A Few Good Men Quotes

A Few Good Men is a television program that was first aired in 1970 . A Few Good Men ended in 1970.

It features Rob Reiner, David Brown, and Andrew Scheinman as producer, Marc Shaiman in charge of musical score, and Robert Richardson (cinematographer) as head of cinematography.

A Few Good Men is recorded in English and originally aired in United States. Each episode of A Few Good Men is 138 minutes long. A Few Good Men is distributed by Columbia Pictures.

The cast includes: J. A. Preston as Judge Randolph, James Marshall as Downey, Wolfgang Bodison as Dawson, J. T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson, Noah Wyle as Barnes, Christopher Guest as Tom, Xander Berkeley as Capt. Whitaker, and Christopher Guest as Dr. Stone.

A Few Good Men Quotes

J. T. Walsh as Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson

• (J. T. Walsh) "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Santiago, I was William's executive officer. I knew your son vaguely, which is to say I knew his name. In a matter of time, the trial of the two men charged with your son's death will be concluded, and seven men and two women whom you've never met will try to offer you an explanation as to why William is dead. For my part, I've done as much as I can to bring the truth to light. And the truth is this: Your son is dead for only one reason. I wasn't strong enough to stop it. Always, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson, United States Marine Corps."

• (Col. Jessup) "Nathan Jessup, come on in"
• (Kaffee) "thank you sir, I'm Daniel Kaffee. I'm the attorney for Dawson and Downey."
• (Col. Jessup) "pleasure"
• (Kaffee) "This Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway."
• (Col. Jessup) "pleasure meeting you Commander."
• (Galloway) "Colonel"
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant Sam Weinberg, he'll be assisting"
• (Lt. Weinberg) "sir"
• (Col. Jessup) "this is my XO Colonel Markinson and platoon leader Lieutenant Kendrick, I've asked them to join us, sit down, please"
• (J. T. Walsh) "Lieutenant Kaffee"
• (Kaffee) "Colonel Markinson"
• (J. T. Walsh) "I had the pleasure of meeting your father once. I was a teenager, he spoke at my high school"
• (Col. Jessup) "Lionel Kaffee?"
• (Kaffee) "yes sir"
• (Col. Jessup) "well what'd you know? This man's dad once made a lot of enemies in your neck of the woods. Jefferson versus Madison County School District. Folks down there said a little black girl couldn't go to an all white school. Lionel Kaffee said "well, we'll just see about that.""

• (Col. Jessup) "Matthew, sit down, please."
• (Col. Jessup) "What do you think of Kendrick?"
• (J. T. Walsh) "Nathan, I don't think that my opinion of Kendrick has any --"
• (Col. Jessup) "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 quite up to the job and shipping him off to another assignment, puts lives in danger."
• (Col. Jessup) "Matthew, siddown."
• (Col. Jessup) "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 of command 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 s***. We're in the business of saving lives, Lieutenant Colonel Markinson. Don't ever question my orders in front of another officer."

• (Kaffee) "there was no flight out at eleven o'clock, what the f*** are you trying to pull?"
• (J. T. Walsh) "first flight stateside left Guantanamo Bay at twenty three hundred, it arrived at Andrews Air Force base in Maryland a few minutes past two"
• (Kaffee) "then why isn't it listed in the tower's chief log?"
• (J. T. Walsh) "Jessup"
• (Kaffee) "what're telling me? He fixed the log book?"
• (Kaffee) "maybe he can make it that one didn't take off but I can sure as hell prove one landed. I'm going to get the log book from Andrews"
• (J. T. Walsh) "you're not going to find anything in the Andrews log book either"
• (Kaffee) "he can make an entire flight disappear?"
• (J. T. Walsh) "Nathan Jessup was about to be appointed Director of Operations for the National Security Council. You don't get to that position without knowing how to "sidestep a few landmines""
• (Kaffee) "his not going to be able to "sidestep" you"
• (J. T. Walsh) "you don't still intend to put me on the stand?"
• (Kaffee) "Thursday morning ten o'clock"

Wolfgang Bodison as Dawson

• (Kaffee) "Did she put you up to this?"
• (Galloway) "No."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "We have a code sir --"
• (Kaffee) "Oh well, zip a dee doo dah you and your code, plea not guilty, you will be in jail for the rest of your life."
• (Kaffee) "I'm telling you you'll be home in six months, do it, six months, it's nothing, it's a hockey season."

• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Do you think we were right?"
• (Kaffee) "It doesn't matter --"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "DO YOU THINK WE WERE RIGHT?"
• (Kaffee) "I think you'd lose."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "You're such a coward, I can't believe they let you wear a uniform."

• (Kaffee) "if Santiago didn't anything on you, why did you give him a code red?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "because he broke the chain of command sir"
• (Kaffee) "he what?"
• (Kaffee) "he went outside of his unit sir, if he had a problem, he should've spoken to me sir."

• (Kaffee) "Did you assault Santiago with the intent of killing him?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "No, sir."
• (Kaffee) "What was your intent?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "To train him, sir."
• (Kaffee) "To train him to do what?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "To train him to think of the unit before himself. To respect the code."
• (Kaffee) "What's the code?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Unit. Corps. God. Country."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "I beg your pardon?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Unit. Corps. God. Country. Sir."
• (Kaffee) "The government of the United States wants to charge you two with murder. And you want me to go to the prosecutor with unit, corps, God, country?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "That's our code, sir."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "It's a code."
• (Kaffee) "We'll be back. You guys need anything? Books, papers, cigarettes, ham sandwich?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Sir, no thank you, sir."
• (Kaffee) "Harold, I think there's a concept that you'd better start warming up to."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Sir?"
• (Kaffee) "I'm the only friend you've got."

• (Lt. Weinberg) "on the night of August 2nd, did you fire a shot across the fence line into Cuba?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "yes sir"
• (Lt. Weinberg) "why?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "my "mirror" engaged, sir"
• (Kaffee) "his mirror"?"
• (Lt. Weinberg) "for every American century post there's a Cuban counterpart, they're called "mirrors. "Lance Corporal is claiming his mirror was about to fire at him"
• (Kaffee) "Santiago's letter to the NIS said you fired illegally, he's saying that guy, the "mirror," he never made a move."

• (Kaffee) "Harold."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Sir?"
• (Kaffee) "You don't need to wear a patch on your arm to have honor."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Ten-hut."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "There's an officer on deck."

• (Kaffee) "This your signature?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Yes, sir."
• (Kaffee) "You don't have to call me "sir.""
• (Kaffee) "Is this your signature?"
• (James Marshall) "Sir, yes, sir."
• (Kaffee) "You certainly don't need to do it twice in one sentence."

J. A. Preston as Judge Randolph

• (Kaffee) "Is this funny, sir?"
• (Col. Jessup) "No, it isn't. It's tragic."
• (Kaffee) "Do you have an answer to the question, Colonel?"
• (Col. Jessup) "Absolutely. My answer is I don't have the first damn clue. Maybe he was an early riser and liked to pack in the morning. 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 foot lockers? Please tell me that you have something more, Lieutenant. These two Marines are on trial for their lives. Please tell me their lawyer hasn't pinned their hopes to a phone bill."
• (Col. Jessup) "Do you have any more questions for me, Counselor?"
• (J. A. Preston) "Lt. Kaffee?"
• (J. A. Preston) "Lieutenant, do you have anything further for this witness?"
• (Col. Jessup) "Thanks, Danny. I love Washington."
• (Kaffee) "Excuse me. I didn't dismiss you."
• (Col. Jessup) "I beg your pardon?"
• (Kaffee) "I'm not through with my examination. Sit down."
• (Col. Jessup) "Colonel."
• (Kaffee) "What's that?"
• (Col. Jessup) "I would appreciate it if you would address me as "Colonel" or "Sir." I believe I've earned it."
• (J. A. Preston) "Defense counsel will address the witness as "Colonel" or "Sir.""
• (Col. Jessup) "I don't know what the hell kind of unit you're running here."
• (Col. Jessup) "And the witness will address this court as "Judge" or "Your Honor." I'm quite certain I've earned it. Take your seat, Colonel."

• (J. A. Preston) "Consider yourself in contempt."
• (Kaffee) "Colonel Jessup, did you order the Code Red?"
• (J. A. Preston) "You don't have to answer that question."
• (Col. Jessup) "I'll answer the question."
• (Col. Jessup) "You want answers?"
• (Kaffee) "I think I'm entitled to."
• (Col. Jessep) "You want answers?"
• (Kaffee) "I WANT THE TRUTH."
• (Col. Jessup) "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH."
• (Col. Jessup) "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 could 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 on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them 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 that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather 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 are entitled to."
• (Kaffee) "Did you order the code red?"
• (Col. Jessup) "I did the job I --"
• (Kaffee) "Did you order the Code Red?"
• (Col. Jessup) "You're God damn right I did."

• (Capt. Ross) "Docket number 411275 VR-5. The United States versus Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey. The accused are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conduct of a United States Marine"
• (J. A. Preston) "does the defense wish to enter a plea?"
• (Kaffee) "yeah, they're not guilty"
• (J. A. Preston) "enter a plea of not guilty for the accused, we will adjourn until ten hundred, three weeks from today, at which this general court martial will reconvene"

• (Kaffee) "Colonel, the 6 a.m. was first flight off the base?"
• (Col. Jessup) "Yes."
• (Kaffee) "There wasn't a flight that left seven hours earlier and landed at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m.?"
• (J. A. Preston) "Lieutenant, I think we've covered this, haven't we?"
• (Kaffee) "Your Honor, these are the tower chief's logs for both Guantanamo Bay and Andrews Air Force Base. The Guantanamo log lists no flight leaving at 11 pm and the Andrews log lists no flight arriving at 2 am. I'd like to submit these as defense exhibits Alpha and Bravo."
• (J. A. Preston) "I don't understand. You're submitting evidence of a flight that never existed."
• (Kaffee) "Oh, we believe it did, sir."

• (Kaffee) "Lt. Kendrick, was Lance Corporal Dawson given a below average rating on this last report because you learned he had been sneaking food to Private Bell?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Object."
• (J. A. Preston) "Not so fast. Lieutenant?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Lance Corporal Dawson was given a below average rating because he had committed a crime."
• (Kaffee) "A crime? What crime did he commit? Lieutenant Kendrick, Dawson brought a hungry guy some food. What crime did he commit?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "He disobeyed an order."
• (Kaffee) "And because he did, because he exercised his own set of values, because he made a decision about the welfare of a Marine that was in conflict with an order of yours, he was punished. Is that right?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Lance Corporal Dawson disobeyed an order."
• (Kaffee) "Yeah, but it wasn't a real order, was it? After all, it's peace time. He wasn't being asked to secure a hill or advance on a beachhead. I mean, surely a Marine of Dawson's intelligence can be trusted to determine on his own which are the really important orders and which orders might, say, be morally questionable? Lieutenant Kendrick, can he? Can Dawson determine on his own which orders he's going to follow?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "No, he cannot."
• (Kaffee) "A lesson he learned after the Curtis Bell incident, am I right?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I would think so."
• (Kaffee) "You know so, don't you, Lieutenant?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Object."
• (J. A. Preston) "Sustained."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant Kendrick, one final question. If you had ordered Dawson to give Santiago a code red --"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I specifically ordered those men not to touch Santiago."
• (Kaffee) "Is it reasonable to think he would've disobeyed you again?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Lieutenant, don't answer that."
• (Kaffee) "You don't have to. I'm through."
• (Capt. Ross) "Lieutenant Kendrick, did you order Lance Corporal Dawson and Private Downey to give Willie Santiago a code red?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Lieutenant Kendrick, did you --"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "No, I did not."
• (Capt. Ross) "Thank you."

• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant Kendrick, in your opinion was Private Santiago a good Marine?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I would say he was about average."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, you signed three Proficiency and Conduct reports on Santiago, and in all three reports, you indicate a rating of below average."
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, Private Santiago was below average. I did not see the need to trample on a man's grave."
• (Kaffee) "Well, we appreciate that, but you are under oath now, and I think as unpleasant as it may be, we'd all just as soon hear the truth."
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I am aware of my oath."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, these are the last three Pro-Con reports you signed for Lance Corporal Dawson. Dawson received two marks of exceptional, but on this most recent report dated June 9th of this year, he received a rating of below average. It's this last report I'd like to discuss for a moment."
• (Lt. Kendrick) "That would be fine."
• (Kaffee) "Lance Corporal Dawson's ranking after the school of infantry was perfect. Records indicate that more than half that class has since been promoted to full Corporal while Dawson has remained a Lance Corporal. Was Dawson's promotion held up because of this last report?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I'm sure it was."
• (Kaffee) "Do you recall why Dawson was given such a poor grade on this last report?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I'm sure I don't. I have many men in my charge, Lieutenant. I write many reports."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, do you recall an incident involving a PFC Curtis Bell who had been found stealing liquor from the Officer's Club?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, I do."
• (Kaffee) "Did you report Private Bell to the proper authorities?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I have two books at my bedside, Lieutenant: the Marine Corps Code of Conduct and the King James Bible. The only proper authorities I am aware of are my commanding officer, Colonel Nathan R. Jessup, and the Lord, our God."
• (Kaffee) "At your request, Lieutenant, I can have the record reflect your lack of acknowledgment of this court as a proper authority."
• (Capt. Ross) "Objection. Argumentative."
• (J. A. Preston) "Sustained. Watch yourself, Counselor."
• (Kaffee) "Did you report Private Bell to your superiors?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "I remember thinking very highly of Private Bell, of not wanted to see his record tarnished by a formal charge."
• (Kaffee) "You preferred that it be handled within the unit."
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, I most certainly did."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, do you know what a Code Red is?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, I do."

• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, do you know what a code red is?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, I do."
• (Kaffee) "Have you ever ordered a code red?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "No, I have not."
• (Kaffee) "Lieutenant, did you order Dawson and two other men to make sure that Private Bell receive no food or drink except water for a period of seven days?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "That is a distortion of the truth, Lieutenant. Private Bell was placed on barracks restriction. He was given water and vitamin supplements, and I can assure you that at no time was his health in danger."
• (Kaffee) "I'm sure it was lovely for Private Bell. But you did order the barracks restriction, didn't you? You did order the denial of food."
• (Lt. Kendrick) "Yes, I did."
• (Kaffee) "Wouldn't this form of discipline be considered a code red?"
• (Lt. Kendrick) "No."
• (Kaffee) "If I called the other 478 Marines from Guantanamo Bay to testify, would they consider it a code red?"
• (Capt. Ross) "If it please the court, the witness can't possibly testify as to what 478 other men would say. Now, we object to this entire line of questioning as argumentative and irrelevant badgering of the witness."
• (J. A. Preston) "The government's objection is sustained, Lieutenant Kaffee, and I would remind you that you are now questioning a Marine officer with an impeccable service record."
• (Capt. Ross) "Thank you, Your Honor."

• (Capt. Ross) "Why did you go into Santiago's room?"
• (Galloway) "The witness has rights."
• (Capt. Ross) "The witness has been read his rights, Commander."
• (J. A. Preston) "The question will be repeated."
• (Galloway) "Your Honor."
• (Capt. Ross) "Why did you go into Santiago's room?"
• (James Marshall) "Hal?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Did Lance Corporal Dawson tell you to give Santiago a Code Red?"
• (James Marshall) "Hal?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Don't look at him."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Hal?"
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Private, answer the captain's question."
• (James Marshall) "Yes, Captain, I was given an order by my squad leader, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson, United States Marine Corps, and I followed it."

• (Capt. Ross) "were you present at a meeting held on the afternoon of September sixth with the members of the second platoon?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "yes sir"
• (Capt. Ross) "would you tell the court the substance of that meeting?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "Lieutenant Kendrick told us we had a informer in our group, that Private Santiago had gone outside the chain of command and reported to the NIS a member of our platoon"
• (Capt. Ross) "did that make you mad?"
• (Capt. Ross) "you can tell the truth Corporal, it's alright, did that make you mad?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "yes sir"
• (Capt. Ross) "how mad?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "Private Santiago betrayed a code we believe in very deeply sir"
• (Capt. Ross) "were the other members of the squad angry?"
• (Kaffee) "object, speculation"
• (Capt. Ross) "were Dawson and Downey?"
• (Kaffee) "please the court, is the government counsel honestly asking this witness to testify to as to how my clients felt on September sixth?"
• (J. A. Preston) "sustained"
• (Capt. Ross) "Corporal, did Lieutenant Kendrick leave a standing order at that meeting?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "yes sir"
• (Capt. Ross) "what was it?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "well it was clear that he didn't want us taking matters in our own hands"
• (Capt. Ross) "what was the order?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "Sir, he said Santiago wasn't to be touched."
• (Capt. Ross) "your witness"
• (Kaffee) "were you in Dawson and Downey's room five minutes after this meeting?"
• (Cpl. Carl Hammaker) "no, sir"
• (Kaffee) "thanks, I have no more questions."

• (J. A. Preston) "Lance Corporal Dawson, Private First Class Downey."
• (J. A. Preston) "On the charge of murder, the members find the accused not guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to commit murder, the members find the accused not guilty. On the charge of conduct unbecoming a United States Marine, the members find the accused guilty as charged. The accused are hereby sentenced to time already served, and you are ordered to be dishonorably discharged from the Marine Corps. This court martial is adjourned."
• (Bailiff) "All rise."
• (James Marshall) "What does that mean?"

• (Kaffee) "Colonel, Lt. Kendrick ordered the Code Red because that's what you told Lt. Kendrick to do."
• (Capt. Ross) "Object."
• (J. A. Preston) "Sustained."
• (Kaffee) "And when it went bad, you cut these guys loose."
• (Capt. Ross) "Your honor."
• (Kaffee) "You doctored the log book --."
• (Capt. Ross) "Damn it, Kaffee."

• (Col. Jessup) "What is this? What's going on? I did my job, I'd do it again."
• (Col. Jessup) "I'm gonna get on a plane and go on back to my base."
• (J. A. Preston) "You're not going anywhere, Colonel. MP's -- guard the Colonel."
• (J. A. Preston) "Captain Ross?"
• (Col. Jessup) "What the hell is this?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Colonel Jessup, you have the right to remain silent. Any statement you make --"
• (Col. Jessup) "I'm being charged with a crime? Is that what this is? I'm being charged with a crime? This is funny. That's what this is. This is --"
• (Col. Jessup) "-- I'm gonna rip the eyes out of your head and piss into your dead skull. You f***ed with the wrong Marine."
• (Capt. Ross) "Colonel Jessup. Do you understand these rights as I have just read them to you?"
• (Col. Jessup) "You f***in' 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's lives in danger. Sweet dreams, son."
• (Kaffee) "Don't call me son. I'm a lawyer, and an officer in the United States Navy, and you're under arrest you son of a bitch."
• (Kaffee) "The witness is excused."

Noah Wyle as Barnes

• (Kaffee) "Whoa. Hold it. We gotta take a boat?"
• (Noah Wyle) "Yes, sir. To get to the other side of the bay."
• (Kaffee) "Nobody said anything about a boat."
• (Noah Wyle) "Is there a problem, sir?"
• (Kaffee) "No, no problem. I'm just not that crazy about boats, that's all."
• (Galloway) "Jesus Christ, Kaffee, you're in the Navy for crying out loud."
• (Kaffee) "Nobody likes her very much."
• (Noah Wyle) "Yes, sir."

• (Noah Wyle) "because Dawson would kick my butt sir"
• (Kaffee) "fair enough"

• (Noah Wyle) "I've got some camouflage jackets in the Jeep, sirs, I suggest you both put them on."
• (Kaffee) "Camouflage jackets?"
• (Noah Wyle) "Yes sir, we'll be riding pretty close to the fence line. The Cubans see an officer wearing white, they think it might be someone they'd wanna take a shot at."
• (Kaffee) "Good call, Sam."

James Marshall as Downey

• (James Marshall) "I don't understand -- Colonel Jessup said he ordered the Code Red."
• (Galloway) "I know but --"
• (James Marshall) "Colonel Jessup said he ordered the Code Red. What did we do wrong?"
• (Galloway) "It's not that simple --"
• (James Marshall) "What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong."
• (Wolfgang Bodison) "Yeah we did. We were supposed to fight for people who couldn't fight for themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willy."

• (Kaffee) "Private, I want you to tell us one last time. Why did you go to Private Santiago's room on the night of September 6th?"
• (James Marshall) "A code red was ordered by my platoon commander, Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick."
• (Kaffee) "Thank you. Your witness."
• (Capt. Ross) "Private, the week of 2 September -- the switch log has you down at Post 39 until 1600. Is that correct?"
• (James Marshall) "I'm sure it is, sir. They keep that log pretty good."
• (Capt. Ross) "How far is it from Post 39 to the Windward Barracks?"
• (James Marshall) "Well, it's a ways, sir. It's a hike."
• (Capt. Ross) "About how far by jeep?"
• (James Marshall) "About ten, fifteen minutes, sir."
• (Capt. Ross) "You ever have to walk it?"
• (James Marshall) "Yes, sir. That day, sir. Friday. The pick up private; Tthat's like what we call the guy who drops us off at our post and picks us up -- also 'cause he can get girls in New York City. The pickup private got a flat, sir, right at 39. He pulled up and, bam, blowout with no spare. So we had to double-time it back to the barracks."
• (Capt. Ross) "And if it's about ten or fifteen minutes by Jeep, I'm guessing -- it must be a good hour by foot, am I right?"
• (James Marshall) "Pickup and me did it in forty-five flat, sir."
• (Capt. Ross) "Not bad. Now, you've said that your assault on Private Santiago was the result of an order that Lieutenant Kendrick gave you in your barracks room at -- 1620, am I right?"
• (James Marshall) "Yes, sir."
• (Capt. Ross) "But you just said that you didn't make it back to the Windward barracks until 1645."
• (James Marshall) "Sir?"
• (Capt. Ross) "Well, if you didn't make it back to the barracks room until 1645, how could you be in your room at 1620?"
• (James Marshall) "Well, you see, sir, there was a blow out."
• (Capt. Ross) "Private, did you ever actually hear Lieutenant Kendrick order a code red?"
• (James Marshall) "Well, Hal said that --"
• (Capt. Ross) "Private, did you ever actually hear Lieutenant Kendrick order a code red?"
• (James Marshall) "No, sir."
• (Galloway) "Please the court, I'd like to request a recess in order to confer with my client."

Christopher Guest as Dr. Stone

• (Kaffee) "Commander, you testified that it takes lactic acidosis twenty to thirty minutes before it becomes lethal."
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes."
• (Kaffee) "Let me ask you, is it possible for a person to have an affliction, some sort of condition which might, in the case of this person, actually speed up the process dramatically?"
• (Kaffee) "Commander, is it possible?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Certainly."
• (Kaffee) "What might some of those conditions be?"
• (Christopher Guest) "If a person had a coronary disorder or a cerebral disorder, the process would be more rapid."
• (Kaffee) "Commander, if I had a coronary condition and a perfectly clean rag was placed in my mouth, and the rag was accidentally pushed too far down, is it possible that my cells would continue burning sugar after the rag was taken out?"
• (Christopher Guest) "It would have to be a very serious condition."
• (Kaffee) "Is it possible to have a serious coronary condition, where the initial warning signals were so mild as to escape a physician during a routine medical exam?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Possibly. There would still be symptoms, though."
• (Kaffee) "What kind of symptoms?"
• (Christopher Guest) "There are hundreds of symptoms of a --"
• (Kaffee) "Chest pains?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes."
• (Kaffee) "Shortness of breath?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes."
• (Kaffee) "Fatigue?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Of course."
• (Kaffee) "Doctor, is this your signature?"
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes."
• (Kaffee) "This is an order for Private Santiago to be put on restricted duty. Would you read your handwritten remarks at the bottom of the page, please, sir?"
• (Christopher Guest) ""Initial testing negative. Patient complains of chest pains, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Restricted from running distances over five miles for one week.""
• (Kaffee) "Commander, isn't it possible that Santiago had a serious coronary condition, and it was that condition, and not some mysterious poison, that caused the accelerated chemical reaction?"

• (Col. Jessup) "Hmmmm -- transfer Santiago. Yes, I'm sure you're right. I'm sure that's the thing to do. Wait, I've got a better idea. Let's transfer the whole squad off the base. Let's -- On second thought, Windward. Let's transfer the whole Windward Division off the base. John, go on out there and get those boys down off the fence, they're packing their bags. Tom."
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes, sir."
• (Col. Jessup) "Get me the President on the phone. We're surrendering our position in Cuba."
• (Christopher Guest) "Yes, sir."
• (Col. Jessup) "Wait a minute, Tom, don't get the President just yet. Maybe we should consider this for a second. Dismissed, Tom. Maybe, and I'm just spit balling here, maybe, we have a responsibility as officers to traing Santiago. Maybe we as officers have a responsibility to this country to see to that the men and women charged with its security are trained professionals. Yes, I'm certain that I read that somewhere once. And now I'm thinking,Col. Markinson, that your suggestion of transferring Santiago, while expeditious and certainly painless, might not be, in a matter of speaking, the American way. Santiago stays where he is. We're gonna train the lad."

Xander Berkeley as Capt. Whitaker

• (Kaffee) "Excuse me, sorry I'm late."
• (Xander Berkeley) "That's alright, Danny, I know you don't have a good excuse, so I won't force you to come up with a bad one."
• (Kaffee) "Thank you, sir."
• (Xander Berkeley) "The first one's for you. Seems you're moving up in the world, you've been requested by Division."
• (Kaffee) "Requested to do what?"
• (Xander Berkeley) "Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A Marine corporal named Dawson illegally fires a round of his weapon over the fence line and into Cuban territory."
• (Kaffee) "What's a fence line?"
• (Xander Berkeley) "Sam."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "A big wall separating the good guys from the bad guys."
• (Kaffee) "Teacher's pet."
• (Xander Berkeley) "PFC William Santiago threatens to rat on Dawson to the Naval Investigative Service. Dawson, and another member of his squad PFC Louden Downey, go into Santiago's barracks room, tie him up, stuff a rag down his throat. An hour later Santiago's dead. The attending physician says the rag was treated with some kind of toxin."
• (Kaffee) "They poisoned the rag?"
• (Xander Berkeley) "Not according to them."
• (Kaffee) "What do they say?"
• (Xander Berkeley) "Not much. They're being flown up here tomorrow. Then Wednesday at 0600 you're catching a transport down to Cuba for the day to find out what you can. In the meantime, go see Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway of internal affairs. Any questions?"
• (Kaffee) "That flight to Cuba, was that 0600 in the morning? Sir?"
• (Xander Berkeley) "It seems important to Division that this one be handled by the book so I'm assigning co-counsel. Any volunteers?"
• (Lt. Weinberg) "No."
• (Xander Berkeley) "Sam."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "Sir, I've got a stack of papers on my desk about a mile high."
• (Xander Berkeley) "Work with Kaffee on this."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "Doing what? Kaffee will have this done in about four days."
• (Xander Berkeley) "Doing various administrative things. Backup. Whatever."
• (Lt. Weinberg) "In other words I have no responsibilities whatsoever."
• (Xander Berkeley) "Right."

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