A Few Good Men

Act One: Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey are being court-martialed for the murder of fellow Marine Private William Santiago at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The play opens with Dawson and Downey giving their testimony regarding Santiago’s death. Santiago was disliked within his unit; he was considered by many as weak and unfit to serve. He had written several letters in an attempt to be transferred off the base; these were disregarded and had the unintentional consequence of making him more of a target than ever.

Santiago’s case is apprehended by Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway, a lawyer and investigator with internal affairs. She believes the boys were not intending to murder Santiago, but rather that they were carrying out an order known as “Code Red,” in which Marines are required to punish their fellow members using violent hazing methods. She asks to be given their case, but instead their defense is assigned to Lieutenant