will support
and defend the Constitution
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
...that I will support
and defend the Constitution
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
- Your brother can't run.
Matty doesn't
have schizophrenia.
It's called delusional disorder.
- We're having twins.
- Your wife is showing signs
that are consistent
with early labor.
The reason I was
pushing myself so hard.
It's not so I can
get back to my unit.
I want to get out of here so I
can take the medical separation.
My lawyer's going
to ask you to testify.
He thinks I can win
a wrongful death suit.
The Feres Doctrine says
that you can't file a civil suit
for something that happened
on active duty.
The Feres Doctrine is the
law until it isn't.
You need to get yourself
out of this.
Consider
yourself warned.
Captain Abraham, I need you
to come with me.
Why? What's the charge?
Article 94.
Mutiny and sedition.
People in Helmand...
they look to the Noorzais for guidance.
Your farm is the most
prosperous farm in the valley.
If you grow wheat
instead of opium,
others will follow your lead.
And if they don't?
We're asking you to take a risk.
It's only fair
to compensate you.
Noorzai-sayib.
It's not long until sunset.
My men and I, we need
to get back to the base.
Do you have a decision
for us?
Excellent.
We'll protect you
during the transition.
You have my word.
We're rolling out
in two minutes, Marines.
Sir? We're down a man.
Where the hell
is the lieutenant?
His name's Inky.
If you get into trouble,
he'll squirt the bad guy
- right in the face.
- Lieutenant Abraham.
Major says
we're on the move.
You can't understand
a word I'm saying.
Inky.
Inky.
Inky.
I think he means now,
Lieutenant.
Thank you for your contribution
to the war effort, Lieutenant.
Hearts and minds, Major.
Hearts and minds.
So it's reasonable to
say that you enjoyed your visits
to the Noorzai family farm?
Captain Abraham,
it's a simple
question.
It's reasonable to say
people like the Noorzais
were the linchpin
of our strategy.
They were no fans of life
under the Taliban.
They were willing to grow
something other than opium.
- And you liked them?
- Objection.
What does Captain Abraham's
opinion of the Noorzais
- have to do with the charges?
- Your Honor, the government plans
to demonstrate that the
defendant's attachment
to the family in question
led him to commit mutiny...
What say we let the panel
decide whether or not Captain
Abraham committed mutiny?
If it's all right
with Colonel Schuylkill.
The defendant's attachment
to the Noorzai family
led him to disobey an order
on March 5, 2010.
You can answer,
Captain.
Yes.
Yes, you liked them?
You brought a stuffed animal
to Laila Noorzai,
didn't you?
That's correct.
And on the
evening of March 5, 2010,
you went on a mission to
the Noorzai family compound,
- correct?
- The mission is already a matter of record, Your Honor.
Captain
Abraham's the one facing
charges of mutiny.
I'd just as soon
hear the story from him.
I did, yes.
And you
were evacuated shortly
before dawn on the morning
of March 6, 2010.
- Is that correct?
- Yes, with an exit wound in my leg the size of your fist.
I never saw combat again.
And we appreciate your service,
misguided though it was
- on this particular...
- Objection!
Sustained. Counselor,
this courtroom is not
your personal
op-ed page.
Captain Abraham, can you
describe the state
of the Noorzai family
compound on the morning
of March 6, 2010?
There was no compound
by the end of the night.
Everything was...
pretty much gone.
It was gone because
you destroyed it.
You and your men leveled that
place the night before
on March 5, 2010,
didn't you?
Yes. We did.
We'll try again.
We can't afford
another round of IVF.
We'll save.
I'm 38.
I loved being pregnant.
I loved it.
I don't understand.
I was doing so well.
We were gonna have twins.
We'll get there again.
Do you really believe that?
What is it?
NCIS just apprehended Abe.
NCIS...
received a call from
Camp Pendleton
this afternoon with orders
to apprehend Captain Abraham.
Apparently, this
investigation originates
- on the West Coast.
- How long
has this been
going on, ma'am?
When NCIS
took Abe, they told him
the charges stemmed
from something he did
in March of 2010.
And they're just getting
around to charging him now?
There is no statute
of limitations on mutiny, Major.
This is a bad faith prosecution.
They've been warning Abe
to back off for months.
Discredit Abe by branding him
a mutineer and you wound
the lawsuit
challenging Feres.
You might just
kill it outright.
Are we supposed
to prosecute Abe?
I'm hoping it doesn't
get that far.
Maya and I are
on defense?
Find out what happened that day.
We are going to
kill this stupid stunt
before it goes any further.
- Ma'am...
- Rami. What are you doing here?
You're supposed to be taking
your oath of citizenship today.
I can do it next month.
I want to help.
There's a Colonel Schuylkill
here to see you.
Kit.
I see you let yourself in.
Good to see you,
Glenn.
We've been tracking the
situation out west with your son.
- How's he doing?
- Adam's fine.
Why is your shop harassing
my people?
- Harassing?
- You're digging around in something
that happened
almost 10 years ago.
I would call that harassment.
My office only recently
heard about the incident.
Captain Abraham's battalion
commander from Afghanistan
reached out a few months back.
He was retiring. He wanted to
get something off his chest.
Something he's managed to
live with since 2010.
Lieutenant Colonel Arcineaux
didn't report it at the time,
it's true.
It tends to reflect poorly
on a commander when his men
resort to mutiny.
And this has nothing to do
with the lawsuit? Feres?
I have nothing but disdain
for Captain Abraham's decision
to testify
against the Corps.
He's not testifying
against the Corps.
He's describing a thing
- that happened.
- Well, you can be loyal to the uniform,
or to something else.
Your man's trying
to have it both ways.
That's what a kid does.
Regardless,
these are separate issues,
and I won't have you
implying otherwise.
Chain of command is sacred
to what we do, Glenn.
Kit. This all could have fit
just fine in an e-mail.
I'm handling the prosecution.
You are the C.O. of the
J.A. Division at Pendleton.
When's the last time
you went to court?
I still have a vague idea
how it works.
I'll need some office space.
And I want someone local
for second chair.
Looks like Lieutenant Li
is doing good work.
Your ultrasound
appointment was today.
Oh. Right.
Yeah. It went fine.
It's great.
It was incredible.
I mean, it's...
you know, as they say,
hearts beat so fast.
The hearts?
Oh, heart. Sorry.
- Uh, I'm just a little distracted.
- Mm.
Everything go okay
in New York?
My brother had a meltdown
before the fund-raiser.
The party's pulling
its support.
Meltdown?
The truth is,
he's been getting worse.
They want me to run
in his place.
Well, you're active duty.
You can't run for office.
I've had my commission for just
over eight years.
I can resign any time.
Is that something you want?
Long-term? Absolutely.
I didn't expect to be making
a decision this week.
But the national party
just handed me
a gift-wrapped
campaign.
We were gonna drop
the Feres case.
Not that it's my call,
but Alex wanted to drop it.
- Why?
- We couldn't be together
and move forward with the case.
We picked being together.
Are you sure this Article
118 charge is connected
to your participation
in the Feres lawsuit?
General Winston Geiger came
to see me the other day.
The C.O. of MARFORPAC?
He tried to warn me off
the Feres case.
Said there were all kinds of
shadowy conversations about me,
and that the wrath of God
was headed my way
if I didn't back down.
He admitted to being part
of a conspiracy against you.
There's our proof.
He'll never cop
to the conversation.
He knew my dad,
he warned me off as a favor.
If he sent up a flare,
he's having mixed feelings.
It's a way in.
Get out to Hawaii.
See what you can dig up
on this conspiracy,
and I'll stay local.
If you come up empty, we'll have
to mount a conventional defense.
Let's hope it doesn't
come to that.
They're smart to use this
against me.
I disobeyed an order
that night.
Whether it was mutiny or not,
it's more or less a matter
of perspective.
Tell us.
Major Arcineaux
briefed us on the mission.
It was kill/capture.
Intel put a high-value target
in the village of Farah.
An Iranian national
named Mishdar,
in country to make bombs
for the Taliban.
We were to escort a forward
observer into the village,
where he'd paint the building
where Mishdar was hiding
with a laser target.
The Hellfire missile
would finish the job.
- When you say "we"?
- Four Humvees
in a convoy,
15 Marines under my command.
And did your convoy ever make it
to the village of Farah?
We came under small arms fire
about two miles
before we got there.
It came from
the Noorzai family compound.
Get eyes on those shooters.
That's when the sniper hit us.
Corporal Kersen
was the first to go down.
I'm confused;
earlier today you told us
the Noorzais were friendly
to coalition forces.
The Noorzai farm
had visitors that night.
The Taliban was squatting there.
Around 20 I could see
through my NVGs.
More inside
the houses.
Why so many, Captain?
Our intel was wrong.
Mishdar wasn't hiding
in the village.
I saw him running
into a building
on the Noorzai compound.
So you were taking fire
and looking through
your night vision binoculars,
how could you be
sure it was Mishdar?
We couldn't be sure.
But the other fighters
were clearly protecting him.
Mishdar was Iranian.
They wrap their turbans
in this kind of flat way.
Based on my report,
Major Arcineaux made a call.
- Mishdar was on that farm.
- So you had your target.
- Why not call in the airstrike as planned?
- We were going to.
- The Predator was en route.
- What happened?
The Noorzais were
still on that farm.
They were civilians.
That missile was gonna...
turn their compound
into sawdust.
You believed there were
civilians; they wouldn't be
the first Afghans to take
American money and keep right on
collaborating
with the Taliban.
- Laila Noorzai was nine.
- Did you inform
your commanding officer
that you thought there were
- civilians in the compound?
- My staff sergeant
apprised him
of the situation.
What did Major
Arcineaux say?
Copy that, sir. Understood.
All right,
the airstrike is still on.
What?
There must be 15,
20 civilians in there.
We've been to that
farm how many times?
We told those people
we'd protect them.
I said the same thing
to Major Arcineaux, sir.
We can't knowingly target
civilians under
- the new rules of engagement.
- All right, the major says
anyone still on that farm
- is an enemy combatant.
- That is not true!
Sir, our orders are to return
fire until the Predator hits.
You want to take it up
with the major?
We need Marines in there;
they can't bomb the compound
if our own people are there.
- Our orders are clear, sir.
- I'll take
a fire team, we'll get
the Noorzais to safety
and we'll take out Mishdar.
- Must be 30 Taliban in there.
- We are about to kill kids!
We saw them in there
and in five minutes
they'll be dead.
Yes, sir.
So in that moment,
you and your staff sergeant
conspired to disobey
a direct order.
I believed the order
to be counter
- to the rules of engagement.
- You committed mutiny.
Objection.
Your Honor, the
defense stipulates
that the defendant
disobeyed an order.
The question is whether
the order was lawful.
Sustained.
You told Staff Sergeant Parisi
that you planned
to take one fire team with you.
Who were they?
There was PFC Demarcus Dixon.
Everyone called him Double-D.
He was green
but he didn't think twice
when I told him we were going
into that compound.
Ready when you are, L-T.
Reese and Crowell
were joined at the hip.
Yes, sir. Hey, Crowell.
The lieutenant says
we're charging that farm.
Copy that.
Seems like a good night
to die in the dirt.
Cortez...
wasn't wired quite right but...
the man could fight like Chesty.
Copy that.
I've been waiting for a chance
to use this, sir.
So that's Dixon, Reese,
Crowell and Cortez.
Am I missing anyone, Captain?
Just me.
Of course. Dixon, Reese,
Crowell, Cortez and you.
And of the five Marines
you led on that raid,
how many of you
survived the night?
Captain Abraham.
How many of you lived?
Just me.
Well, tell them
she needs more morphine.
You're in charge,
not the doctor.
Aiden, I need
to ask you a question,
and I don't want you
to get pissed off.
Are you sober
right now? Good.
'Cause my sister's
counting on you.
Did you print out the DNR?
Yes, it's saved under
my name, my first name.
No, not Kit. Kermit.
Just find it,
print it out,
I'll call you back.
Anything I can do, sir?
You've been successful here;
you have a good clearance rate,
and to top it off,
you didn't fold in combat.
But these... research files
you submitted,
they're terrible.
It's almost like
your heart isn't in it.
Is your heart in it,
Lieutenant Li? Speak freely.
Speak freely.
I think what you're doing
is... despicable.
John Abraham is
a good Marine,
and you're
smearing him.
I can just picture it.
You and whatever band
of wrinkled old golf goats
you're working with
digging around in his record
until you found something
that you could twist into
a disgusting web of half-truths.
It'd be funny,
maybe even a little bit sad,
except for some reason,
the world is taking you
seriously.
Well.
Let's say you're right.
Let's for a second pretend
that the prosecution
is tied to Captain Abraham's
participation in the lawsuit
and that we're dealing from
the bottom of the deck, call it.
So what?
I don't give a single
solitary damn
if John Abraham is a nice guy.
This is a matter
of national security.
And when national security
is at stake, guess what.
You deal from the bottom
of the deck.
We used flamethrowers
to burn the Japanese alive
in their tunnels under Iwo Jima.
And we dropped bombs that'll
suck the air out of your lungs
from a mile away.
Fighting is ugly, Lieutenant.
Conflict is ugly.
It is thus
and has always been thus.
I expect your best work
going forward.
If you don't give it to me,
I will ruin your life.
You're dismissed.
The plan went south
pretty much right away.
Someone sounded a warning
while we were on the flank.
The sniper got Crowell
before we broke into the house.
There anything more you can
tell me about how he went down?
He was behind me
when he got hit.
- What?
- These are your men
we're talking about,
and you sound like a robot.
I'm telling you what happened.
I'm gonna be honest
with you, Abe.
We have a pretty decent
legal argument.
The rules of engagement
changed in 2009.
Right, that's what
I keep saying.
We have a good case,
and I'm not sure it matters.
Marines hated
those rules of engagement.
You know that.
And the panel is going
to be inclined to believe
any argument that the strike
was necessary.
So this whole deal
is pretty much subjective.
If we're gonna win,
the panel has to like you.
That's fine.
I'm a... I'm a likable guy.
I'm not talking about
your usual bag of tricks.
A joke and a smile
are not gonna get you acquitted.
Now, there's something
you are not telling me.
What happened
out there?
- I've told you the whole story at least a dozen times.
- You understand they can
put you in the brig
for the rest of your life?
Of course I do. You're gonna
walk out of here, Trey,
and I'm going back to my cell.
I'm sorry.
How's Nona doing, anyway?
I haven't even thought to ask.
Oh, Trey.
- You shouldn't be doing this, man.
- Stop it.
You should be home with Nona.
Abe.
You're my friend.
And Nona understands.
She wants me here.
You're gonna be a father, Trey.
Now, listen to me.
Every night I go
to sleep in here,
I say a few words.
You know, call it a prayer,
call it whatever.
I remind myself
of one thing.
There is justice
in the universe.
And if there is,
someone like you...
you're gonna be a father.
I wish I believed that.
Good start.
But that's the leg
you've actually got.
Good.
Now come to me.
Look up.
Hmm.
I did okay, huh?
They said I could get out
of here in a couple weeks.
- You looked great.
- Thanks.
I still got a bone
to pick with you.
Dad told me you made
brigadier general.
Oh, my name is on a list.
A-And now I wait.
Mom. How many women
have been generals in the Corps?
Maybe ten?
Six, actually.
Why didn't you say anything?
I'm not sure I'm happy about it.
You're leaving the Marines.
I shouldn't
have told you.
I'm not angry. I'm...
I led you into this.
And Dad and Grandpa.
I was proud...
sending you off to OCS.
This life,
this uniform, it...
it means something good to me.
But I didn't
have my leg cut off.
And you, you who
I've given so much...
I gave the same
as everyone else in this room.
And it means nothing to you.
And I should have
known you better.
I didn't think you'd be mad
at me for leaving.
I knew you'd
blame yourself.
I don't know if this is
going to help, but...
I don't blame you.
I had a mom who
loved what she did.
Who believed every morning
that she was heading off
to do something
that matters.
Sounds weird to say this here,
but...
I'm lucky.
Good morning. I don't guess
General Geiger's available.
I'm afraid the general's day
is packed, Captain Dobbins.
Again.
Yes. Again.
If you'd like to wait, a hole
could open up in his schedule.
Great.
I'll just wait right here.
Again.
General Geiger's office.
Hello, Mrs. Geiger.
No, ma'am,
the general's appointment
is at the hospital today.
That's right, ma'am, Waipio.
Yes, I will call to let them
know you're on your way.
You're welcome.
Would you like any coffee or...
General Geiger.
Are you the one
from Quantico?
Huh.
Well, I knew someone
would come.
You're sick?
Stage four.
Any idea what that means?
Yes, sir. My father.
I'm sorry.
John Abraham didn't
commit mutiny.
You know that.
That's why you warned him.
How long have you been
in the Marines?
Eight years, sir.
This institution is my life,
and I would die
to protect it.
And those aren't just some words
I said one time.
General...
you're dying now, sir.
Do you really want to send
an innocent Marine to the brig
from your deathbed?
So three of your men
from the fire unit made it
to Sayed Noorzai's house.
What happened
once you were inside?
Corporal Cortez
kicked the door in.
He barely made it inside.
We fought our way
through the house
and gathered up the Noorzais
where we found them.
Me, Reese
and Double-D.
It was Double-D's first action,
and he got through
without a scratch.
We all did,
until we found Laila Noorzai.
Shh.
You're okay. You're okay.
I knew right away
it was a nasty hit.
Upper thigh, arterial bleeding.
You were injured.
You had the civilians.
Why didn't you fall back
right then,
let the Hellfire
missile do its job?
And Laila's mother,
she overheard
two Taliban fighters talking.
She knew which building
Mishdar was hiding in.
We didn't have time
to wait for the Predator
to circle back
into firing range.
So I tied a tourniquet around
my leg, and I made a call.
Get these people to the convoy.
Keep your bodies
between them and the enemy
while Staff Sergeant Parisi
lays down suppressing fire.
You're not coming, sir?
I'm going after Mishdar.
I know what I'm doing,
Lance Corporal.
Get these people out of here.
Yes, sir.
Lieutenant.
I'm coming with you.
This isn't a safe one, Double-D.
I didn't join up
to stay safe, sir.
Lance Corporal Reese
escorted the Noorzais back
to the convoy.
Double-D, he wanted
to keep fighting.
It's funny, when he first
joined our unit,
we all thought he'd just stand
there staring at the ground
when the bullets started flying.
That happens
to some guys.
Turns out he was braver
than any of us.
So the Noorzai family
made it to cover.
But Lance Corporal Reese?
He took a hit to the stomach.
Went into shock
on the operating table.
And why were
you hesitant
to let PFC Dixon
pursue Mishdar with you?
It wasn't what you'd call
a high-percentage undertaking.
There were maybe 20 Taliban
fighters left in the compound.
Any mission plan,
any rational analysis,
they all would have looked
at the situation
and told you
exactly the same thing.
I was gonna die that night.
Draft of an e-mail
to Tiffany Dixon-Green.
"I appreciate your patience,
ma'am.
"I know you want to announce
that I'm stepping in
"on the same day
my brother withdraws.
"I am beyond flattered
by the party's interest, and...
"you're right.
"This is something I want.
"Unfortunately, I'm not ready
to resign my commission.
I'm not finished
being a Marine."
- Captain Dobbins.
- Lieutenant.
General Geiger wants
to see you, ma'am.
You should hurry.
Started out informal.
The e-mails back and forth.
Group of us who like
to protect the old ways.
The old Corps.
Who was on this mailing list?
Someone brought
Lieutenant Colonel Ferrara
onto the chain.
She's the one that told us about
that night with Captain Abraham.
About March 5, 2010.
That's when it got real.
- Who, General?
- Ten of us.
Maybe 12. We had a meeting.
Here on Oahu.
Who was there?
Schuylkill, Brad Coburn.
Somebody from
the sergeant major's office
at HQMC...
John Basilone.
Sir, did you just say
John Basilone
helped plan this?
That's correct.
John Basilone died
on Iwo Jima in 1945.
How much morphine
has he had?
No.
The court-martial starts
in a week. I need you back here.
Yeah, I'll see you at Quantico.
General Geiger made a statement
describing a conspiracy
to prosecute you for mutiny.
But he was wearing
a morphine patch for his pain.
Apparently, he was
in and out of coherence.
Can't we just wait
for the morphine
to wear off and do it again?
The general died an hour ago.
Look, we'll keep working
the malicious prosecution angle
from here,
but it looks like
we're gonna have to win
this one on the case law.
So I need you
to talk about that night.
- That's all we've been doing.
- No.
I need you to talk about it
in a way
that'll get the panel
on your side.
Corporal Crowell
got hit by a sniper
while you were approaching
Sayed Noorzai's house.
Corporal Cortez died
breaching the doorway.
Lance Corporal Reese went down
while he was escorting
the Noorzais to safety.
What happened to Dixon?
- He didn't make it. They captured him.
- How?
I don't know.
We were fighting our
way through the house
where Mishdar was hiding.
One second he was on comms,
the next he wasn't.
Double-D was just... gone.
- Can you draw a diagram of the house?
- Why?
This has nothing to do with
whether or not
I committed mutiny.
Those men died because of
a decision you made
that night.
It has everything to do with it.
And if you don't believe me,
you watch the panel
when you start talking like this
on the stand.
Something happened that night,
and you don't want people
to know about it.
You practically cringe
every time
I mention Double-D.
Well, I hope you're right.
I hope the law
is all we need.
But you've never seen
Kit Schuylkill
cross-examine a witness.
So, in spite of everything,
you had a chance to complete
your original mission.
You had a chance to
capture or kill Farhan Mishdar.
Tell us what happened once
you were inside the house
where Laila Noorzai's mother
told you Mishdar was hiding.
There was no resistance
at first.
By the time I got close
to where he was hiding,
it was just me.
The fighting outside
was dying down.
I was losing
a lot of blood.
Why did you think Mishdar
was hiding
in this particular room?
The enemy had centered their
resources around defending it.
I had to kill two of them before
I could even throw smoke inside.
I took a position
with a clean firing line
and waited to see
what came out
of that room.
And then a man in
a flat black turban ran out.
A turban
like Farhan Mishdar wore?
I took him down.
He landed on his stomach.
And when you turned him over?
It wasn't him.
It wasn't Mishdar.
Where was Farhan Mishdar?
They knew we'd be
looking for that turban,
so they switched.
They put his turban on
someone else, and he snuck out
of the compound
with a small group of fighters.
So your mission was a failure,
and everything you did
after rescuing the
Noorzai family
was a waste of time
and American lives.
- Objection, Your Honor.
- Sustained.
We assassinated Farhan
Mishdar in Yemen
with a drone strike in 2015.
How many Americans were
killed by his bombs
in the years between your
mission and that day?
- Objection!
- 43.
That's right, Captain Abraham,
43... 43 lives lost
because we missed our chance
to kill Farhan Mishdar
in 2010.
43.
No further questions,
Your Honor.
You may step down, Captain.
Permission to
redirect, Your Honor?
Captain Abraham,
have you told
us everything
about the night
of March 5, 2010?
I'm under oath, Major.
I don't doubt
that you've told the truth.
Have you told us everything?
What happened
to PFC Demarcus Dixon?
- What happened to Double-D?
- Objection, Your Honor.
Is counsel really suggesting
his client lied on the stand?
Captain Abraham
left something out.
That is not the same thing
as lying, Your Honor.
Is Major Ferry right?
Are you leaving
something out?
Tell me, Abe.
Tell us.
Yes.
Double-D fought with me through
the first few rooms
of the house.
I didn't
lose track of him.
I know how he got captured.
And how's that?
After we cleared
one room,
we found Sayed Noorzai.
They were keeping him
hostage, but he had
a bullet wound
in his stomach.
I called
for a medevac,
told Double-D to take Noorzai
to a nearby clearing
and put down chem lights
to make an LZ.
Make a landing zone? That's it?
That order's well
within your purview.
Double-D wanted to stay.
He wanted to keep fighting.
And more importantly,
he wanted to stay together.
That's what we're trained to do:
stay together.
Double-D wasn't
a born warrior.
He... he joined up
for the benefits.
But he dug into the deepest part
of himself that night, and he...
he found something
that let him fight.
Marines say, "One is none."
We're nothing
if we don't stick together.
I was Double-D's
C.O.,
and I should've known better
than to send him off alone
when that compound
was crawling with Taliban.
Did PFC Dixon
create the LZ,
like you ordered him to?
Yes. I found it after the fight.
But he wasn't there?
Mishdar and his men found him on
their way out of the compound.
They took Double-D prisoner.
What happened to him?
They kept him for a few weeks.
Then they killed him.
They cut his head off
and put it on the Internet.
He was one of my men.
He had a son.
I should've
kept him with me.
I should've
kept him safe.
And if someone had to die
in a prison camp
with a machete at his throat...
...it should have been me.
Double-D!
Double-D!
It should've been me.
When we have no other choice,
when everything else
has failed, we go to war.
We got to war
to protect our interests.
We stand in front
of our enemy,
and we make a plan
to defeat him.
We make a plan,
and God laughs
because war is chaos.
It's confusion.
It is lunacy.
And there is one North Star that
carries us through the madness,
and that is the sacred principle
that we follow orders.
Captain John Abraham
held himself above
that principle.
The results speak
for themselves.
The rules of engagement
on March 5, 2010
held that it was
illegal to knowingly target
Afghan civilians.
They were dictated
by no less than the
commander in chief
himself.
The order to bomb
that compound
was unlawful.
John Abraham
did his duty that night.
He fought and he suffered
alongside the men
who died under
his command,
and, as we've seen,
he continues to suffer.
He deserves our gratitude,
and he deserves
a commendation,
not a conviction.
Ready to get out
of here, Turnbull?
You have no idea.
Show me what you got.
I've got a hop to Lejeune.
The wounded warriors await.
There's someplace
I want to stop.
They finally restored it.
The unveiling was
two weeks ago.
Your grandfather's on here?
He died near
Paris, right?
Belleau Wood.
The Germans started calling us
"devil dogs" during that fight.
That's where the nickname comes from.
Why are we here?
I don't know.
I never met the man,
but I still come here sometimes.
I think about him.
I honor him.
You're part of a legacy,
Adam, and...
you can choose not to give
anything more to it.
God knows you've
earned that.
But you're still
part of it,
and I hope,
I pray...
that eventually it will mean
something to you again.
We should get you
to your flight.
Can you give me a minute?
Ladies and gentlemen
of the panel,
have you reached a verdict?
We have, Your Honor.
Captain Abraham,
would you stand?
How do you find?
The panel is split,
Lieutenant Colonel.
By a margin of
five votes to four,
we find the defendant,
Captain John Abraham...
...not guilty
on all charges.
You made me go there.
Thank you.
You're gonna be a dad, Trey.
You are.
You look good, Matty.
I'd vote for you.
Too bad I'm about to withdraw.
Nice of the
party to find
a fancy place for me
to make my speech.
Is there press out there?
It's a pretty good crowd.
I kept the details vague
in my speech.
"Health crisis."
Didn't take my spot, huh?
I'm not ready yet.
I'm gonna be there when you are.
This thing limits what I can do.
Don't interrupt. It does.
You know it.
We're here, right?
There are things I can't do,
but...
there are things I can.
I'm gonna find them.
Because when you are ready,
I want to be there.
Not the mission
I signed up for, but...
it's still a pretty good one.
I'm lucky to have it.
I'm lucky to have you.
Whew.
Can I stand beside you?
You better.
It's good to see you
in that chair, sir.
I have a hop to
SERE school.
See you in six weeks.
Survival,
Evasion, Resistance and Escape.
Sounds like a typical day
working for Colonel Schuylkill.
I-I didn't want to do it, Abe.
I told him I thought
the whole thing was disgusting.
You're a Marine, Harper,
an honest-to-goodness,
ground-pounding,
salty-ass devil dog.
You did your duty,
and I'm proud of you.
Thank you, sir.
I'm catching
a civilian bird myself.
Alex and I are flying to
Gary, Indiana for a couple days.
What's in Gary?
Demarcus Dixon's family.
I'm gonna sit with his widow
and tell her what happened.
That, um...
that sounds like a good thing.
I should've done it years ago.
Hey.
How would you two like
to be happy for a few minutes?
Everyone ready? Repeat after me.
I hereby declare, on oath...
I hereby declare, on oath...
...that I absolutely renounce
and abjure any allegiance
to any foreign
state...
...that I absolutely
renounce and abjure
any allegiance
to any foreign state...
...that I will support
and defend the Constitution
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...
...that I will support
and defend the Constitution
against all enemies,
foreign and domestic...