"Promises" is an episode of JAG that first aired on March 28, 2000. Directed by Arthur W. Forney. Written by John Schulian.
Commander Rabb starring is the star of Renee Peterson's newest Navy recruitment video. At the same time, a female enlisted crewman, Seaman Granato (Paige Moss), has had enough of being on deck swabbing duty, and just walks off, going absent without leave (AWOL).
Rabb and Lt. Colonel MacKenzie track Granato down to persuade her to return to her ship before her unauthorized absence (a minor offense usually warranting only non-judicial punishment) becomes upgraded to desertion, which is a felony carrying serious prison time.
However, Granato claims that the Navy lied to her during her recruitment — by promising her a career in air traffic control, but ultimately sending her to regular electronics technician school. She therefore feels that the Navy owes her a discharge. Her claim is complicated by her destroyer's skipper, Commander Woodling (Amy Steel), a hard-nosed woman, who is being harsher on Granato because she doesn't want to coddle her female subordinates.
Rabb's taking part in a Navy recruitment commercial further erodes trust between him and Granato, as she feels that Rabb is complicit in the Navy deceiving her, and therefore cannot objectively defend her.
Meanwhile, Admiral Chegwidden helps out an old friend of his, Captain Peter Tully (Joel Higgins), an aviator who has to go to a flight evaluation board because he used Viagra too soon before flying and had a little accident. Chegwidden goes to consult Dr. Walden (Cynthia Sikes), a civilian urologist, and falls in love with her despite their awkward meeting and that the misconception that the friend (Tully) is a stand-in for Chegwidden himself.
Tropes
- Double Standard: The female skipper of Granado's ship apparently gave her female subordinates harsher punishments for the same offenses compared to her male crewmen.
- Fridge Logic: Because women have to work twice as harder to get by in the male dominated Navy, they must also be more severely deterred from mistakes, as one mistake has more severe career consequences for women compared to men, according to Commander Woodling.
- I Have This Friend: Chegwidden honestly does have a friend who is too embarrassed to talk about his erectile dysfunction with a doctor, but of course Dr. Walden thinks Chegwidden really is talking about himself and not his friend.
- It's All About Me: Seaman Granato wasn't sent to Air Traffic Control school as was promised, but the Navy did offer her other schools that would have been interesting and challenging careers, such as aviation electronics technician school, radarman school etc. But she turned down all of them, because she wanted only air traffic control school. And when she didn't get it, she deserted her ship.
- Recruiters Always Lie: Why Seaman Granato walked off her ship. She felt that the recruiter lied to her to get her to enlist.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Seaman Granato has had enough of polishing the ship's bell, so she rings it twice and storms off.
- Shipping Torpedo: Mac calls Renee Peterson, Harm's current girlfriend who just happens to be the director of the Navy recruitment commercial he starred in, as a witness in Seaman Granato's court martial - ostensibly to provide expert testimony as to the Navy's recruitment tactics. Harm ends up hurting her feelings on cross-examination, and the whole scene comes off as Mac intentionally trying to damage Harm and Renee's relationship.
