who the fuck is pfc william t. santiago.
yeah, well, apparently he's not very happy down here at shangri-la, cause he's written letters to everyone but santa claus asking for a transfer. and now he's telling tales about a fenceline shooting.
matthew?
you're appalled? this kid broke the chain of command and he ratted on a man of his unit, to say nothing of the fact that he's a u.s. marine and it would appear that he can't run from here to there without collapsing from heat exhaustion. what the fuck's going on over at windward, matthew?
and i'm yours, matthew.
i want to know what we're gonna do about this.
he's that bad, huh?
transfer santiago. yes i suppose you're right. i suppose that's the thing to do. wait. wait. i've got a better idea. let's transfer the whole squad off the base. let's -- on second thought -- windward. the whole windward division, let's transfer 'em off the base. jon, go on out there and get those boys down off the fence, they're packing their bags. tom!
got me the president on the phone, we're surrendering our position in cuba.
wait a minute, tom.
don't call the president just yet. maybe we should consider this for a second. maybe -- and i'm just spit balling here -- but maybe we as officers have a responsibility to train santiago. maybe we as officers have a responsibility to this country to see that the men and women charged with its security are trained professionals. yes. i'm certain i once read that somewhere. and now i'm thinking that your suggestion of transferring santiago, while expeditious, and certainly painless, might not be in a manner of speaking, the american way. santiago stays where he is. we're gonna train the lad. you're in charge, jon. santiago doesn't make 4.1 on his next fitness report, i'm gonna blame you. then i'm gonna kill you.
matthew, i believe i will have that word in private with you now. jon, that's all. why don't you and i have lunch at the "o" club, we'll talk about the training of young william.
dismissed.
matthew, sit, please.
what do you think of kendrick?
i think he's kind of a weasel, myself. but he's an awfully good officer, and in the end we see eye to eye on the best way to run a marine corps unit. we're in the business of saving lives, matthew. that's a responsibility we have to take pretty seriously. and i believe that taking a marine who's not yet up to the job and packing him off to another assignment, puts lives in danger.
matthew, siddown. we go back a while. we went to the academy together, we were commissioned together, we did our tours in vietnam together. but i've been promoted up through the chain with greater speed and success than you have. now if that's a source of tension or embarrassment for you, well, i don't give a shit. we're in the business of saving lives, captain markinson. don't ever question my orders in front of another officer.
nathan jessep, come on in and siddown.
pleased to meet you, commander.
i've asked captain markinson and lt. kendrick to join us.
lionel kaffee?
well what do you know. son, this man's dad once made a lot of enemies down in your neck of the woods. jefferson vs. madison county school district. the folks down there said a little black girl couldn't go to an all white school, lionel kaffee said we'll just see about that. how the hell is your dad?
well.  don't i feel like the fuckin, asshole.
well, what can we do for you, danny.
jonanthan'll take you out and show you what you wanna see, then we can all hook up for lunch, how does that sound?
and they spent the next three hours running around, looking for americans to surrender to.
(continuing; to the
shoot.
yes.
yes.
thank you.
yes.
we agreed that for his own safety, santiago should be transferred off the base.
on the first available flight to the states. six the next morning. three hours too late as it turned out.
of course i met with the doctor. one of my men was dead.
i've heard the term, yes.
i submit to you that whoever wrote that memo has never served on the working end of a soviet-made cuban ml-al6 assault rifle. however, the directive having come from the nis, i gave it its due attention. what's your point, jo?
you know it just hit me. she outranks you, danny.
i want to tell you something danny and listen up 'cause i mean this: you're the luckiest man in the world. there is, believe me gentlemen, nothing sexier on earth than a woman you have to salute in the morning. promote 'em all i say.
you see my problem is, of course, that i'm a colonel. i'll just have to keep taking cold showers 'til they elect some gal president.
take caution in your tone, commander. i'm a fair guy, but this fuckin' heat's making me absolutely crazy. you want to know about code reds? on the record i tell you that i discourage the practice in accordance with the nis directive. off the record i tell you that it's an invaluable part of close infantry training, and if it happens to go on without my knowledge, so be it. i run my base how i run my base. you want to investigate me, roll the dice and take your chances. i eat breakfast 80 yards away from 4000 cubans who are trained to kill me. so don't for one second think you're gonna come down here, flash a badge, and make me nervous.
what's that?
for the file.
of course you can have a copy of the transfer order. for the file. i'm here to help anyway i can.
you believe that, don't you? danny? that i'm here to help anyway i can?
the corporal'll run you by ordinance on your way out to the airstrip. you can have all the transfer orders you want.
but you have to ask me nicely.
you have to ask me nicely. you see, danny, i can deal with the bullets and the bombs and the blood. i can deal with the heat and the stress and the fear. i don't want money and i don't want medals. what i want is for you to stand there in that faggoty white uniform, and with your harvard mouth, extend me some fuckin' courtesy. you gotta ask me nicely.
no problem.
i hate casualties, matthew. there are casualties even in victory. a marine smothers a grenade and saves his platoon, that marine's a hero. the foundation of the unit, the fabric of this base, the spirit of the corps, they are things worth fighting for.
dawson and downey, they don't know it, but they're smothering a grenade.
yes i do.
colonel nathan r. jessep, commanding officer, marine ground forces, guantanamo bay, cuba.
yes.
yes.
i told kendrick to tell his men that santiago wasn't to be touched.
i ordered markinson to have santiago transferred off the base immediately.
i felt that his life might be in danger once word of the letter got out.
is there another kind?
the six a.m. flight was the first flight off the base.
yes.
as are you, lieutenant.
i wore fatigues on the plane.
yes.
i brought a change of clothes and some personal items.
i called colonel fitzhuqhes in quantico, va. i wanted to let him know i'd be in town. the second call was to set up a meeting with congressman ramond of the house armed services committee, and the third call was to my sister elizabeth.
i thought she might like to have dinner tonight.
no. it's not. it's tragic.
absolutely. my answer is i don't have the first damn clue. maybe he was an early morning riser and he liked to pack in the nq. and maybe he didn't have any friends. i'm an educated man, but i'm afraid i can't speak intelligently about the travel habits of william santiago. what i do know is that he was set to leave the base at 0600. now are these really the questions i was called here to answer? phone calls and footlockers? please tell me you've got something more, lieutenant. please tell me there's an ace up your sleeve. these two marines are on trial for their lives. please tell me their lawyer hasn't pinned their hopes to a phone bill. do you have any other questions for me, counselor?
thanks, danny. i love washington.
i beg your pardon.
colonel.
i'd appreciate it if he addressed me as colonel or sir. i believe i've earned it.
i don't know what the hell kind of an outfit you're running here.
what would you like to discuss now! my favorite color?
yes.
this is ridiculous.
check the tower logs for christ's sake.
that's right.
crystal.
ignored the order?
no.
no.
have you ever spent time in an infantry unit, son?
ever served in a forward area?
ever put your life in another man's hands, ask him to put his life in yours?
we follow orders, son. we follow orders or people die. it's that simple. are we clear?
are we clear?
private santiago was a sub-standard marine. he was being transferred off the base because --
yes. that's correct, but --
yes, i recall what --
i know what i said. i don't need it read back to me like i'm a damn --
sometimes men take matters into their own hands.
you little bastard.
you want answers?
you want answers?!
you can't handle the truth!
son, we live in a world that has walls. and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. who's gonna do it? you? you, lt. weinberg? i have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. you weep for santiago and you curse the marines. you have that luxury. you have the luxury of not knowing what i know: that santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. you don't want the truth. because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. you need me there. we use words like honor, code, loyalty.  we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. you use 'em as a punchline. i have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom i provide, then questions the manner in which i provide it. i'd prefer you just said thank you and went on your way. otherwise, i suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. either way, i don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to.
i did the job you sent me to do.
you're goddamn right i did.
what the hell's going on?
captain, what the hell's going on? i did my job. i'd do it again. now i'm getting on a plane and going back to my base.
what the hell --
i'm being charged with a crime? i'm -- that's what this is -- marine! marine!! i'm being charged with a crime? i'm -- that's what's happening? this -- i'm -- this is funny, you know that, this is --
i'm gonna tear your eyes right outta your head and piss in your dead skull. you fucked with the wrong marine.
i saved lives. that boy was -- there was a weak link. i saved lives, you hear me?
you fuckin' people. you have no idea how to defend a nation. all you did was weaken a country today, kaffee. that's all you did. you put people in danger. sweet dreams, son.