"War Cries" is an episode of JAG that first aired on November 11, 1995. Directed by Duwayne Dunham. Written by R Scott Gemmill.
A Marine sentry is standing guard at the US Embassy in Lima, Peru when he challenges someone climbing over the Embassy wall. Thinking he is being shot at, he returns fire and shoots the intruder, who turns out to be a young boy. Things are further complicated when the boy turns out to be the younger sibling of a local woman he has been seeing. Harm and Meg must get to the bottom of things before the local outcry escalates into something more violent.
Tropes
- Artistic License – Military: Unlike soldiers in the Army, Marines do not put rank insignias on camouflage covers (hats). Marine uniform covers are supposed to have the eagle, globe and anchor emblem on them, not a rank insignia.note
- "Ass" in Ambassador: Ambassador Bartlett, though only when dealing with the other Americans at the Embassy. She is a model diplomat when dealing with the Peruvian authorities.
- Bulletproof Vest: The vest's lack of protection for the wearer's head is lampshaded.Ambassador Bartlett: What if someone aims at my head?
- Cigar Chomper: Gunnery Sergeant Granger. After a hand-to-hand combat training session, Corporal Parr brings Granger a cigar that Granger had presumably started smoking prior to the conversation with Austin. Near the end of the episode, Granger is shooting a jeep-mounted machine gun with a cigar in his mouth.
- Cunning Linguist: Meg Austin and one of the Marines are both fluent in Spanish, and serve as translators at various points in this episode.
- Deadpan Snarker: Gunnery Sergeant Granger.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gunnery Sergeant Granger dies during the street ambush.
- Human Shield: One of the Marines throws himself over the Ambassador in the car to shield her during the ambush while they make their escape. Also, earlier in the episode, after a conversation with Bartlett, Austin complains to Rabb that the ambassador plans to use them as human shields.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Gunnery Sergeant Granger makes a number of valid observations about the danger of their security situation when challenged on his unrelenting leadership and training style.
- Lady Drunk: Ambassador Bartlett can almost always be seen drinking scotch.
- Latin Land
- The Mole: The boy, his sister who the Marine was dating, and their mom were all sleeper agents for the Shining Path, and weren't even related to each other.
- Permission to Speak Freely: Granger asks Austin for "permission to speak frankly."Austin: Put it on the table, Gunny.Granger: I know you don't like me or the way I operate. But it's my job to keep this Embassy secure and my boys alive. This is not a courtroom. It's a battle zone. I don't get to appeal when I lose."
- Properly Paranoid: Gunny Granger, as the climax reveals.
- Semper Fi: Marine embassy guards.
- Sergeant Rock: Gunny Granger, who oversees his Marines with a ruthlessly unrelenting leadership style.
- Somebody Set Up Us the Bomb: An old lady leaves a basket in front of the Embassy's front gate. A Marine sentry sees this and immediately sounds the alarm just before the bomb explodes.
- The Squadette: Austin as always, but in particular this episode has her climbing up and over the embassy walls in her Navy uniform while doing her investigation. She also chafes heavily when confronted by the Gunny over this later (he doesn't want her outside the embassy without a guard, and she doesn't appreciate what she sees as unwarranted coddling.)
- Stock Footage:
- From Clear and Present Danger, editing in new footage of Harm in Navy whites to replace old footage of Jack Ryan in a suit.
- A short clip of President Clinton speaking on the phone is spliced in to give the impression he was giving the Ambassador instructions to open the hospital funded by the U.S.
- Veteran Instructor: Granger again, passing on his knowledge and experience to the Marines in a Training from Hell fashion not entirely unlike a Drill Sergeant Nasty. Austin considers him downright abusive.
- We Need a Distraction: The Shining Path operatives have a pair of pretty girls wave at the Peruvian soldiers standing guard outside the embassy so an old lady can walk past them and leave a bomb.
As you were...
Dismissed.
