NAVY/MARINE CORPS BARRACKS
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Commander Sturgis Turner receives a call in the makeshift office that had been provided to himand Captain Carlos Bullrider.
"Commander Turner here," he says, speaking into the receiver. "Oh, I see...Where is he now?...Okay. Thank you, sir."
Sturgis hangs up the phone.
oooooooooooo
1340 ZULU
JAG HEADQUARTERS
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA
"So Captain Bullrider's is in an Army hospital?" asks General Cresswell, speaking on the phone in his office.
"Yes, sir," replies Sturgis.
"What's his condition?"
"Last I heard, he was in critical condition. I'll let you know if I hear any further news."
"Okay, Turner, you do that."
The general hangs up the telephone. This is certainly an unexpected turn of events. He recalls that attack last year, when he had been a Marine colonel serving as a judge advocate for a Marine general. The helicopter was downed by a rocket propelled grenade, and he dragged the injured general away from the helicopter before it exploded. While recuperating at Bethseda Naval Hospital, he met President George W. Bush, who later nominated him for the Navy JAG post.
He walks out of his office and enters the main office.
"Is there something wrong, sir?" asks Navy Lieutenant Commander Bud Roberts, one of the lawyers assigned to JAG headquarters.
"I'll let you know when the time is right," replies Cresswell. "Go on with your duties, Commander."
ooooooooooooooo
1507 ZULU
NAVY/MARINE CORPS BARRACKS
BAGHDAD, IRAQ
Sturgis is still up, waiting for news on Captain Bullrider.
The telephone rings. His heart starts the race. What he may hear will either bring him relief, or devestate him.
"Commander Turner here," says the Navy commander.
"This is Admiral Pruit."
"Any news on Captain Bullrider?"
"He's still in the hospital, alive. I do have other news. We know the ambush was organized by bin Atwa's followers. You might want to hear this. This pertains to the casr you were investigating."
oooooooooooo
1525 ZULU
"I have some news for you, Petty Officer," says Sturgis, standing in a small room with Petty Officerm First Class Christian Shaw and Lieutenant Commander Curtis Rivers.
"What is it, sir?" asks the petty officer.
"Just this afternoon, there was an ambush in Basra on some Army soldiers. They managed to repel the ambush. They were responding to a request for backup, but no one had ever requested relief from the Basra garrison."
"So who did?"
"One of Bin Atwa's men made the request. They set up the ambush and then sent the request for backup."
"Which means that they could have done that during our mission," says Petty Officer Shaw. "They were definitely expecting us."
"There's no proof that is what happened during the mission," says Commander Rivers.
"But we wouldn't be able to prove otherwise," says Sturgis. "Based on this evidence, I recommdned that no charges be filed against Petty Officer Shaw. And we definitely need to secure our communications."
"I agree with the securing of communications part," says Rivers.
"Thank you, sir," Shaw says to the Navy lawyer.
"Shaw, if you ever show any insubordination on or off the field, you're going straight to the brig," says Rivers.
"Understood, sir."
ooooooooo
1840 ZULU
Sturgis sits on the plane as it flies him and other passengers and cargo back to the United States. Captain Bullrider is still in the hospital, waiting to be airlifted in an air ambulance.
"Take care, Marine," he mutters as the plane cuts through the air.