Few Good Men, A quotes

View Quote Kaffee: All right, what's the code?
Dawson: Unit, Corps, God, country.
Kaffee: Come again?
Dawson: Unit, Corps, God, country. Sir.
Kaffee: The United States of America wants to charge the two of you with murder & you want me to go before the judge with "Unit, Corps, God, country"?

View Quote Kaffee: Am I correct to assume that these letters don't paint a flattering picture of Marine Corps life at Guantanamo Bay?
Galloway: Yes, among —
Kaffee: And am I also right in assuming that an investigation of this incident might cause some embarrassment to the Security Council guy?
Galloway: Colonel Jessep--
Kaffee: Twelve years.
Galloway: I'm sorry?
Kaffee: I'll get them to drop the Conspiracy and Conduct Unbecoming. Twelve years.
Galloway: You haven't talked to a witness or looked at a piece of paper.
Kaffee: Pretty impressive, huh?
Galloway: You're going to have to go deeper than that.
Kaffee: Commander do you have some sort of jurisdiction I should know about.
Galloway: My job, is to make sure you do you job. I'm special counsel for Internal Affairs, so my "jurisdiction's" pretty much in your face.

View Quote Kaffee: And don't wear that perfume in court. It wrecks my concentration.
Galloway: Really?
Kaffee: I was talking to Sam.

View Quote Kaffee: Colonel, I have just one more question before I call Airman O'Malley and Airman Rodriguez. If you gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, and your orders are always followed, then why would Santiago be in danger? Why would it be necessary to transfer him off the base?
Jessep: Santiago was a substandard Marine. He was being transferred because--
Kaffee: That is not what you said, you said he was being transferred because he was in grave danger.
Jessep: That's correct.
Kaffee: You said he was in danger, I said "grave danger?" You said "is there another kind?"--
Jessep: I recall what I said--
Kaffee: I can have the court reporter read back to you--
Jessep: I know what I said! I don't have to have it read back to me like I'm--!
Kaffee: Then why the two orders? Colonel?
Jessep: Sometimes men take matters into their own hands.
Kaffee: No, Sir. You made it clear a moment ago that your men never take matters in to their own hands. Your men follow orders or people die. So Santiago shouldn't have been in any danger at all, should he have, Colonel?
Jessep: You snotty little bastard.
Ross: Your Honor, I'd like to ask for a recess!
Kaffee: I'd like an answer to the question, Judge.
Judge: The court will wait for an answer.
Kaffee: If Lt. Kendrick gave an order that Santiago wasn't to be touched, then why did he have to be transferred? Colonel? Lt. Kendrick ordered the Code Red, didn't he, because that's what you told Lt. Kendrick to do!
Ross: Object!
Kaffee: And when it went bad, you cut these guys loose!
Judge: Lt. Kaffee!
Kaffee: You got Markinson to sign a phony transfer order! You doctored the log books!
Ross: Dammit, Kaffee!
Kaffee: You coerced the doctor!
Judge: Consider yourself in contempt!
Kaffee: Colonel Jessep, did you order the code red?!
Judge: You don't have to answer that question!
Jessep: I'll answer the question. You want answers?
Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.
Jessep: You want answers?!
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: 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, Lieutenant 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 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?
Jessep: I did the job I was sent to do--
Kaffee: Did you order the Code Red?!
Jessep: You're god damn right I did!!

View Quote Kaffee: Hi, I'm Daniel Kaffee. I was told to meet with, ah, Lieutenant Commander Galloway about a briefing?
Galloway: You're the attorney Division assigned?
Kaffee: I'm lead counsel. This is Sam Weinberg.
Weinberg: I have no responsibilities here whatsoever.

View Quote Kaffee: Hold on a sec, we got to take a boat?
Barnes: Yes sir, just to get to the other side of the bay.
Kaffee: Nobody said anything about a boat.
Barnes: 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.
Barnes: Yes, Sir.

View Quote Kaffee: I've done something wrong again, haven't I?
Galloway: I'm just wondering why two guys have been in a jail cell since this morning while their lawyer is outside hitting a ball.
Kaffee: We need the practice.
Galloway: That wasn't funny.
Kaffee: It was a little funny.
Galloway: Lieutenant, would you feel very insulted if I recommended to your supervisor that he assign different counsel?
Kaffee: Why?
Galloway: I don't think you're fit to handle this defense.
Kaffee: You don't even know me. Ordinarily it takes someone hours to discover I'm not fit to handle a defense. [long pause] Oh, come on! That was damn funny.

View Quote Kaffee: Is this your signature?
Dawson: Yes, sir!
Kaffee: You don't have to call me "sir". [to Downey] Is this your signature?
Downey: Sir, yes, sir!
Kaffee: And you certainly don't need to do it twice in one sentence.

View Quote Kaffee: Is your father proud of you?
Sam: Don't do this to yourself.
Kaffee: I'll bet he is, I bet he bores the shit out of neighbors and relatives, Sam's made law review, got a real big case he's making. Arguing, he's making an argument. I think my father would've liked to see me graduate from law school, I think he would've enjoyed that an awful lot.
Sam: Did I ever tell you I wrote a paper about your dad in college?
Kaffee: Yeah.
Sam: One of the best trial lawyers ever.
Kaffee: Yes, he was.
Sam: And if I were Dawson and Downey and I were given a choice between you or your father to represent me in this case, I'd pick you every day of the week and twice on Sunday. You should've seen yourself thunder away at Kendrick.
Kaffee: Would you put Jessep on the stand?
Sam: No.
Kaffee: You think my father would've?
Sam: With the evidence we got, not in a million years. But here's the thing, and there's really no way of getting around this. Neither Lionel Kaffee nor Sam Weinberg is lead defense in the matter of the U.S. vs. Dawson and Downey, so there's really only one question. What would you do?

View Quote Kaffee: It's not going to win you a place in my heart, I get paid no matter how long you stay in jail.
Dawson: [contemptuously] Yes sir, I know you do, sir.
Kaffee: **** you, Harold!

View Quote Kaffee: Joanne, you're coming dangerously close to the textbook definition of interfering with a government investigation.
Galloway: I'm Louden Downey's attorney. Aunt Ginny; she said she feels like she's known me for years, so I suggested that she might feel more comfortable if I was directly involved with the case. She had Louden sign the papers about an hour ago.
Kaffee: I suppose it's way too much to hope that you're making this up just to bother me.

View Quote Kaffee: Lieutenant Kendrick, in your opinion was Private Santiago a good Marine?
Kendrick: I'd say he was about average.
Kaffee: Lieutenant Kendrick, you signed three proficiency and conduct reports on Santiago, and on all three you indicated a rating of "Below Average".
Kendrick: Yes, Private Santiago was below average. I did not see the need to trample on a man's grave.

View Quote Kaffee: Lieutenant Kendrick, may I call you John?
Kendrick: No. You may not.
Kaffee: Have I done something to offend you?
Kendrick: No, I like all you Navy boys. Every time we gotta go someplace to fight, you fellas give us a ride.

View Quote Kaffee: Lieutenant, do you recall an incident involving a PFC Curtis Bell, who'd been found stealing liquor from the officers' club?
Kendrick: Yes, I do.
Kaffee: Did you report Private Bell to the proper authorities?
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'm aware of are my commanding officer, Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, and the Lord our God.
Kaffee: At your request, Lieutenant Kendrick, I can have the record reflect your lack of acknowledgment of this court as a proper authority.

View Quote Kaffee: Maybe if we work at it we can get Dawson charged with the Kennedy assassination.
Galloway: Are you drunk?
Kaffee: Pretty much...yeeaahh.
Galloway: I'll put on a pot of coffee. We've got a long night's work ahead.
Kaffee: She's gonna make coffee... that's nice.
Kaffee: Downey wasn't in his room, wasn't even there. That was an important piece of infromation, don't you think?
Galloway: Danny, it was a set back, and I'm sorry, but we fix it and move on to Markinson.
Kaffee: Markinson's dead. You really gotta hand it to those Federal Marshals... boy, it's not like he hanged himself by his shoelaces or slashed his wrists with a concealed butter knife. This guy got into full dress uniform, stood in the middle of that room, drew a nickel-plated pistol from his holster, and fired a bullet into his mouth. Anyway, since we seem to be out of witnesses, I thought I'd drink a little.
Galloway: I still think we can win.
Kaffee: Then maybe you should drink a little.