First Casualty - 153

Reporter Stuart Dunston was involved in an ambush when he was "tag along" with a SEAL team who were after Mustafa Atef, an Al Qaeda leader, and sustained both military and civilian casualties. Harm eventually found that Dunston had had made a satellite phone call (with GPS coordinates) before the ambush despite being told not to. The SECNAV reamed H and Mac for "harassing" the press. He overturned the field commanders negative decision and allowed Dunston to go on the missioin. "Title 10, Article 802" allowed Dunston to be court-martialed with president (GW Bush) as the convening authority. [The show cited previous cases of the press compromising military efforts and being court martialled; however, neither Lincoln or Gen Andrew Jackson actually had completed the prosecution.)

Turner vehemently argued with H and defended Dunston. The SECNAV testified that he was guilty for not listening to the field commanders. It was shown that Dunstons GPS electronics couldn't have been the give-away; but, M overheard Dunston's assistant speaking Farsi the she lied about it when confronted. The assistant had tipped off her Al Qaeda cousin in Pakistan after Dunston had called in his report to her. Dunston then plead guilty and apologized. T admitted that he was wrong; H admitted being wrong; and M said "I wasn't wrong about anything." Bud is on the USS Seahawk and is keeping secret about PO Jennifer Coates being his "legal-man." Singer is still snotty and jealous of him and continued pressing C for an overseas assignment.

Hero Worship - 152

[a well crafted episode] The SECNAV ordered Chegwidden to send Harm and Mac to investigate the captain of the old destroyer, USS John Cooper, for a "lack of leadership" under the guise of investigating a galley fire. Seaman Tim Holley of sick bay, a 4th generation "squid," was trying to live up to his fathers accomplishments and saved seaman Todd Raff's life from a fire. Raff admitted to smoking in the galley. M reccommended an article 32 but the captain wanted to handle it merely with a captain's mast. Adm Albrecht, of SURFLANT, wanted "to send message to the captain" so took authority himself and ordered the article 32 hearing. H eventually showed that a sparking electrical short could have caused the fire. M, the prosecutor, said that "Albrecht wanted Raff out to teach the captain a lesson." H then found an Oxygen tank leak from sickbay had acted as an accelerant causing flash over. Raff wouldn't let H use it however, out of loyalty to Holley's career. So he was sent to court-martial. H told M that it was out of the "price of Loyalty."

C consulted with Carl Messing, a White House aide, in producing a white house dinner honoring all the surviving medal of honor recipients. One hero, Cpl. Henry Guernsey was excluded by the white house Chief of Staff because he had a pending court date for shoplifting. C went to meet Guernsey and found that he was over 80, confused and barely coping since his wife had died. Guernsey had held off 400 Japanese with 2 boxes of hand grenades, saving his platoon. Meredith forced C into a picnic on a lawn and made terrible tasting food, but gave C insight into helping Guernsey himself. C connected Guernsey with an organization to obtain a roommate, got him a uniform and arranged an alternative party specifically for him with his old 2nd platoon. C told Messing that "undervaluing their contribution because he's imperfect makes us look petty and thoughtless." The only persons so described were the president's COS and Adm Albrecht who both "got their own ways" but never found out just how petty they were. B was exonerated from his dereliction charges but C told him it was "not your finest hour." B & Harriet were trying to decide upon a next duty station to use his "second chance" to further his career.

Exculpatory Evidence - 151

[Continued from previous episode] Capt Proudy, Pax River commander, set aside Massuco's conviction due to Bud's "dereliction of duty." Turner investigated and recommended that Chegwidden hold an article 32 hearing on B. Harm defended, and was angry at T who wouldn't make an offer commensurate with alleged wrong doing. C suggested to B that "you find the same confidence in yourself and your ability as an attorney as I do." Mac was called to testify that Buds falling asleep, missing a filing deadline and not contacting a defense witness, Sandra Connor, was not up to standards. H got Connor to admit having an affair with Massuco; then, that Massuco had taken the exculpatory cover letter from Singers packet himself because he thought that all the other evidence was circumstantial and doing so would save his shakey marriage. So B was not court-martialed.

Sergei Zhukov was upset that Hs mother "wanted time" to think about giving Hs father's Vietnam letters to the immigration departe in order to prove his paternity which allow him citizenship. B asked Mac to "join the team" to stop H & M from fighting. C found that T, Leatham and H were setting him up with dates and told them off. C sent Meredith Cavanaugh home, incorrectly thinking that Mac was "puerile" too. C offered his "sincere apologies" to Meredith who retorted "what would an insincere apology look like." They quoted Shakespeare to each other and the episode ended with them staring at each other.