Boot - 12

Private Shuler was found hanging dead from a rappelling tower by abusive drill instructors Sgt Gonzalez and Staff Sgt Carrington. Lindsey told Harm that the State Department wasn't happy with defense of the CAG and wanted to know how a JAG lawyer ended up parachuting into Bosnia. Meg said their defense occasionally went beyond the courtroom and Lindsey agreed. State, however, wondered if staging jailbreaks in Iraq, flying missions in F-14s and recovering stolen nuclear weapons fit the definition of "occasionally." H repeated the recruiting slogan that the Navy wasn't just a job, it's an adventure. Lindsey said he told them that he wouldn't tell them how to run state if they didn't tell him how to run JAG; but, wanted H to take a lower profile for awhile. He said that Shuler's parents had received an anonymous letter saying she had been murdered and one of the drill instructors had been missing that night. He assigned H the investigation of Shuler case and Mg to go under cover as recruit MacEntyre. Carrington was maliciously severe taking every opportunity to set others on Mg and to belittle and intimidate her. Mg, continually assigned to police the head, found a letter and newspaper clipping behind a loose tile. It was Shuler's. H sensed obstruction from both the drill sergeants and the CO. Obviously there was no way Shuler could have been strangled in her own rappelling rope which the CO didn't even mention. Gonzalez was a shoe in for enlisted commissioning program next month. H asked Cline to get the whole newspaper to go along with the clipping.

Pvt. Whitley was Shuler's friend and Johnson the company bully. Johnson tried several times to intimidate Meg and was increasingly upset when she couldn't. Carrington intimidated Mg into the Pugil ring and Johnson volunteered as opponent. Johnson got the drop on Mg and began beating her while Carrington stood by and didn't blow whistle even though Johnson wasn't going for the win, only to beat her up. Finally, Mg took Johnson down. H wanted to take Mg out but she wouldn't leave. In the gas chamber someone pulled Mg's mask off and choked her leaving bruises. Mg still refused to pull out because she had overhead the sergeants talking about "they got a letter, but JAG still wouldn't find out." Whitley came to get Mg from the infirmary and overheard H & Mg talking about finding the newspaper clipping. That night, H followed Gonzalez into Maj Clines office. They told him that they were married but the corps wouldn’t allow Enlisted and Officers to fraternize which is why they hadn't revealed it and Gonzalez was going to officers program. H found that the newspaper clipping had an article about Whitley being wanted by the police on the back. Mg noticed what she thought was Johnson going toward the swamp and followed only have to rescue Whitley from quicksand; but, not before getting a confession of murdering Shuler because she found out about her. When she was out, Whitley pushed Mg into the quicksand. H arrived with Cline to pull Mg out and introduced her to Carrington. Mg told Carrington she knew she was "just doing her job"(??!) and shook her hand squishing quicksand mud all over her. H let Gonzalez report herself if she didn't get into Officer program and the platoon all said goodbye to Mg. [ this must have been written/aired after defensive action listed below]