Group discipline also known as the “code red” is practiced in every unit of the army. It is the way in which soldiers are made tough and disciplined to the order given to them to protect the country. The movie demonstrates both the pros and cons of having this kind of discipline. Though not found in any book, the code red is well aware amongst the soldiers in the marine core.
The benefit of having a code red is that it helps a soldier never repeat a mistake again. It disciplines them. This is shown when Lt Daniel Kaffee, the counselor for the accused brought Cpl Jeffrey Barnes as witness. Jeffrey narrates his incident of how a code red was performed on him and it worked to his benefit. It disciplined him never to have his gun slip. This shows the benefit of having group discipline. Soldiers help their fellow soldiers toughen up by showing a little bit of harsh treatment.
However, the group discipline can go wrong in many ways, It targets the weaker soldiers of the unit, like that of William Santiago, who died cause of this treatment. Instead of having him transferred, his superiors decided to train him instead and ordered a code red which eventually led to his death. By targeting the weaker section of the unit, they should be protected by their fellow soldiers, not mistreated in the name of discipline. There are other ways in which discipline can be enforced in a unit, but by beating up and harming another human just so that he follows the code, is incorrect.
The risk or the worry when the military considers itself better than the population it serves is the training that the military uses to train it soldiers to be disciplined and tough and loyal. The training can be hazardous to the life of a weak soldier like Santiago who was desperately begging for a transfer from gitmo. In this movie, the superior Col. Nathan Jessup and Lt. Jonathan Kendrick, found it better to train Santiago than offer him a transfer. They believed that if he was transferred, he would be endangering the lives of a people he protected. They even ignored his medical records which showed symptoms of his coronary disorder and asked his fellow soldiers Dawson and Downey to perform the code red. The two soldiers just followed orders given to them by their superiors as they were disciplined in that way to do so. When Santiago Col Jessup thought it better to lie about the transfer than admit that he may be the reason for the death of Santiago.
Work Cited
A Few Good Men. Dir. Rob Reiner. Prod. Rob Reiner, David Brown, and Andrew Scheinman. By Aaron Sorkin. Perf. Aaron Sorkin, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, and Kevin Bacon. Columbia Pictures, 1992.
“Full Cast & Crew.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.