Enemy Below - 158

[The season Finale - the resolution to a sub-plot covering several episodes; and, a cliff hanger involving Bud] JAG was "on point" in a nuclear crisis with Chegwidden, Singer and Turner taking the lead, per the SECNAVs instructions. Vice Adm Holt was in charge of the operation. Mustafa Atef's (a terrorist who was tried, found guilty and committed suicide) brother Kabir was found recruiting Capt Mikael Yerastov (Russian submariner) for an Iranian mission. Webb bugged Ahmad Hakim's Pakistani Embassy office with a cigar box then Baited him with information that the US knew he was a double agent with the Iranians, and that they also knew of their $250 million payment for the submarine Najvayi. He also said that they knew it had been retrofitted for ss-25 cruise missiles. In a play on "Hunt for red October" Yerastov was the only commander to have ever eluded the US boats who were trailing her; AND, fortunately Turner was the only sonar operator who had never lost Yerastov! So Turner was sent to the Seahawk battle group's submarine, the Watertown, to assist captain Flagler and act as the "wildcard" that Yerastov didn't expect. Yerastov, T said, had made a study of Flagler, knew what he would do and would capitalize on that knowledge. When Flagler tried to argue with him over a next step, T told him "I am Alec Baldwin."

Harm and Mac were still investigating the nuclear weapons disappearance in Afghanistan and found a truck driver with radiation poisoning which lead to his town where many Chechen's were also dying. They deduced that a previous episodes' Cmdr Aiken had been killed by a Chechen, who's confession then led to the recapture of 30 kilos weapons grade uranium bound from Russia. But they realize that they may not have recaptured it all.

Bud was assigned by Capt Johnson to redo the rules of engagement for submarines. Bud presented his plan for a "rolling sovereignty" (Cordone Sanitare) around the battle group with authorization to shoot if any ship entered into it. It was accepted through JAG, 5th fleet, CENTCOM, SECDEF and the Joint Chief's! (all in one episode!) The Seahawk set the perimeter initially at 10 miles but when JAG people started piecing all the puzzle together and they realized it was armed with a missile, the captain extended it. T deduced that the Najvayi was heading for the Arabian gulf and began trailing it. Flagler initially didn't follow Ts advice and nearly got them killed.

Harm was then announced as the all time "missile X" champ (shooting down missiles using a jet) so he went up as "wing" with Lt Cdr Chaidez. The Watertown did finally torpedo the Najvayi; but, it was just after it shot its cruise with the "dirty nuke." The Russian men on the Najvayi were dying of radiation sickness because the missile wasn't shielded. Chaidez didn't get the target until it was too close to the Watertown to take the shot, so Harm let the missile target onto his own jet and chase him past the ship until it flamed out!

To make it a cliff hanger Bud and Coates investigated the collateral damage to a school of a military operation and got the navy to rebuild it. When they went together to the ribbon cutting ceremony B saw a boy playing in the mine field and tried to save him. He was shown getting blown up and severing his right leg as the episode closed.

In Country - 157

[A follow-up to the previous stories where nuclear material was stolen from Russia, a Russian submarine captain was recruited by Kabir, and Kabir's brother committed suicide after being tried for terrorism by Harm and Mac - with Chegwidden defending.] Gunny is in Afghanistan working black ops with Clayton Webb trying to find Kabir and accidentally called in a strike against a civilian vehicle. The family was to have been warned to stay home by Gunny's eight month native friend, Fareeza, who was documenting Afghan genealogy, so they didn't suspect anyone but Kabir would be on the road. The SecNav sent Harm and Mac back to Afghanistan to "keep a watch for the navy's interests." They elicited Gunny's help to keep tabs on Webb. A local warlord and informant, Zumai Fureeq, tried to get Webb to take out his competition by giving false location of Kabir; but, Webb realized it and didn't follow through with the payment. H & M found that the village had not been warned by Fareeza, then found a young boy who recognized her picture as being with a "man with one brown and one blue eye," Kabir. Going back to camp M swerved to miss a goat and hit a land mine with their HumVee's tires throwing H out of the vehicle into a mine field. On the way back he stepped on a mine which would detonate when he lifted his foot. M slid an ammo box over it so H could stand on it then jump to safety. They needed to hike back to camp and ended up "sharing body heat" sleeping under the stars on a bluff overlooking a small group of huts - which would be hit later that night by a strike called in by Webb. Back at JAG headquarters Singer appeared to Harriet to be gloating over H & M being missing so called her a "coward" and suggested they "remove their bars." Harriet took her into closed office and decked her. Later Singer told Chegwidden that she had walked into door and that she would "respond, but not in a way that the admiral needed to be concerned about."

Bud and Coates, on board the carrier, sparred with Dale Woodley, a CIA agent who was using inappropriate tactics in interrogation. Woodley stormed out telling B that "this one is all yours." B was able to get the location of Kabir's camp from the US trained, captive terrorist by talking star trek. Webb called in the massive strike and wouldn't listen to Gunny who tried to get him to change it into a rescue mission (of Fareeza)… so gunny decked him to get his attention. Finally Webb listened but couldn't get the strike changed. Webb told Gunny of a woman he knew in South America before an uprising, intending to commiserate with Gunny but claimed what happened to her was "classified." Bud was shown advising the captain and legally "approving" the strike which nearly took out H & M, who were sleeping on the bluff. The next day H & M were found walking down the road and taken to the village where W and G were helping sift through the body's and Commander Teresa Coulter was helping with forensics. They pulled Fareeza from the rubble and before she died she said that she had run into Kabir at the first house she went to warn but he had convinced the family that she was actually a CIA agent and they needed to flee in the same direction he was going. Of course they were the ones who were killed by Gunny's attack and Kabir escaped. Webb quoted the words: Nuestro amor de es el nino del padre (our love is the child of a cruel father), to the grieving Gunny. A few of the dead also had "radiation poisoning" and one of the huts was still "hot." They found a severed finger with a ring inscribed to Kabir and initially thought he was dead; but, Coulter discovered that it had been cut off and not blown off. At the end Kabir was shown waving goodbye to a truck with a bandaged hand.

Defending His Honor - 156

[Interesting story, tantalizing back-story about Webb and Terrorists, annoying soapbox opera between Bud and Harriet] The substitute ranking officer, Singer, welcomed Chegwidden back from his absence with a list of her "make work" accomplishments which made Harriet tell him that everyone is "extremely" grateful that he was back. Singer then, intentionally fomented discord between them by telling Harriet about Coates being on the ship with Bud -- and B about Hts buying a new house; neither of who had told the other. Singer's intent was that she might get Bs billet if he decided to come home. Turner volunteered to 2nd chair Mac against Harm's defense of Judge, Capt Seibring (Sb), for the involuntary manslaughter of Jennifer Wilson's baby, Ruby, during some of his "road rage." Sb refused to plea bargain with M on his principles saying that he didn't do it. Chegwidden testified that Sb had the patience of a saint so M went after a time when Sb's son had run away from drug rehab and Sb used "tough love" by throwing him out of the house. Sb told H to "drop it" when H tried to explain it away in redirect. Then, when H went ahead anyway, Judge Helfman had to gavel Sb down when he "lost it." A disgruntled nurse, Fran Masters, came forward to give M an answering machine tape where she was chastised by Sb after she had left her job at his house early, leaving his seriously ill wife alone. He had fired Masters. Although M told H that the plea bargain was still on the table but H declined and went to see Nora Moran, a close friend of Wilson. She gave H information that Wilson had seen a doctor for depression. H re-cross examined Wilson who lied about not being depressed, then that the anti-depressant pills were from "after" the accident, then that the pharmacist had mistakenly identified her, then that the lab had mixed up her post accident blood test with someone else. H skillfully pushed her not only into the lies but breaking down and confessing that she had decided to commit suicide and take the baby with her. She had intentionally run off the road herself. The charges were dismissed.

H connected Webb with Alexi (of the KGB who had helped prevent the assassination of Putin with him) when Webb wanted to track Kabir Atef. Captain Mikael Yerastov was seen accepting a gift from Kabir aboard his ship in Murmansk by another captain who had been approached earlier to help in an action against the US. Yerastov was described as a legend, the last cold warrior, who taught strategy and tactics at the Kuznetsov Naval Academy. When they went to find Yerastov they found that they he had disappeared. Later Kabir and Yerastov were shown in a convoy of three jeeps on the border of Iran and Afghanistan. Kabir gave Yerastov a satchel of money and left the jeeps saying that he would meet Yerastov in Bander Abbas. Kabir is a blue and brown eyed Iranian.