Black Ops, April 10, 1996

As Reviewed by Rosepetal

As Reviewed by Shirley

Harm is sent to investigate the death of a naval aviator who was training with the Navy Seals during a training exercise.   Harm is sent in to investigate this death by Admiral Chegwidden because the aviator who died is the son of a female Senator who is doing everything in her power to find out what happened to her son. 

After looking at the reports and listening to the people who were involved, Harm thinks there is a cover up and that he is not getting the full truth on what happened.  When the senator arrives and speaks with the men who were involved with her son, one of them gives her a letter from her son that he wrote right before he went up for the mission.   It is a tradition for the Seals to write a letter to their family before each and every mission.  The men find out that the person who started that tradition is none other than Admiral Chegwidden only he wasn't a Admiral then he was only a Ensign in the Seals then.  Admiral Chegwidden takes the letter from the Senator because he doesn't feel she is ready to read it yet. 

Harm investigates further and finds out that the aviator's o-ring was cut so it was murder and not an accident.  He also finds out that the aviator was involved in a Helo Jump and not a regular jump like he was supposed to be because he is not qualified to jump out of Helo.  Looks like a General who didn't want the Seals to do this mission was the one responsible for making it a Helo jump and for having the o-ring cut. 

Harm is sent to do a dangerous Helo Jump to go in and get an old plane and when the Senator says to Admiral Chegwidden that he could lose his stars, he says that Meg is his authority on this jump and he will give them her bars.  LOL I loved that line.  After Harm and the other's jump out of the Helo, the Admiral and the Senator are there and he gives her the letter because he feels she is ready and willing to read it now.

Of course, Harm saves the day again in his typical Harm fashion and no one loses their bars or stars. A really great episode.

By Shirley

This episode has lots going for it. The story is good. Lt. Douglas Marion, a naval aviator, is killed during a training mission with a SEAL team. His mother, who happens to be a Senator, wants to know how her only son died, and is using her high profile and political clout to raise Cain. In response, the Admiral assigns his most trusted JAG officer, Lt.Cmdr. Rabb, otherwise known as his "executioner", to put out the fire.

Rosemary Forsyth does an excellent job as the Senator. She is tough, sharp, and brutal in turn, not giving an inch. Watching her, we have no trouble believing that the Navy had darned well come up with the truth, or else. And it's a good thing the Admiral has Harm assigned to the case. No one else could have handled it.

This investigation is so high priority that Harm gets to fly into NAS Roosevelt Roads in a Tomcat. I really enjoy his interactions with the SEAL team. Again, TPTB have managed to come up with neat little touches that make these people real. The SEALs all spout quotations in a left brain game designed to keep them calm and focused on their missions. It's not just amusing, it also shows that these guys are not just a bunch of yahoos. They can actually read and think. Of course, our Harm comes up with the answer to a quote from, of all authors, Jane Austen. That was cute.

Admiral Chegwidden got to play a larger role. He actually got out of the office as he escorted Senator Marion to Rosy Roads. There was a couple of really touching scenes involving the Admiral. The first one was with the SEAL team, when we learn that their tradition of writing a last letter to a loved one before each mission, (in case they didn't make it back), was started by one Ensign Chegwidden. The second teary scene occurred on board the plane, after Harm and the SEALs have jumped. Chegwidden saw that the moment was ripe, and gave the Senator the last letter from her son. "I think you're ready to read it now." The Senator was not the only one with tears in her eyes at his words. John M. Jackson handled both scenes well.

The Admiral also got a really nice one-liner. When told that his action in authorizing an untrained Harm to do a dangerous HALO jump - high altitude, low open - could cost him his stars, he retorted that Lt. Austin was his authority on the matter and if necessary, he would give them her bars.

As for Harm, he got to do the heroics, and not just the physical stuff. He was the one who figured out that it was murder (a slit O-ring), and not accident. Then he went into action mode - a HALO jump, followed by a several mile swim, then a trek through heavy jungle, and finally, once they had succeeded in breaking through the enemy lines, he had to fly an old crate of a plane back home. It was heady stuff, and fun to watch. And throughout, David James Elliott played it nice and low key. There is none of that puffing out the chest and strutting around for this actor, thank you very much. He has such self-confidence and ease in his role that we can sit back, relax and just plain enjoy.

So I enjoyed.

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