History Headscratchers / AFewGoodMen

*** True, but presumably what changed was that Dawson was now willing to give Santiago a damn good kicking. However, he would still be likely to draw the line at actually killing the man due to their prior good feeling.

* Where the hell is Santiago’s Company Commander? Why is a full bird Colonel discussing his concerns with a Platoon Leader?
** Jessup probably stepped in when he got word of Santiago's letter. He pretty much considered it a personal insult to his leadership.

** The choice of Dawson is actually quite a good one. When Dawson carries out a punishment he finds distasteful on someone he's been trying to protect, it proves to Jessup and reiterates to Dawson himself that his ultimate loyalty is to the Marines and that his conscience comes a very distant second. It also emphasises to Santiago, when he suffers physical punishment delivered by someone who's previously looked after him, that nobody on the base is really on his side.

** And Downey is a fine choice, until things go horribly wrong. There's no reason for Jessup or Kendrick to think Downey will ever be called to testify about a routine Code Red, and his innocence and trusting nature are pretty ideal for something such as this.

** And who said that Jessup and/or Kendrick specifically chose Downey for the mission? My impression is they actually chose Dawson (for the reasons outlined above) to administer Code Red, and it was the latter's initiative to bring Downey in.
** As for the other marines itching to give Santiago the Code Red treatment, this could also have been a consideration ''against'' chosing them; Jessup and Kendrick didn't actually ''want'' Santiago dead or seriously injured, they just wanted him roughed up. However, given the bad feelings between him and the others there was a risk that things could have escalated out of control had anyone else performed it. In theory, however, Dawson's own reluctance to participate in the Code Red and previous willingness to protect Santiago meant that he would have held back sufficiently to ensure that Santiago was not in severe danger. Of course, things escalated out of control anyway, but that was for reasons that Jessup and Kendrick couldn't possibly have known about (which is not to excuse them, of course, but nevertheless).
*** But remember that something changed in-between these events: Dawson learning about Santiago's promise to tell more about his alleged fence shooting, which had to change Dawson's attitude towards Santiago. It would appear that Jessup and Kendrick factored this in the decision.

* Why is Jessup so determined to make it clear that marines under his command DO NOT ignore orders, ever, full stop? The prosecution's case is that, after being ordered not to touch Santiago, Dawson and Downey broke into his room and murdered him. So it was ''essential'' to the case that under extreme circumstances a marine will not follow orders.
** The easy answer is that Jessup didn't think his story through because he couldn't conceive that he would be questioned over the death of one of the Marines under his command. Nevertheless, Jessup does appear to be short-sighted and impulsive since he didn't take steps to try to cover up the incident until the case was in full swing. Of course, if he was smart, his testimony would have gone like this:
--->'''Jessup:''' I requested that Santiago be transferred off the base and ordered that he not be touched.\\

'''Jessup:''' Santiago was a sub-standard Marine, and I didn't want the men taking matters into their own hands.\\

'''Jessup:''' He obviously did ignore the order. Dawson did it before, as noted on his prior performance report. And now a Marine is dead due to his disregard for orders.\\

** Pride before reason. To say that a subordinate could have possibly disregarded his orders would be a sign of weakness that Jessup wouldn't stand for.
*** Not to mention a ''Colonel'' with ''private rank marines'' that ''didn't'' follow his orders ''without question'' would most certainly be pulled from his post. Think about it: the marines wouldn't see a Colonel with a discipline problem, they'd see a Colonel whose men didn't respect him, didn't listen to him, and had lost the authority of command. Boom. Instant retirement. It could be that, once Jessup established the story of ordering all men to keep their hands off Santiago, he had no choice but to stand by that fiction because to alter his story in ''any'' way would result in the Corps removing him as an ineffectual leader. Which answers the questions on this page so far: Jessup wasn't short-sighted and impulsive, he was calculating and devious, but once he started to lie, he had to continue to lie in order to maintain his professional career and personal integrity. Ironic.

*** As lawyer and a military dependent (Navy), I viewed Jessup's actions as not being so much to protect himself but Kendrick. He thinks Kendrick is a weasel but a good officer. Kendrick screwed up with the Bell incident and now with Santiago, his leadership skills are at issue as well as his Marine Corps future. Jessup is protecting Kendrick and the cover-up is largely to protect Kendrick (and ensure his loyalty to Jessup)
*** There's a scene in the play that lends a lot of credence to the above theory. When Jessup, Markinson and Kendrick are discussing Santiago's letter, Markinson suggests that Kendrick's methods are to blame. He then proceeds to list the names of ''several'' Marines (besides Santiago) ranging from Privates to a ''Gunnery Sergeant'' who are all implied to have at the very least asked to be transferred out of RSC Windward because of Kendrick's methods. So it wasn't just Santiago being a screw up, this was a pattern of behavior that demonstrated that Kendrick was unfit for command. What's more is that Jessup allowed this to happen on his watch, he's smart enough to figure out that if the top brass learned that he'd be out of a job as well.
** Also, don't forget one key point: Kaffee had successfully bluffed Jessup into thinking that the two airmen, O'Malley and Rodriguez, were going to testify that there had been an earlier flight from Guantanamo that Jessup had erased the records of as part of his cover-up of his involvement in Santiago's death. As such, Jessup thought he had been caught in a lie, and therefore had to change his story to account for why Santiago, whose life Jessup feared was in danger, was not transferred off the base on the earliest possible flight. So he tried to change his story to say that Santiago was being transferred because he was a substandard marine, which wouldn't have been as urgent. And once he was changing his story on the stand, it was all over.
*** It should also be remembered that Jessup is extremely prideful to the point of being absolutely intolerant of any insubordination. In the scene where he, Markinson and Kendrick are discussing Santiago, he is incensed that Markinson would disagree with him or question him like that, regardless of the fact that he and Markinson are old friends with the same amount of experience (Jessup has merely been luckier with promotions). The contrast can be seen with Kendrick who views Jessup's authority as second only to God and his assistant Tom who ends every answer with "Sir". In Jessup's mind, the ideal Marine asks no questions and is concerned only with following orders.
*** Speaking of insubordination, didn't the judge shrug off Jessup's comment, "I don't know what the hell kind of unit you're running here," a little more easily than you'd expect? Making that kind of comment to an officer in open court is distasteful in the extreme. Also, despite the fact that they both hold the rank of colonel, the presiding judge is the commanding officer of a court martial, and making such a comment to him while he is carrying out his duties is contempt at best, and insubordination at worst. I wouldn't expect him to throw Jessup in the brig, but surely a sterner response was called for.
*** Well until that point, the judge pretty much hated Kaffee, and sided with the prosecution and every witness against him; he wasn't expecting to have to turn on the witnesses for any reason. Also, Jessup was clearly more famous than the judge, had more de facto status. Those two things combined probably meant it took a bit more than the average instance of insubordination for the judge to rebuke him properly.
*** Well, he DID screw up by alienating the judge. After that point, the judge starts giving Kaffee more slack and ignoring prosecution objections. Not to mention, he didn't need to do much. His retort to the Colonel was akin to saying "You're in MY house now." Which would be an extreme slap in the face to a guy like Jessup.
*** The judge ''doesn't'' shrug the comment off. He immediately -- and rather acidly -- puts Jessup in his place by reminding him that for all his rank and posturing machismo, in the courtroom ''the judge'' is the one with all the power, not him.
** The simple answer is that Jessup's trapped between a rock and a hard place. If he acknowledges that his men sometimes ''don't'' obey his orders, then he looks like a weak and ineffective leader with poor control over the men under his command. And it's not just out of arrogance, stupidity or careerism that he quashes that suggestion; ''no'' ranking military officer would want anyone to get that idea about them, because the whole point of being a high-ranking officer is that you are supposed to be a good leader who commands the unquestioned obedience of the men and women under your command. And it's no good begging "extreme circumstances"; the whole point of the military chain of command to begin with is that you follow orders ''without exception'', that there are ''no'' circumstances extreme enough where that doesn't apply, and in fact deciding that you get to not follow orders if you deem the circumstances severe enough would in fact makes those circumstances ''worse'' (and pretty much the only recognised exception to this -- when obeying orders would result in the committing of a war crime -- would hardly help here, since they can hardly use "avoiding committing a war crime" as an excuse in this situation). But if Jessup ''doesn't'' allow for the fact that his men may take matters into their own hands, then he's by default acknowledging that the Code Red only happened because he wanted it to happen, and thus opens up the line of questioning that is ultimately used to bury him. Sucks for him, but then, he's only got himself to blame, since finding himself in such a position is pretty much a consequence of his illegally ordering someone to be brutally assaulted then participating in a cover-up when it went wrong.
** Also, remember whose questions Jessup is answering. Throughout the movie, Jessup has made it clear that he views Kaffee and his kind with contempt, and considers him to be a snot-nosed little squirt who, unlike Jessup, is not a real soldier (this extends all the way to which [[InterServiceRivalry branch]] they're in; if there's one thing Marines despise, it's the Navy due to them technically only being a subsidiary of them rather than a distinct branch). Jessup is irritated that Kaffee is seemingly questioning his control over the men under his command and is trying to intimidate him by reminding him of how authoritative and powerful he is. Unfortunately for him, he's forgotten that he's fighting on Kaffee's turf, not his own, and has underestimated just how clever Kaffee actually is. Jessup thinks he's bullying Kaffee into submission and simply doesn't realise that he's actually marching right into Kaffee's trap until it's too late.
* In the beginning, Lt Cdr Galloway is walking past the Drill Team, almost brushing one of them as she passes. Shouldn't someone have kept her off the parade field during a dress rehearsal? And her rank doesn't matter; even a General would know better than to just stroll across a parade field during a practice, and would be kicked off anyway if they didn't.

* As anybody that was in the Marine Corps (and the Army) can attest, you only refer to a firearm as a "gun" once. MAYBE twice. After that, you would find yourself in a position where you would never refer to a firearm as a "gun" ever again. Col. Jessup's famous speech about those "walls being guarded by men with GUNS" has always bugged me.

** I'm in the military, but I'm giving this a pass. It's true that they aren't called guns, but it's only used in that particular phrase by Jessup. Sure he's a Marine, but he's also an overdramatic type who looks for any excuse to launch into a speech. And "men with guns" simply rolls off the tongue better. It fits Jessup's character.
** Perhaps some FridgeBrilliance, in that Jessup is using the colloquial civilian term because he is talking to Kaffee (and Weinberg), and so he's talking down to them and insinuating that they're not *real* military.

* Could someone with military experience explain to me Jessup's reasoning in wanting Santiago to stay? It seems that there should be procedures to deal with soldiers who develop health conditions that interfere with their performance other than "haze him until he drops dead". Jessup actually forces the doctor to rescind a previous diagnosis saying "The kid can't take this. Give him a desk job." He then has that doctor perjure himself to ''frame'' the Marines he ordered to give Santiago the Code Red. Is it just to cover up the fenceline shooting? Then screw him till he bleeds, then let '''him''' bleed out.

** Jessup didn't think that Santiago had a health problem. Nobody on the base, including the base physician, realized that Santiago had a real health problem. They all thought he had a bad attitude and were taking steps to try to correct that attitude.
*** A man like Jessup would not take kindly to having his operation in Cuba halted, the Marine Corp is a branch of the U.S Military the most powerful and prestigious Military on Earth and its structure needs to be filled with strong and capable men who can do their jobs once handed a rifle. You need to weed out the weak so the strong are not dragged down with him, this is why Colonel Jessup viewed things so personally with Private Santiago. This was the wrong point of view to take, Santiago fell behind in his training and when that happened his fellow Marines should have encouraged him and worked together with him to make him a more stand up soldier. No compassion was shown to Santiago and those that were supposed to protect him and uplift him failed. If there is no team work in the Military and we don't stand up for those that can't defend themselves then the entire reason for a Military even existing has failed.
*** There also seems to be an element of Social Darwinism involved as well; as far as Jessup is concerned, Santiago is inherently 'weak', and transferring such a man to another post is going to make that post weaker as well.
** Santiago was also sending letters to everybody and their mother asking for a transfer, thus disrespecting the chain of command. Santiago was also offering to squeal about the fenceline shooting incident in exchange for a transfer, which Jessup would see as an attempt to blackmail him and undermine his authority. That's what made it personal.

*** But why keep him in the Marines at all? Santiago was breaking all kinds of rules and Jessup has considerable influence. Why not find a way to give him a dishonourable discharge and drum him out of the Corps?
*** The "book" answer to this situation would have been to internally investigate Santiago's claims as well as discipline him for jumping the chain of command (using approved disciplinary or judicial techniques) and deal with that. Separately, he should have been medically evaluated for any underlying reasons why he can't seem to keep up physically. If nothing is found, he's kicked out for failing physical training standards. If there is a medical condition, he's either treated for it and continues serving (depending on the outcome of the disciplinary issue) or kicked out for medical reasons with appropriate VA benefits. Lumping the two matters together and hazing him until he cries uncle and either improves or dies appears to be Jessup's preferred option rather than the correct, but "weaker" approach. Sadly this actually happens in the military from time to time. If they kick him out for disciplinary reasons, it would most likely be a "general" or "other than honorable" discharge. A dishonorable can only be given from conviction by court martial, for which a felony charge is required.
* Here's my problem: at one point in the film, when Sam suggests that Dawson and Downey's defense was the same one that failed for the Nazis at Nuremburg, Kaffee defends them by saying that these guys were carrying out a routine training exercise that they had no way of knowing would really hurt Santiago, much less kill him. But isn't the same true of Jessup? He didn't order the code red on Santiago because he wanted to hurt him; he just wanted to train him to be a good marine. Granted, Jessup also acted to cover up the situation afterwards, but consider his predicament: he's been told by a pencil-pushing time-server that a training method that he knows from years of experience to be irreplaceably effective is no longer permitted. He decides that rather than just do the easy thing, pass along a substandard marine to another command where he'll be some other commander's problem, he's going to train this man to be a proper marine. Bear in mind that Jessup had no way of knowing about any health problems that Santiago had. So Jessup orders a training exercise, a code red, that has been used repeatedly in the past to effectively whip marines into shape, with no intention to do Santiago any harm. When the exercise goes wrong, Jessup is looking at the end of his military career and prison time if he takes responsibility. So he works behind the scenes to make sure that Dawson and Downey will be offered a sweetheart plea deal by the prosecution, so that nothing really bad would happen to them. Now, I'm not saying that Jessup should be up for sainthood, but it really seems to me that the film has no sympathy for him whatsoever, and wants the audience to have no sympathy for him either. But is he really such a monster?
** In all honesty Colonel Jessup should not have been considered by the court to be put on the stand. To begin with the dealings of what occurred with the death of some lowly private would be '''way below''' his pay-grade and would be exempt from having to investigate it or give the story a second thought. The Lieutenant under Jessup's command would be the right pay-grade to be bothered with this case (and he is). Furthermore it is more or less figured out by the Defense that it was the Lieutenant who directly made the order of the code red so it should have been his responsibility to deal with the consequences making the Colonel free from the guilt of paying for any crimes. The only reason Colonel Jessup would feel the need to let himself be put on the stand is to avoid a Congressional investigation which would legally require the commander of the base to be put on the stand and this would seriously stifle any plans he might have to rank up to being a General Officer, this was just Jessup trying to get the problem out of the way so he can get back to his career. It is not that Jessup is to be admired as a saintly commanding officer but under the law he shouldn't have had anything to worry about.
*** OP here: you are wrong on both counts. First of all, regardless of Jessup's pay-grade, he was the one who ordered Lt. Kendrick to order Dawson and Downey to give Santiago the code red, an order that was illegal, as he had been ordered by his superior officer to discontinue the practice of giving codes red. As such, he, Jessup, is legally culpable for the consequences, i.e., Santiago's death. Kendrick is also culpable, which is why he also gets arrested at the end, but that does not negate Jessup's culpability. Second of all, under the U.S. Constitution, the defense can call any witness, by subpoena if necessary, to testify, so long as that testimony is itself admissible. That applies to courts civil and martial alike, and it does not matter if the victim and the accused in the case are both privates, and the witness is the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff himself. That's what that whole "equality under the law" thing is all about. If a general has relevant testimony to give in a case against a private, that private can subpoena that general to testify, and he must come before the court. And in any case, I wasn't talking about Jessup's legal culpability, which is without question: the man is clearly legally guilty. I was talking about his moral culpability, and that the film seems to have no sympathy for him, and seems to expect us, the audience, to have no sympathy for him either. That I don't understand, since his goal, after all, was to train Santiago, not to hurt him; that's what Dawson justifies himself in his own testimony, but the same thing is just as true for Jessup.

** The problem is that Code Reds are, from the get-go, immoral whether or not Jessup believes they are irreplaceably effective. Hazing, in all branches of the US military, is illegal for multiple reasons. Even setting aside the possibility of physical injury, it demoralizes the victims and hurts unit cohesion. Soldiers need to trust and depend upon one another to be an effective unit. How are you going to put your life in the hands of the guys who just beat the shit out of you last night? As someone at the top of the page pointed out, even if he'd survived the incident, Santiago would know he has no allies on the base. Speaking with 10 years' military experience, the ''last'' thing you want to do to a struggling soldier is to isolate him.
*** Be that as it may, that would just mean that Jessup was mistaken, not evil. Moreover, the film itself never argues, or even suggests, that codes red don't work; quite the contrary, in fact. I think we sort of have to say that in the world of the film, they are effective. But even if not, it's clear that Jessup sincerely believes that they work, and that this will train Santiago. Dawson's statement on the stand, when asked why he gave Santiago the code red, "To train him, sir," could just as easily be uttered by Jessup at his own trial. Again, I'm not saying that Jessup ought to be up for sainthood, only that I don't see why the movie treats him like the devil.
*** The film seems to be saying that Santiago was simply someone who shouldn't have been on the receiving end of such brutality. He may have been a substandard Marine but we are arguably supposed to be appalled at Jessup's callousness in keeping on a man whom he knows is being pushed to breaking point. Jessup knows Santiago can't cut it in training and that he is at a very high risk of reprisal from other Marines. This can be seen in the way Jessup orders Lowden and Downey to administer the beating, reminding Santiago that he truly doesn't have a friend in the world. That is arguably when Jessup's motives change from the good of the corps to utter Sadism.
*** But how would Jessup have known that? He had no way of knowing about Santiago's heart condition. As far as he knew, Santiago just needed to be motivated to get his act together; to be trained, in other words. And did the film even establish that it was Jessup who specified that Dawson and Downey should have been the ones ordered to give the code red? He ordered Kendrick to have Santiago given a code red, but did he specify who specifically should do it? Isn't it possible that it was Kendrick who selected Dawson and Downey? Why assume sadism on Jessup's part at all?
*** Part of why Jessup is such a bastard is how cowardly he acts throughout. If he really believed in the righteousness of his actions, he would have just confessed. When things go bad, he lets two young marines, one of whom is painfully naive, take the fall for his crime. Jessup is meant to represent the absolute worst of the U.S. Military: Lying, brutal, callous, cowardly, indifferent, motivated by self interest and completely unwilling to accept blame or criticism. Men like Markinson represent the preferable alternative and a better side of the armed forces.
*** How is Markinson's suicide not cowardly? Also, Jessup doesn't just cut Dawson and Downey loose. Remember the beginning of the film: he pulls strings behind the scenes to make sure that the prosecutor offers them a sweetheart deal that would let them go home in six months. They are the ones who insist on going to trial. And again, it's easy to say that Jessup should have just confessed from the very beginning, but put yourself in his shoes: a training exercise of a kind that had been used repeatedly for years to good effect results, in a completely unforeseeable way, in Santiago's death, and if Jessup confesses his role, his military career, which has been pretty much his life, is over. Is he really such a monster because he doesn't want to see his entire career go down the tubes because of a training accident?
*** Jessup gave an order that, effective or not, was illegal. He ''knew'' it was illegal and he gave the order anyways. Jessup was right when he talked about the virtues of honor and trust when it comes to the chain of command, but he violated both. The moment he gave an order that violated USMC regulations, his superiors could no longer rely on him, and Marines he commanded could no longer trust him. Even before he lied, falsified records, and threw his own men under the bus, his actions made it impossible for him to function as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.
*** Speaking of applicable things that Jessup said: "We follow orders, son. We follow orders or people die. It's that simple." When Jessup ordered the code red, he violated orders, and someone died.
*** Consider also that Jessup shows very little remorse for the fact that a man essentially died as a result of his orders and actions (or if we were being generous, shows perfunctory remorse at best), and indeed seems to consider it almost a good thing in that it 'saved lives'. The crux of his climactic speech, the one that's so famous, is essentially him bragging that Santiago's death as a consequence of his orders was perfectly justified, and that pretty much anything he does is ultimately justifiable because he's standing at a post defending his country. Whether he knew that his orders would lead to Santiago's death might be something we can go back and forth on, but it's his callousness and arrogance in face of the result of them that makes him unsympathetic as much as anything else. Ultimately, though, like Weinstein says, once all the martial justifications and codes of conduct and everything else is cut through, this is essentially a glorified case of a bunch of tough guys picking on someone weaker than them and then trying to cover it up when it goes south. Jessup is essentially a bully in a uniform with some very nice medals.
*** Right. Jessup seems to think that because he occupies what in his mind is a very important post, that somehow he has absolute authority to do whatever he wants to "protect the country". But he ignores the simple fact that everybody is accountable to somebody higher up. Jessup has a superior officer, who has a superior officer, and so on up to the President. And above the President is the law and rules governing the military. Jessup didn't do his job; he broke the law.
*** Yes, except that everything you are saying about Jessup is equally true of Dawson and Downey. Dawson and Downey didn't do their jobs; they broke the law. Dawson and Downey are essentially bullies in uniform with some very nice medals. Remember, after all, that Weinberg's (not Weinstein) speech about how, once you cut through all the martial justifications and codes of conduct and everything else, this is essentially a glorified case, etc., is about Dawson and Downey. Weinberg was talking about their own clients, not about Jessup. If what he says is true of Jessup, it is also true of Dawson and Downey. Which is precisely my point, that no one seems to want to respond to directly: the film seems to want us to have some sympathy for Dawson and Downey, but not for Jessup, even though Dawson and Downey's defense applies equally well to Jessup.
*** You missed the point being made; it's not that the others aren't bullies also or that they didn't do anything bad, it's that unlike them, Jessup shows little-to-no remorse for what he did, and in fact is ''proud'' of it. ''That's'' (partly) what makes him more reprehensible. Case in point: Dawson immediately accepts the court's judgement that his actions were wrong, that he deserves punishment for them, and that he has no place being a marine anymore because of them. He ends by lamenting that he should have stood up for Santiago instead of joining in the torment of him. He learns a lesson. Conversely, Jessup ends the film basically bragging about how the the fact that he's a front-line soldier basically gives him the God-given right to do whatever he wants regardless of who gets hurt and then, when the law takes exception to this, sneering about how Kaffee has essentially doomed the country because he personally is not going to be there to defend it anymore. He learns nothing. Both men did something wrong, and both men faced judgement about it, but one man is willing to accept responsibility and punishment for it, comes to regret his actions, and subsequently grows as a person because of it. The other man doesn't, and remains callous, arrogant and defiant. ''That's'' what makes one man more sympathetic than the other one.
*** What makes Dawson and Downey's situation different from Jessup is that they were doing what they were ordered to do. It was an unlawful order, which is why they are convicted with Conduct Unbecoming, but it takes a lot of moral fortitude to openly disobey a direct order that comes down from the base commander. The law would, and should, be harder on the one who gave the order in the first place than on the one who carries it out. With a colonel's far higher rank and pay grade comes a lot more responsibility than a corporal. A corporal or private is expected to follow orders without question or hesitation. When an order comes down that's illegal, the corporal is already conditioned to obey it, so he needs to trust that the officer giving the order knows what he's doing and has his back. Jessup violated that trust. Dawson was willing to take responsibility for obeying an unlawful order, but his commander refused to take responsibility for ''issuing'' that order, instead letting his underlings take the fall, sweetheart plea bargain notwithstanding. Jessup also deserves no credit for the plea bargain, because the motivation for it was purely selfish. He thought if he gave Dawson and Downey a good plea bargain deal, they'd be less likely to take the case to trial and expose him.
*** I must have gotten a different impression than the troper above. Dawson and Downey were, perhaps, pitiable for the fact they got stuck with that order, but they still got what they deserved for ''following'' it. It was just important that justice came around and saw that Jessup went down with them.
*** "Troper above" here. Yes, they absolutely got what they deserve, and Dawson admits as much (Jessup, in contrast, never once admits wrongdoing). I was merely answering the OP's question as to why the movie treats the defendants more sympathetically than Jessup.
*** I'd also point out that they got off extraordinarily easy; the actions of everybody involved fit squarely into the [=UCMJ=]'s definition of manslaughter.

*** The OP implies that Jessup's only options were "train him" or "transfer him." Evaluate, discipline, and if necessary kick him out of the Marines were perfectly legitimate and easy options that weren't even considered (none of which required breaking the law). He had physical, disciplinary, and possibly medical reasons why he shouldn't be a Marine anymore. That's just a matter of paperwork that a Colonel should be well practiced at. He seemed more interested in "teach this punk a lesson" rather than to do what was best for the Corps.
*** "The film itself never argues, or even suggests, that codes red don't work." The ''premise'' of the film is that a guy got a Code Red and it ''killed'' him! How much more evidence do you need that Code Reds don't work?? Is there some character I forgot about who was like "Oh man, I used to be a crap marine, but then somebody gave me a Code Red and it really turned my life around! Suddenly I was a much better soldier and a much greater asset to my country! Hooray for Code Reds!" Because I don't remember there being a guy like that. Ever. I think the implication is that Code Reds have ''always'' been a lousy idea, which is why they're illegal, and in this particular case the Code Red was even lousier than usual and it killed somebody. Jessup was a cruel commander who got away with cruelty for a long time; now he's finally paying the price.

--->'''Howard''': That night the guys in my squad threw a blanket over me and took turns punching me in the arm for five minutes. Then they poured glue on my hands. And it worked, too, 'cause I ain't never dropped my weapon since.

* Why would a full bird colonel like Jessup concern himself with a matter involving two privates? Wouldn't there be multiple other officers in the chain of command, who should have dealt with Santiago? Why wouldn't Jessup just tell the Battallion commander (a [=LtCol=]) to handle it himself, while the [=LtCol=] would instead delegate the problem to the company commander (a captain)? Why does Jessup need to get involved to the finest detail, down to how Santiago should be disciplined?
** The scene at the beginning answers this pretty well, I think. Jessup is reading Santiago's transfer request, which the latter had sent directly to him as the base commander. That made it personal for him. It was Santiago that had gotten Jessup involved by sending him that letter, and Jessup was incensed that Santiago would offer to squeal on a fellow Marine. He even says, "Who the ''fuck'' is Private First Class William Santiago?" He was probably also annoyed that Santiago jumped several levels of the chain of command by sending the letter all the way to the top. Combined with Jessup's control-freak personality, it's perfectly in character for him to personally retaliate.
*** The letter that Jessup reads (part Santiago voice over) was sent to Jessup by an NCIS agent that Santiago sent it to. NCIS told the senior officer of the unit "you have something to deal with." Jessup should have handed it to the battalion commander, possibly expressed some frustration, but then washed his hands of it until his subordinates completed an investigation. As the senior officer, Jessup might have had to be involved in Santiago being punished later and stand back until called upon to intervene. The most he should have been personally involved with would be to appoint an officer to investigate the shooting claim.

* Jack could possibly have prevented the demise of Jessup: he could have rightly objected to Kaffee's questioning Jessup on whether his orders could be disobeyed, as the witness has the right not to speculate on the hypothetical actions of the other people. He was probably thinking that this speculation will actually benefit the prosecution, emphasizing the outrageous nature of what Dawson and Downey did.
** Also, he likely was curious about the answer himself. Jack had made it clear throughout the film that he had nothing but contempt for Jessup. While he certainly did his job to within the best of his ability, when Jessup went up for cross, all of Jack's objections were primarily to protect Kaffee from getting himself into serious hot water. He otherwise allowed Kaffee a bit of latitude as he had no incentive to protect Jessup as even Jessup incriminating himself wouldn't have torpedoed his case (the lack of poison evidence already guaranteed the murder charge was never going to hold, so it was just a matter of saying what Dawson and Downey did was wrong). Simply put it was win-win. Either Kaffee ends up feeding him more ammunition to bury Dawson and Downey, or Jessup goes down. Even if the above speculation is reaching, he likely never expected Kaffee to go on a ranting tirade, let alone expected Jessup to outright self-destruct.
*** "The lack of poison evidence already guaranteed the murder charge was never going to hold, so it was just a matter of saying what Dawson and Downey did was wrong" - it's rarely put that way, but it's actually absolutely right. Given this, I now wonder just how much more severe the punishment of Dawson and Downey would be if it were not for Jessup's confession?
*** They probably would have been convicted on the same charge of Conduct Unbecoming a Marine, because that's the only charge left after they're acquitted of Murder and Conspiracy, but Jessup's confession was probably a mitigating factor in the sentencing. They may have received jail time otherwise. The government should have also charged them with Burglary (for sneaking into Santiago's room) and Assault and Battery (for tying up and gagging Santiago). If these charges had been brought, they would lead to convictions even if the defendants were acquitted of the murder charges, but they can't be convicted of crimes they're not charged with.

* A key plot point is exposing Jessup's lie that Santiago was to be transferred off the base. However... it is never brought up ''where'' Santiago was to be transferred. Jessup has Markinson sign a phony transfer order to give Kaffee, which would necessarily have the gaining base on it. As soon as Markinson gets in touch with Kaffee the defense knows the order is false, so it should be simple enough to contact said gaining base and verify, as they would necessarily be informed of an inbound Marine. Were I on the defense team, this would be the very first avenue I'd pursue. In fact, I'd have asked Jessup in Gitmo when he first brings it up (which may have exposed the lie - Jessup is clearly caught off-guard by Kaffee's request for the transfer order, which he covers up with bluster). Why is it never even brought up?
** I think this can be explained the same way the altered tower chief logs can be explained. If Jessup has the pull to be able to have those logs altered, he likely also has the pull to get the gaining base to corroborate his phony transfer. However, as mentioned on the main page, this falls under Artistic License, because in the real world it would never fly and Jessup would be removed from command and indicted for even trying.

--->'''Jessup:''' I requested that Santiago be transferred off the base and ordered that he not be touched.
--->'''Kaffee:''' And why was that?
--->'''Jessup:''' Santiago was a sub-standard Marine, and I didn't want the men taking matters into their own hands.
--->'''Kaffee:''' Is it possible that Dawson ignored the order?
--->'''Jessup:''' He obviously did ignore the order. Dawson did it before, as noted on his prior performance report. And now a Marine is dead due to his disregard for orders.
--->'''Kaffee:''' Ermm...

*** Mind you, it would still make perfect sense that Kaffee would call pilots to testify and not someone from the receiving base, but yeah, a short {{Handwave}} that this avenue has been explored by him and his team would be great.

-->'''Howard''': That night the guys in my squad threw a blanket over me and took turns punching me in the arm for five minutes. Then they poured glue on my hands. And it worked, too, 'cause I ain't never dropped my weapon since.