A Few Good Men Quotes

Lt. Weinberg: [in Danny's apartment, refering to their new strategy] Alright, what do you suggest we do?
Galloway: I say we hit Jessup with the phony transfer order.
Lt. Weinberg: A transfer order without a witness.
Kaffee: We have a witness.
Lt. Weinberg: A dead witness.

Kaffee: And in the hands of a lesser attorney that'd be a problem.
Lt. Weinberg: Look at this, last night he's swimming in Jack Daniels and now he can leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Kaffee: I'm getting my second wind. Sit down, both of you.
[Sees that they are already sitting]
Kaffee: Good.

Jessup told Kendrick to order the code red, Kendrick did and our clients followed the order. The cover-up isn't our case - to win Jessup needs to tell the court members that he ordered the code red.
Lt. Weinberg: And now you think you can get him to just say it?
Kaffee: I think he wants to say it. I think he's pissed off that he's gotta hide from

this. I think he wants to say that he made a command decision and that's the end of it.
[Starts imitating Jessup]
Kaffee: He eats breakfast 300 yards away from 4000 Cubans that are trained to kill him. And nobody's going to tell him how to run his unit least of all the Harvard mouth in his faggoty white uniform. I need to shake him, put him on the defensive and lead

him right where he's dying to go.
Lt. Weinberg: That's it? That's the plan?
Kaffee: That's the plan.
Lt. Weinberg: And how are you going to that?
Kaffee: I have no idea. I need my bat.
Lt. Weinberg: What?
Kaffee: I need my bat. I think better with my bat.

Where's my bat?
Galloway: I put it in the closet.
Kaffee: You put it in the closet?
Galloway: I was tripping on it.
Kaffee: Don't ever put that bat in the closet.

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!
Judge Randolph: 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.
Judge Randolph: 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?
[Kendrick initially refuses to

answer, sensing he's been caught lying]
Capt. Ross: Lieutenant Kendrick, did you...
Lt. Kendrick: No, I did not.
Capt. Ross: Thank you.

Dawson: [to Danny in the interrogation room with Joanne and Downey present] We joined the Marines because we wanted to live our lives by a certain code, and we found it in the Corps. Now you're asking us to sign a piece of paper that says we have no honor. You're asking us to say we're not Marines. If a court decides that what we did was wrong, then I'll accept whatever punishment

they give. But I believe I was right sir, I believe I did my job, and I will not dishonor myself, my unit, or the Corps so I can go home in six months... Sir.

Col. Jessup: Have you ever spent time in an infantry unit, son?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessup: Ever served in a forward area?
Kaffee: No, sir.
Col. Jessup: Ever put your life in another man's hands, ask him to put his life in yours?
Kaffee: No, sir.

Col. Jessup: We follow orders, son. We follow orders or people die. It's that simple. Are we clear?
Kaffee: Yes, sir.
Col. Jessup: [slower and louder] Are we clear?
Kaffee: Crystal.

[In the film edited for TV on NBC dubbed in the Modified Version. Judge Randolph dismisses the jury after Jessup's revelation on the stand about the Code Red]
Col. Jessup: What the hell is this? Colonel, what's going on? I did my job. I'd do it again. I'm gonna get on a plane and go on back to my base.
Judge Randolph: You're not going anywhere,

Colonel. MP's, guard the Colonel.
M.P.: Yes, sir.
[MP's take to the post. And Col. Jessup find out what's going on]
Judge Randolph: Captain Ross.
Col. Jessup: What the hell is these?
Capt. Ross: Colonel Jessup, you have the right to remain silent; Any statement you make may be used against you in

a trial by court-martial or in other judicial or administrative proceedings. You have the right to consult with a lawyer prior any further questions. This lawyer may be a civilian lawyer retained by you at your own expense...
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...

[Turning to Kaffee and lunging at him. But the MP's restrain Colonel Jessup]
Col. Jessup: ... I'm gonna rip the eyes out of your head and puke into your dead skull, you messed with the wrong marine!
Capt. Ross: Colonel Jessup, do you understand these rights as I have just read them to you?
Col. Jessup: You friggin' people. You

have no idea how to defend the 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.
[Glares at Jessup]
Kaffee: The witness is excused.

[Colonel Jessup calms down, taking a deep breath to cool off, bend down and grab his hat on the floor, and MP's taken Colonel Jessup away into custody]

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: [looking through the

reports he signed] 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.
Judge Randolph: 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: [seeing Markinson in the back seat of his car] Jesus Christ!
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: You left the door unlocked.
Kaffee: You scared the shit out of me.
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: Just keep driving.
Kaffee: Are you aware that you're under subpoena?

Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: Yes. I'm also aware that the lives of two Marines are in your hands. If there were something I could do about that, I would. But since I can't, all I can do is help you, Lieutenant.
Kaffee: Was it a code red?
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: Yes.
Kaffee: Did Kendrick give

the order?
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: Yes.
Kaffee: Did you witness it?
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: I didn't need to...
Kaffee: Did you witness it!
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: No.
Kaffee: Then how do you know?
Lt. Col.

Matthew Andrew Markinson: I know.
Kaffee: Yeah, you know shit.
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: He was never going to be transferred off that base.
[Kaffee turns the corner and stops the car]
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: Jessep was going to keep him on the base. He said he wanted him trained.

Kaffee: [turns around in his seat to face him] We've got the transfer order its got your signature.
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: I know. I signed that the morning you arrived in Cuba, five days after Santiago died.
Kaffee: I'm going to get you a deal some kind of immunity with the prosecutor, and in about four days, you're

going to appear as a witness for the defense and you're going to tell the court exactly what you just told me. Right now, I'm going to get you into a motel room and we're going to start from the beginning.
Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson: I don't want a deal and I don't want immunity. I want you to know that I am proud neither of what I have done nor what I am doing.

Galloway: [to Danny as walks out his office building] Hi, there.
Kaffee: Having any luck in getting me replaced?
Galloway: Is there anyone in this command that you don't eat or drink or play softball with?
Kaffee: Commander, I...
Galloway: Listen, I came to make peace. We got off on the

wrong foot. What do you say? Friends?
Kaffee: I don't think...
Galloway: By the way, I brought Downey some comic books he was asking for. The kid, Kaffee, I swear, he doesn't know where he is. He doesn't even know why he's been arrested.
Kaffee: Commander?
Galloway: You can call me Joanne.

Kaffee: Joanne?
Galloway: Or Jo.
Kaffee: Jo?
Galloway: Yes?
Kaffee: If you speak to a client of mine again without my permission, I'll have you disbarred. Friends?
Galloway: I had authorization.
Kaffee: From where?

Galloway: Downey's closest living relative, Ginny Miller, his aunt on his mother's side.
Kaffee: You got authorization from Aunt Ginny?
Galloway: I gave her a call like you asked. Very nice woman we spoke for about an hour.
Kaffee: [before getting into his car] You got authorization from Aunt Ginny.

Galloway: Perfectly within my province.
Kaffee: Does Aunt Ginny have a barn? We can hold the trial there. I can sew the costumes. Maybe his Uncle Goober can be the judge.
Galloway: I'm going to Cuba with you tomorrow.
Kaffee: [before driving off] And the hits just keep on coming.