Conduct Unbecoming

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Back in Washington DC after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, Captain Nick Hawkes with the United States Marine Corp, it a life to which he aspired since he was a child, is awaiting military trial on fourteen charges of murder and one charge of conduct unbecoming in what has been framed by the prosecution as an act of retaliation in he losing four of his men in combat in Afghanistan. With the only eyewitnesses being his three surviving soldiers still on active duty in Afghanistan, and they in turn being somewhat implicated in similar conduct unbecoming, this case seems currently to be a he said/he said situation between Hawkes and one of his superiors, Colonel Dodd, who brought the charges, the two men admitting that there is a history of no love lost between them. The prosecution team of Captain Cannon and Lt. Passka are pressing hard for Hawkes to accept a plea deal, which would require admission of guilt for a reduced sentence including some prison time, followed by a discharge from service. The nature of the plea deal changes when it comes to light that the victims were civilians with Afghan witnesses to that effect. While he is awaiting trial, Hawkes, still on duty, has been reassigned to local detail as part of the Casualty Notification Team. The face of the trial is affected by Hawkes' encounter with war widow Molly Cunningham, her deceased husband Troy Cunningham in a different battalion also under the command of Colonel Dodd. While Molly will end up having a direct bearing on the trial, it is the return of Colonel Dodd from Afghanistan in part to testify that changes the tone of the proceedings where the two men can face off against each other in court.