Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Baby It's Cold Outside - 121

Chegwidden (C) headed a captain selection board and had Mac (M) take his place as temporary JAG. The SECNAV pressured C to promote Lindsey carefully avoiding using his name directly. C presented Lindsey personally but he clearly wasn't as good as the other candidates we saw presented. Under direct questions from Capt. Ingles C couldn't say that he would have Lindsey on his staff "because he goes beyond the limit." Lindsey ran around apologizing to C & M but it didn't help. The SECNAV then wouldn't sign the selection boards recommendations and ordered C to "have them do it again" paying particular attention to those with "computer and clerical background"! When the board wouldn't be bullied he finally threatened C with dumping on him in his next fitness evaluation.

An ex-Staff Sgt Daniel Craig, parking attendant, struck a black man who was abusing his son. The states attorney Alton Foreland was trying to get life imprisonment under the "3 strikes" law and needed to use records of Craig's court-martial where there was a death of a recruit. Harm (H) defended but was not successful in getting the previous court-marshal, where he "fallen on his sword" and plead guilty in the death of a recruit by hypothermia, overturned. Foreland said he "held black men to higher standard." On the stand Craig said that he did the same thing for his recruits. "The only thing they had to do to survive was stick together but they weren't a team." He commented that "if Foreland was in his position, he would be on trial." Foreland dropped the life charge, and eventually said he agreed "it would have been me."

Tiner successfully helped Gunny (G) contest 7 parking tickets using his limited law school experience. In a final scene at McMurphy's C confided to M that he had effectively put a bullet in his career but wouldn't give specifics. He reminisced that Napolean had said in choosing commanders "he just chose the lucky ones" then said that he "was lucky in his people." He told her that there was no more girlfriend Walden and when M started to give some consoling words he pulled back saying "ok, we've just reached the limits of touchy-feely." As others came in he had to tell them all the same thing in turn. The jukebox played "baby it's cold outside" and each joined in singing.

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