Subtitles by Phaeton
You may hear the bombs now.
If you're still with us, you can hear the bombs now.
They are hitting the centre of the city.
Now we can hear explosions...
off in the distance to the west of central Baghdad.
Clearly I've never been there,
but this feels like we're in the centre of hell.
The 28 countries...
with forces in the Gulf area...
have exhausted all reasonable efforts...
to reach a peaceful resolution,
have no choice...
but to drive Saddam from Kuwait by force.
A great battle has been initiated.
The mother of all battles.
Our objectives...
in the Persian Gulf are clear,
our goals defined.
Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait...
completely, immediately,
and without condition.
The liberation of Kuwait...
has now entered a final phase.
I have therefore directed to use all forces available,
including ground forces,
to eject the Iraqi army from Kuwait.
At this point it seems inevitable...
that the ground war is only hours away.
Peter Arnett, Baghdad.
Don't ever for one minute underestimate the enemy,
but remember, we're better soldiers.
We're fighting with better equipment, we're better trained and a lot smarter.
Sleep deprivation. Our soldiers been up 46, 48 hours,
so stay on top of 'em. Maintain your intervals.
Any questions?
Let's have a little prayer.
Dear God, protect us...
as we protect our country we so dearly love.
Keep us safe that we'll all get home to see our families and our children.
Amen.
- Let's kill 'em all. - Hu-ah!
You all right, Boylar?
Hell, yeah.
- Let's heat 'em up, Nat. - See you in Baghdad.
Yes, sir.
Battle-carry Sabot.
Sabot bullet coming up, sir.
- Sabot loaded. - Indexed.
Crew report.
- Driver ready. - Loader ready.
Gunner ready to give Saddam a new way to hurt.
- Hu-ah! - Hu-ah!
Hu-ah.
All right, Boylar?
Roger that.
All Cougar elements, this is Cougar-6. Report Red Con 1. Over.
All Sabre elements, this is Sabre-6.
Move out.
Sabre-6, this is Cougar-6.
No joy over here.
Permission to try an alternate route. Over.
Roger that, Cougar-6. Work your way to phase line hammer.
- No surprises. Copy? - Roger that.
I'm taking up the right flank. I'll get back to you. Out.
Contact. I see flashes, 3,500 meters, sir.
- All right. - Hold on. They got no range.
2,500 meters and closing, sir.
Ready to lase and blaze.
Contact, sir. He's in range.
- Come on, let me kill his ass. - Fire!
On the way!
Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
- Find me another target, Patella. - Loaded!
- Identified. - Fire.
Fire!
Got him! We got him!
Sabre-6, Liberty-6.
We got enemy tangos retreating...
vicinity grid 2-4-9er-8.
Your pursuit should intercept their retreat, grid 7-6-5.
Roger that, Liberty-6.
- Troops! - Troops!
Cease fire! Cease fire!
Come on! Come on!
Sabre-6, this is Cougar-6.
Go ahead, Cougar-6.
I have got mines. Repeat, mines.
I gotta get the fuck out of here.
Work your way to grid line Charlie.
Cougar-6 to all Cougar elements. Let's get the hell out of here.
Whoa! What the...
Oh, shit!
All Sabre units, this is Sabre-6.
We just lost a tank. Anybody see the shooter?
- I didn't see anything. - Where they coming from?
Who the hell is shooting at us?
Liberty-6, we got enemy tanks...
retreating grid 7-6...
- Patella, that one of our tanks? - Hard to tell.
Make it out, and fast!
Oh, shit! We're almost browning out.
Nat, what's happening?
Liberty-6, we got enemy tanks on our flank. We have contact.
This is Cougar-6.
Enemy tangos at phase line delta. Over.
- Patella, find me a target. - I think I got one, sir.
Do you or do you not have a target?
I think so!
Gunner, Sabot, tank.
Identify! Up!
Fire!
He just fired, sir.
They're firing at us!
- Loader! - Up, sir!
Fire!
Yeah! That's the one!
All right.
Sabre-6, we just lost Cougar-6.
- We got him. - Sabre, you just lit up a friendly!
I heard you! We... what?
Oh, my God.
You just lit up Boylar, goddamn it!
Sabre-6, Nat, what's happening?
Patella, was that one of our tanks?
He fired, sir.
At us or at the T-72s?
I don't know.
At us or at the T-72s?
I don't know!
Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.
Colonel Serling, report status now.
They have range on us, sir.
Sir!
Oh, Christ, Colonel...
I gave the order to fire.
So with your thermal equipment,
confused by burning tanks and smoke obscuring your visual ID,
you couldn't tell the difference between the T-54 and the Abrams.
I believe that, uh, we...
I should have known the difference,
even with the night scope.
If we weren't under attack,
But, under the circumstances, there was no way to tell the difference.
Under the circumstances,
I suppose there was no way to tell the difference, but...
There was no way to tell the difference.
Thank you, Colonel.
That's all we need.
We're almost browning out!
We got enemy tanks on our flank. We have contact.
Aah!
We just lost Cougar-6!
You just lit up a friendly!
Colonel Serling?
Yes.
You OK? Can I get you something?
Yes, I'm fine. Fine.
Uh, yes, you can get me a cup of coffee.
You got it.
We missed you and Meredith at Banacek's party last night.
I'm too old to dance with you youngsters.
Meredith's not, so tell her to come without you next time.
Oh, OK. I will do just that...
next time.
Colonel Serling.
- Hershberg in five. Coffee's coming. - Thanks.
Yes.
Washington Post?
About?
Yes, I was there.
That's a matter of public record.
Well, thank you very much, Mr...
Gartner. Thank you, Mr Gartner, but I have nothing to say.
No, sir.
No, sir!
Well, I'll do just that.
Right.
Colonel Serling's here, sir.
Ban.
I'm not talking to you. Won't even come to my anniversary party?
You and Sylvia have been together, what, one month?
The way she danced with that marine, it won't last another week.
It may be my last anniversary party.
Were you there for me?
What's up?
Hey, Nat.
I've got to talk to you.
How we holding, Ban?
Running late, sir.
- May I run a few things by you, sir? - Quickly.
Lieutenant Boylar's parents...
Boylar?
Tom Boylar. He died in Al Bathra.
He'd been with me a long time.
- From Virginia, right? - Roger that, sir.
His parents have written to me. They're hearing rumors.
You know we can't discuss it. You have to put them off.
- Yes, sir, but... - Tell them he died in action.
- He's a hero. That's all they want to know. - Roger, but it's not just his parents.
We got a call...
from the Washington Post.
A reporter named Gartner.
A reporter called you about Al Bathra?
You didn't talk?
Of course not.
Nobody will hang you out to dry. I won't let 'em.
Did you listen to the tape, sir?
Colonel, the war's over.
You and I have been given the great responsibility and privilege...
of investigating combat medals for our army.
In other words, we've been passed over.
I prefer to think of it as a second chance, Nat.
We understand each other?
Yes, sir.
OK.
The White House heard we're considering the Medal of Honour for a chopper pilot...
who saved some guys on a downed Blackhawk.
- Naturally they want it for Veterans Day. - Naturally.
Which is why you're taking over the inquiry.
We've got the rescued soldiers in there for debriefing.
Attention.
Morning. Take your seats.
Everything in order?
- Just going over the sequence of events. - Bring Colonel Serling up to speed.
Morning, sir.
Good to see you again.
Could we get a picture of you and the survivors?
No, thank you.
- Keep me in the loop. - Thank you, sir.
- Morning. - Morning.
Doug Bruno, White House. Do everything my way and we'll be fine.
Nat Serling.
I'll, uh, get out of your way.
- Major. - Sir.
25 February, these men were part of a refueling convoy.
Their Blackhawk was shot down by an SA-7 west of Al Kufan.
Five seconds after it locked on, we were down.
- We didn't know what hit us. - Our lines were surrounding them so fast,
we got caught in a pocket of resistance.
Iraqi ground troops on the ridge above kept them completely pinned down.
Did you discuss surrendering?
Yes, sir, we did.
We were all wounded one way or another.
We weren't trained for that kind of situation, sir.
Don't have to make excuses to me.
Go on, Sam.
That's all we got so far, sir.
OK.
- Lieutenant Chelli. - Yes, sir.
Well, as if things weren't bad enough already,
one of their T-54s...
joins the ragheads up on the ridge.
Incoming! Get down!
That round kills the medic, Relleno, Gerspach,
and, uh, Egan here lost his leg.
So we figure that's it. We're dead.
But then we hear it.
Nothing like the sound of an inbound Huey.
Yeah!
This Huey, did it take any fire?
Right off the bat.
But this time when the Huey comes back, it returns fire.
Ground troops go for cover.
Then the Huey circles back over the tank...
That's when they threw something overboard.
- Threw something, or something fell off? - I couldn't tell, but the tank blew.
Oh!
Yeah!
Man, did it ever blow!
We, uh, we never did see what knocked the Huey down.
We couldn't see the crash.
That night we caught sporadic ground fire.
The Huey was down below, between us and the enemy,
so they caught most of it.
Any communications between you and them?
No, sir. As I said, our radio was wasted.
Shouting just draws enemy fire.
So the Iraqis, they start to close in on the Huey...
under cover fire,
and the Huey returns fire.
We figure it's all over, and that's when we hear the rescue team.
Cobras, Hueys...
And a big-ass A-10 Thunderbolt.
I swear I never heard such a sweet sound.
But now the fuckers are...
I'm sorry, sir.
The Iraqis are letting loose with all they got.
You were right the first time.
Plus the Huey crew is still banging away.
We load our wounded aboard,
and that's when somebody decided to leave the dead.
I guess it was the commander of the rescue.
Mm-hmm.
And this... Huey crew,
they, uh, they returned fire all through the final rescue?
Yes, sir. I... I think so.
I couldn't see much, though.
I heard it.
Nothing else sounds like an M-16. Not no A-K or M-60.
I heard it, too.
The last thing we see is the Thunderbolt dropping napalm on the downed choppers.
I don't know if it was Captain Walden...
but that Huey...
saved our lives.
It sure sounds like it.
OK.
Thank you for your help. I'll look over your statements.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Colonel.
That'll be all.
- Got something for me? - I do, sir.
Walden's 201 file. Evaluation reports.
You know I'm going to need background on these guys.
Make sure we don't have a wife-beater or an illegal alien or gays.
That'll blow it.
About this Congressional Medal of Honour.
It's not the Congressional Medal of Honour. It's just the Medal of Honour.
Tell that to Congress.
If Captain Walden wins this medal...
You don't win it. You, uh, receive it.
It's not a contest.
But that is perfect. That is why I'm here.
I'm not here to get down your throat, make you crazy,
take these facts and twist them.
I just want to get these nuances out of your head and to get it straight from you.
- It's a woman. - You didn't know?
What did you think the hoopla was about?
Banacek's got information on three of Walden's men.
- The crew chief we're still tracking. - This is Captain Karen Emma Walden.
She's the first woman ever to be nominated for a Medal of Honour for combat.
I mean, this is gold.
It's gold.
Unfortunately it's posthumous,
but I've got her little daughter.
I got the President of the United States.
It's all set in the Rose Garden.
The President's going to lean down and hang that ribbon round that pretty face.
There is not going to be a dry eye from Nashua to Sacramento.
Excuse us.
OK, it was 5 to 1,
hook shot.
Me and her are cheerleaders.
- More mashed potatoes. - Sorry, no more potatoes,
but how about some bread?
Aah!
Daddy, can I have your mashed potatoes?
Daddy?
Sir?
Can I have your mashed potatoes?
M... Yeah. Sure.
Yeah,
soldier.
You want 'em all?
That enough?
More?
Hello?
Yes.
Uh, who is calling, please?
Just a minute.
It's for you.
Who is it?
Somebody Gartner.
Want some more peas?
Excuse me.
Where are you going?
Fort Hood.
General Hershberg's got me investigating a Medal of Honour.
It's a woman.
Good for her.
Posthumous.
Too bad, but still good for her.
Mmm. Too bad.
You talk to the investigators today?
Right.
It's all right, isn't it, Nat?
Yeah. Fine.
How long are you gone for?
Couple of days.
Then why are you emptying your sock drawer?
I may be gone more than a couple of days.
Nat.
Yes.
I don't know what's happening.
Everything's fine.
I'm handling it.
Mr. Rady, you were Captain Walden's copilot.
That's right.
Can you tell me what you remember about Al Kufan?
I remember the earth.
I remember... Ilario's face.
I wish...
- She hadn't needed to be a hero so bad. - That's not fair.
We were just doing our job.
It's not Ren's fault I got hit.
She sure as hell saved the lives of those guys on the Blackhawk.
- You always defend her. - Why didn't you like her?
She was so butch.
Honey, shut up.
She was, you know.
One of those women who want to be officers...
Annie, shut up.
She gave her life for those men.
She was a soldier.
There she blows.
- We're taking fire! - Holy shit!
- Kill that motherfucker, Monfriez! - I may as well be pissing on him.
- We need a fucking air strike! - We got no fucking bomb!
- Making another pass, Ren? - Yep.
No! We should go for altitude, and call for support.
After we slow down that tank!
- How we gonna do that? - Shut up and listen, soldier!
Altameyer, unhook the aux fuel bladder port side.
Get ready to push it overboard.
Push it overboard, ma'am?
Ilario, unhook the flare gun!
What the fuck...
Do it!
It's a bomb, asshole!
Target coming up!
Gimme more!
Ready here!
- Got it? - I got it!
- Tell us when you're there! He'll kick it! - Allow for the speed of the craft!
- The pod will drop at the same velocity! - He knows.
Pick your moment!
Now!
Oh, my God!
Oh!
Whoa! Shit!
Whoa! Oh, God!
Hang on, Ilario! Grab a hold of me!
Don't let go of me! Pull me in!
Hang on. Come on, Ilario! Pull yourself up!
Do something!
No! No! Rady, call in a Mayday!
Ilario, call it in!
Mayday! Dustoff-3... we are going down!
Mayday! Mayday! This is Dustoff-3!
We're going down! Mayday! Mayday!
This is Dustoff-3!
We're going down! We're going down!
Mayday! Mayday! This is Dustoff-3!
We are going down!
Mayday! Mayday! This is Dustoff-3! We're going down! We're going down!
We're going down! Oh, my God...
That's it.
I woke up three days later on a hospital ship.
Nearly bought it, that's sure.
When did you decide the type of career in the Army you wanted?
That happened about my third year at West Point when I was...
I could have gone in the Air Force.
I stood high enough in my class.
You can't get away from that guy. He's everywhere.
- Hell of a soldier, though. - You think so?
I know so.
Really. How?
I was with him in the Gulf.
No shit.
- Doing what? - Armoured cavalry.
Hu-ah.
Once upon a time, I was humping in the delta.
- With who? - The 9th.
- You kicked some serious butt. - That's right.
- One for my friend... - Colonel Nat Serling.
Make it a double for Colonel Serling. Tony Gartner, Washington Post.
They won't find any criminal culpability in the Al Bathra incident.
You got nothing to worry about.
Those were my men.
I put that badly. I'm sorry.
Look, I went to Virginia and spoke with Mr and Mrs. Boylar.
You what?
I'm sorry, but they got a right to know what happened to their son.
I'll take that.
And this Huey crew, they, uh, returned fire all through the final rescue?
Yes, sir. I think so.
I couldn't see much.
I heard it. Nothing else sounds like an M-16.
Not no A-K or M-60.
I heard it, too.
Last thing we see is the Thunderbolt dropping napalm...
on the two downed choppers.
Oh!
Sir!
All right, this is antifungal cream,
but to kill the athlete's foot when you're in the shower, just piss on your feet.
That's disgusting.
What've you got for me today?
You want to get rid of the allergies to bee pollen, then no caffeine, no chocolate.
Jesus. I give up coffee, you can bury me now.
- Morning, Colonel. - Morning. You got some aspirins?
How many do you want?
I take eight every day.
Four's good.
- I need to talk to you, Specialist. - Sir?
I'm investigating the recommendation to award a Medal of Honour to Captain Walden.
Rowtero?
Yeah?
Can you cover for me?
I'm going to go feed the cancer genes.
Do you really need to, uh, I mean...
It's fine.
Uh, what do you want to know?
How long were you with Captain Walden?
Um... over... over two years.
Quite a long time.
Yeah.
You were her medic.
Yes, sir.
I don't fly any more though.
Well, don't miss it, do you?
Never.
Never again.
That's quite a habit you got.
Yeah, it's, uh...
one of the few things I can call my own.
So...
tell me what happened at Al Kufan.
See, I'd, uh...
I'd never been in... in combat.
Mayday! Mayday! This is Dustoff-3!
We're going down! Mayday! This is Dustoff-3...
Ilario?
Yeah, I'm OK.
Rady's hurt.
Monfriez?
100%.
Altameyer?
Functioning.
Fire in the hold!
Come here, buddy.
This is Dustoff-3.
Acknowledge.
This is Dustoff-3.
Here. Come on.
This is Dustoff-3.
Come on.
Dustoff-3. Acknowledge. Altameyer, how's that fire?
Under control. Fuel tank's intact.
Enemy at the back door!
Come on! Come on!
Monfriez, get that saw working!
Come on! Get down!
I've got the M-16!
Ilario?
He's bad. It's the lung.
We gotta get him out of here.
- Head wound? - Superficial. How's the radio?
Dead. So is the ADT.
Monfriez, easy on the ammo!
We might be here a while!
Captain!
You've seen me do this a million times. You'll be fine.
Ammo?
I got this belt and three more boxes.
OK, Altameyer, rip out everything you can from the inside.
We're gonna make a perimeter.
Monfriez, cover us!
Go!
Where's our Kevlar?
I got one!
Well, put it on!
Unh. How's he doing?
He's the same.
I need a hook.
As soon as it gets dark, we dig in.
Then we wait.
For what?
For the good guys.
You won't think it's so funny when I nail your fucking ass!
Yeah, they were laughing.
You about, uh... You done?
So tell me what happened...
during the night.
You were there. You saw the nights.
You know, just... it was black.
Just... black.
Tell me what happened that night.
Well, she put us on two-hour watches.
Um... it's not like any of us were going to sleep anyway.
Head down, Altameyer. You might lose it.
You OK, Captain?
Shit in my eye.
Will our guys come tonight?
They'll be here.
Dust is blowing pretty bad.
I don't know how much longer Rady can hang on.
I can hear the ragheads when you're not gabbing.
Then I'd suggest everybody just...
They're going away.
It was just a probe.
Ilario?
I'm OK.
Altameyer?
My ear!
Monfriez?
I... I took one.
- Rady? - Hanging in. How about you, Cap?
Unh...
Oh, shit.
Stay with Rady.
I like to come here.
It's not just the bikinis, although they ain't bad.
It's these kids.
I like to watch them, you know?
My folks had this place out on Calaveras Lake.
I still go there sometimes, watch 'em dive.
They do the damnedest things.
They never think about the consequences.
Imagine that.
Imagine not thinking about the consequences?
Imagine that.
Are... are we done?
After the attack...
during the night...
What?
I mean, we waited.
I... I still don't...
- I... I don't know what you... - Just go on with what happened.
Well, Karen, the captain, uh, was hurt pretty bad.
Ohh...
Unh...
Unh!
How many rounds left?
Just a sec.
How many rounds?
I just opened my last can of ammo.
Five mags for the M-16,
9- mil's full.
Mine's empty.
Fire a couple of rounds off.
- Let 'em know we're still alive. - Roger that, Captain.
Now save your ammo for something you can see.
During the course of the incident, did she display any doubt, any fear...
when she had to make these life-and-death decisions?
No.
No. Never.
She just made 'em.
Just like that?
Just like that.
Karen, the captain... she had this quality.
The heavier the pressure, the calmer she got.
We knew they were out there,
sneaking up on us.
But we also knew at first light they were going to attack.
I don't know why people think only good things happen when the sun rises.
Incoming!
How many?
100. Maybe more.
Any good at hand-to-hand?
Wait till they get closer.
Make every round count!
- Shit! - Quiet!
What in Christ for?
They know we're here!
Quiet! I hear something!
Choppers!
Hey!
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Go! Go!
Yeah!
Let's get out of here!
Ilario, get the captain!
There's the rescue!
Help Rady!
Pick him up!
Go! Let's go! Let go! Let's go!
Come on! Let's move! Move it!
Gotta go! We gotta go!
Come back for me with a stretcher!
Go!
Ilario, let's get the fuck outta here!
Get the fuck outta here!
Aah!
Medic!
Come on! Get him up!
Move! Come on! Let's go!
Where's Walden?
Captain Walden is dead.
Strike leader, this is Dustoff-6.
We have all the friendlies. You're clear and hot.
Roger, Dustoff-6. Going on down.
So...
Is she gonna get it? Is she gonna get the medal?
Well, I sincerely hope so.
I just... I don't want to tell that story again.
Not one more time.
Yeah, I understand.
May I be excused?
Yes, you can.
Oh, one more thing I'm confused about.
This M-16...
What?
Did it run out of ammo?
Uh, what did I say?
I don't remember. That's why I'm asking.
I guess, uh...
I guess it ran out of ammo some time during the morning.
Um...
Or, no, some time during the night...
I don't know.
See, the Blackhawk crew said they heard M-16 fire...
during the rescue that morning.
Did they?
That's right.
Must've been wrong, then.
Them or you?
Who, them or you?
Oh, them. Them, yeah.
No, they must have been wrong.
OK.
What about the letter?
A what?
You and Walden traded letters to send home in case anything happened to you.
Oh, yeah. Yes, sir.
So, who was hers to?
Her folks.
- So you sent it? - Yeah.
Her folks, they're good people.
They got a farm out in Abilene.
They'd come to Hood, look after her kid while we went out on exercises.
Yeah... Yeah.
OK.
Thank you, Specialist.
Thank you very much, sir.
I read somewhere...
that if a child doesn't see a person die,
or dead, like in a casket,
that the person isn't really dead for them.
That'd be nice, wouldn't it?
Yes, ma'am.
It was, uh... unusual, wasn't it,
for Karen to want to be a helicopter pilot?
I guess that's my fault.
I took her to the fair when she was 11.
12- 7th grade.
Anyway, there was a helicopter there.
Small one with a bubble up front.
The fella... the pilot was selling rides.
I bought Karen a ticket.
It was a short ride.
But when she came down...
Well, I don't think she ever came down, actually.
She showed up at the dinner table one day,
just after she finished TCU.
She's joined the Army.
She wants to fly helicopters.
She's real stubborn about it, too.
That's our Karen, you know, stubborn.
So is Anne Marie here.
Come here, honey.
Excuse me.
Uh, the young men,
the ones that came to tell us about Karen...
they were dressed just like you.
Oh, I see.
Major Teegarden,
her commanding officer, he came, too, when he came back from the Gulf.
Brought this photo back for Anne Marie.
Meant a lot to us...
him coming to see us,
telling us in person how Karen died.
I lost men over there, too.
I spoke to the major.
Everybody thought the world of your daughter. So did Specialist Ilario.
It would sure help if I could see her letter.
I mean, if it's not too private.
Letter?
From Ilario?
I'll check my notes. Must be my mistake.
This her husband here?
No. That's Karen's older brother Billy.
Her husband's up in Michigan.
He and Karen divorced after only a year or so.
He never... well, it was no picnic.
Karen raised Anne Marie on her own.
We'd have been thrilled to have Anne Marie with us all the time,
what with the Army and all.
But Karen was a real good mom.
Never asked for help unless she really needed it.
You can't imagine how hard it was for her...
to go off and leave that little girl to fight in a war,
but it was important to Karen to do her duty.
So she went.
You've been out here 20 minutes since I spotted you.
- How much longer before that? - 15.
I see you, uh...
got the new refrigerator.
Do you think the kids will understand why their daddy is out here in a Chevy...
instead of playing with them in the front yard?
Or at Fort Hood, like you told me you were?
Are you back?
I'm in transit.
You know, Nat, it took me a long time...
to figure out how to be an Army wife without obliterating myself.
It wasn't easy, but I did it.
I know you did, Mer.
So it wouldn't be a hardship for me...
to learn how not to be an Army wife...
if my husband wasn't in the Army any more.
The Army's my life, Mer.
And so are we.
You don't have to figure it all out, Nat.
You just have to admit that you can't.
You have to want to be here with us,
that's all.
We'll be here.
For a while.
Now go away.
If you're not going to stay, I don't want the kids to see you.
This M-16, did it run out of ammo?
Yes, sir?
- Colonel Serling, you can go in now. - I don't remember...
Hey, Nat, what's up?
General.
It's the Walden file, sir. One or two discrepancies.
Discrepancies?
Yes, sir.
I knew those White House clowns were up to something.
- If she doesn't deserve it, she won't get it. - It's not Captain Walden, sir.
It's some of the details of the stories I'm getting from her crew.
- I don't know how significant... - I'm drowning in paper here.
They're crawling all over my ass for combat assessments,
Sir, I just wanted to let you know this is not a rubber-stamp situation, that's all.
Now, this specialist, uh, Ilario, there's something funny about his story.
We're not giving the medal to Ilario. We're giving it to Walden.
Roger.
Splendid. Move forward.
OK. The discrepancies specifically relate to... use of an M-16 rifle...
Come on, Nat! No two eyewitnesses ever agree on every detail.
You know that as well as I do.
When do we get that report?
I want the White House off my back.
A few days, sir.
You agree that this report should be as detailed and accurate as possible?
Which means exactly what, Colonel?
Which means exactly what I said, sir.
Sorry, sir. This is the second copy of Colonel Serling's Al Bathra deposition.
The investigator seemed to have misplaced the last one.
Rise above.
This will all be over soon.
Will there be a public statement of the facts...
when the investigation is over, sir?
There's been a decision not to release any findings until every case...
has been thoroughly reviewed.
Well, how long do you imagine that will be, sir?
I mean, next time I see Lieutenant Boylar's parents, I'd like to tell them the whole truth.
You know how many grieving parents I had to deal with during Vietnam?
This is not Vietnam.
Lieutenant Boylar's tank was hit by uranium-depleted shells.
We're the only country in the world that uses them.
We got reporters from the Washington Post looking for the truth,
and the only person that knows it can't say it...
because these investigators are dragging their backsides!
Someone has got to be accountable for this, sir.
Take a seat.
Nat, I'm going to give you all the rope in the world.
First you imply I'm not interested...
in an accurate report on Captain Walden.
Now you're suggesting there must be some cover-up going on about Al Bathra.
So how do you want me to respond?
As your commanding officer,
or as your friend who nursed you, pushed promotions,
and fucking burped your kids at their baptisms?
Just how should I respond?
I'm sorry, sir.
I should hope by God you would be.
Now,
losing a man like your friend Boylar,
I've been there.
Well, this...
whole mess...
It's my ass on the line right there beside yours.
I can feel the chill in the air as well as you can.
Yes, sir.
And I know about the drinking.
And if I have to write you up,
it'll just be one more bite out of your record.
Clean it up.
Get yourself in a program.
I'll be looking for that report.
Soon.
- Yes, this is the Serling residence. - We're not in right now...
- But at the tone, leave a message and... - We'll call you when we get home.