[ Sneezes ] oh.
[ Man ] you sick, soldier?
- Well, colonel, I have a... a little cold. - You have a little cold.
Correct answer is "no, sir." "yes, sir." you feel like standing up?
What you're looking at, sergeant major,
Is what in the real brown shoe army used to be known as an ass-chewin'.
Might I be permitted to ask this general title, sir?
His general title is, I see your men here...
Reading and coughing and doing everything under god's blue sky...
- Except for studying the sere manual. - Well, colonel...
Why is it I don't see you studying the sere manual?
Brown? Last time you did sere school?
- Uh, about a year ago. - You find the tactics changed at sere?
Yes, sir. They were harsher.
Had about a 20% dropout failure rate.
These men need to be prepared for being captured in enemy territory.
You will, as their captors,
Attempt to get them to confess that they betrayed our country, been traitors to the u.S. Of a.
You will deprive them of sleep.
- You will make fun of the genitalia. - Oh, we can do that, sir.
- But you will not touch their genitalia. - You heard the man.
- Heavens no! - You think sere school's a drill?
[ Together ] we are the drill bit!
That's right. It ain't no drill.
Should these soldiers break in sere, what's in their christmas stocking?
- Demotion to civilian. - Something like that.
Any of you thinking about being lenient, who are you gonna save that for?
Our pets and babies, colonel. Most assuredly.
You're acting as guards. You're gonna put these fellas through the wringer.
Bring back the news who's gonna break and who's gonna stand.
- Mr. Williams. - Sir?
You in the habit of imitating your betters?
Only those, sir, I admire unreservedly.
- [ Grey chuckling ] - [ coughing ]
- You sick, soldier? - Well, colonel, I have a little cold.
You oughta get that looked at.
[ All chuckling ]
[ laughter ] ♪ [ soft rock ]
- You're dating someone named puffy? - Not anymore apparently.
[ All laughing ]
[ Coughing ]
Uh, I have an announcement.
- It's a boy. - [ cheering ]
Congratulations.
You guys drop a bomb... "it's a boy"... in a unit that doesn't ever have boys.
- Yeah. What's that about? - Natural selection?
- Well, us men have a different theory. - And it isn't appropriate...
To be shared in mixed company.
Let me guess. Has to do with the famed sexual prowess...
Of special forces soldiers?
You said it, not me. Whoo-hoo.
- You excited? - Are you kidding? Over the moon.
Well, I'd be happy to hold the christening party at my house.
- Thanks. But we're not... - [ Tiffy ] did you christen serena?
Yes. But not this one.
Not this time.
You didn't say I shouldn't tell anyone.
Everyone has expectations of what I should do.
Of what we should do. A christening.
No. We planned a christening for...
The other one.
And we canceled it.
I'm not going through that again.
Baby, serena was fine.
Okay? This one will be fine too. Have faith that...
You have faith. I still have fear.
[ Coughing ]
Take a hot shower, aspirin, gargle.
Mm-hmm. You still going to this thing?
Mm-hmm.
[ Coughing ]
How sick are you? Not bad.
- You can opt out. - I'm good for guard duty.
[ Jonas ] I've been on one or two of these...
Where things got a little too real for the guards.
Keep control. And remember it's just a drill.
[ Bob coughing ]
[ Bob sniffling ]
Last chance.
Okay then.
Here we go.
- Cakewalk. - [ Jonas ] you think?
Guys.
Are you kidding me?
This is a u.S. Army sere training drill.
Survival, evasion, resistance, escape.
You will relinquish all weapons to your captors now.
[ Mack ] captors?
[ Jonas ] grey!
- Stand down. - Don't move.
[ Man ] stay down.
Looks like your old pal got a new job.
Alpha team, welcome to sere.
You have been captured. You are now prisoners of war.
[ Call and response ] ♪ fired up fired up ♪
♪ twenty-seven fired up ♪
♪ here we go on the road ♪
♪ twenty-seven fired up ♪
♪ fired up fired up ♪
♪ twenty-seven fired up ♪
♪ [ marching band ] [ guard ] prisoners, atten-hut!
No eyes on my flag.
You ain't fit to look at my flag.
You do not look at our flag while our anthem plays.
Drop and do pushups till I get tired.
This man is a p.O.W. Like you, he's failed in his mission.
This man is a little better than vermin.
We do not coddle vermin. We step on it.
This man is a sellout. Get the hell up.
Fast start. What's the point of a slow one?
- I came here to make changes. - Form up.
Guards, receive the prisoners.
All prisoners strip, now.
You look at me, my man, you lose an eye.
- Sergeant major cheals, my men should not be... - her men now.
Break 'em to flake 'em, colonel ryan.
Left face! Forward ho!
Column right, ho!
Opt out.
Prisoners halt! Right face!
- Are these swine infested? - Yes, sergeant, they are!
Put these on, double time. Learn these numbers.
You have no names now.
[ Coughing ]
♪ I am a lineman for the county ♪
♪ And I drive the main
- Brown, code of conduct, article one. - I am an american fighting man.
Williams, chair of surveillance and intel.
Grey, health committee. Sign no confessions.
Do not admit to clandestine ops. Accept no special favors. ♪ [ singing continues ]
- [ Coughing ] - first and foremost,
Keep faith with each other and your country.
Our signal for a-okay: I'm with you.
♪ [ Continues ] signal for danger: Beware.
♪ I know I need a long vacation ♪
- Go ahead and split 'em up. - I'd say let 'em rip. We got three days.
This isn't your old-school military where we keep troop positions secret for 24 hours.
Our world takes hostages solely for propaganda value.
International law does not apply. There are no nice guys.
If we don't train our men for that, we're preparing them to fail.
[ Coughing ]
Your boy is ill. Yes, ma'am.
Men get sick. Whole point to torture... break 'em down, split 'em apart.
They're ill, we're one step ahead in the game.
- ♪ [ Continues ] - here.
- Saw another exit here. - All right. Egress one.
This is two, only if one fails.
Saw a couple of windows. Might be vulnerable.
[ Coughing ] your coughing's a tell.
You're gonna put us all in danger.
Any extra water, give it to brown. Keep his throat wet.
We find a way to escape. Absent that, we hang tough for three days,
Keep each other strong, get back to our jobs.
I ain't letting one of you get kicked out of the unit over some drill.
- [ Bob coughing ] - ♪ [ continues ]
I'm pulling brown. Absolutely not.
They break here, they're out. They break in iraq, afghanistan,
They're traitors and they're dead.
- Now what do you want to do with glen campbell? - ♪ Is still on the line
Huddle up! Protect brown! Aaah!
Grey must be heading up the health committee.
I don't see him handing out any bandages.
You didn't hear jonas handing out assignments, but he did.
Nobody in your precious d.O.D...
Warned you not to underestimate this group?
[ Grey ] we gotta conserve body heat.
Fall in. We're gonna huddle.
Think warm thoughts. Keep your body on brown.
No matter what, keep faith with your mates.
- Get some rest. - I'm not tired.
You will be. You're our leader, so get some rest now.
[ Bob coughing ]
Like I said, health committee.
This'll be over soon enough.
Don't bet on it.
♪ [ Electric guitar on p.A. ]
Ah, romance, music, moonlight.
Now you can't beat that.
[ Electric guitar, voices screaming ]
Courtesy of my friends in 'nam.
Your friends use anything other than noise to get results?
You play it long enough, it'll cut to the gut.
Maybe that's why the vietnam war lasted for so damn long.
- Well, my experience... - you want to be the new head of sere,
You've got to learn the new way.
[ Cacophony continues ]
[ Kim ] serena, I found it. You left it underneath...
My dollies. And god bless daddy so he doesn't get hurt.
Honey, what you doing?
Praying for daddy.
Well, we don't do that, baby.
We talk about daddy when he's working.
- We... - Lissy and jen do it.
Come here, baby doll.
You learn about praying last night at lissy and jen's?
Jen says if she prays, her daddy will be safe.
But if she doesn't... Rena.
Daddy's always safe in our hearts.
We don't have to get on our knees. We just have to love him.
Do you love him? All the time.
Your job is done then.
Now into bed, pumpkin.
No! You do not miss a stone!
Your mama told you you were stupid. Didn't she?
- You will pick up every stone in your hand, fairy. - Here's our weak link.
You're a poor excuse of a man.
Pull him.
[ Grunting, coughing ]
Take me.
He's sick.
I've seen your file, soldier.
You have no brothers. Your father had no brothers.
Your mother had no brothers. Your wife has no brothers.
But your wife is carrying a son.
Who's the father? What color will your son be?
Will they call the boy "boy"?
Little charles? Little hector? Or jonas's son?
Or your son, soldier, just to be kind.
Enough of the pleasantries. Let's see what he's made of.
Start on the kidneys.
[ Grunting, coughing ]
[ Bob grunting ]
[ Grunting continues ]
This ain't no drill, not anymore.
[ Bob coughing ]
- You thirsty? - My name is williams, hector.
I am a sergeant in the United States army.
Because the water here is yours.
You tell me whether or not it's true...
You were not part of recent clandestine operations in afghanistan.
If you are able to confirm your absence from that mission, son,
You'll be excused, go on home.
Your friend took a bad beating. He's awful sick.
You want to visit him? Take him some medicine?
Fine. Let him get sicker.
Aaah!
No? Show him the monitor.
[ Coughing ] your mate isn't looking too good.
- You can stop this. - Gerhardt, mack.
I am a master sergeant in the United States army.
[ Coughing continues ]
Beat on the kidneys.
Oh!
Aaah!
Aaah! Aaah! Oh!
[ Shouting continues ]
Name, rank and service number.
[ grey grunting ]
What the hell were you thinking jumping the guard again?
Prisoners are not to harass or interfere with the administration of the camp.
Unless it serves a greater objective. Resistance.
How's getting yourself beaten to a pulp with a flashlight manage that?
No light at the end of the tunnel, huh?
[ Guard ] come with me.
I understand you requested medical attention for one of the men?
You are the senior officer?
My name is blane, jonas! Sergeant major, u.S. Army!
You know, I've studied the 150 men in your unit.
Black, white, asian, hispanic,
Rich, poor, city kids, country bumpkins.
Finally found the one thing connecting you all.
- You know what that thing is, sergeant? - My name is blane, jonas!
Sergeant major, United States army!
You're all children of adversity, poverty,
Lack of love, drunken mothers, abusive fathers.
You all found your way here. Didn't you?
Question I have for the man though is...
What secret is the boy in you holding onto?
You must be hoping for a speedy return to your lovely wife and what...
Your whore on the side?
Feeding your lust with a cheap little piece? Aren't you ashamed?
Your own daughter.
Betsy blane, 19 years old.
According to her gynecologist, sexually active since age 14.
Think it was a ploy for attention given your many absences?
Price you pay. Price your child pays.
Of course, as a physician, I worry, knowing the significant correlation...
Between hypersexuality and childhood abuse.
How about it? Was betsy daddy's little girl?
Who touched you as a kid?
Made you want to touch your own daughter?
Sorry. My mind was elsewhere.
Your sister was uncle's little girl, wasn't she?
You didn't tell now? Did you?
My name is blane, jonas! Sergeant major, United States army!
You think all you need to do is give me rank and name for three days?
Well, I have some new intel for you, blane, jonas.
The sere school goes on for as long as I say it goes on.
Three weeks, three months.
There is no rest for you.
[ Door closes ]
All below the belt. Enemy wouldn't have his personal information.
You're living in the past. Enemy has a name,
All they need is a good hacker and an internet connection...
To find every dirty detail of their life.
He's holding though. Damn straight, he's holding.
Now I want an ambulance for brown.
She could be lying about how long the drill's for.
Could be.
In case not, everyone better reset their clocks for way past three days.
Guess we're on their time now.
Lie down, maggot. I can't accept special favors.
[ Coughing ]
- He's hyperventilating. - What's his health?
- B.P.'s 90 over 60, pulse 120. - Lung sounds?
Wheezing, extrinsic. Fever's 103 and change.
- Junk in the trunk. Not good. - Gain his trust.
Play mommy bear. He's done playing. I want him pulled now.
- Want me to flunk him? - I want a medical exemption.
[ Coughing continues ]
Brown? This is dr. Rhea morrison.
You are very ill. We would like you to lie down...
So we can administer medication and fluid.
Are my mates getting something to drink?
That's my boy. They are.
You want to treat me, take me back with them.
Treat me in front of them. Let me see they're getting taken care of too.
I can do that. Mr. Manning?
Iraq, August, 1999.
What was your squad's mission?
[ Kisses ] that's it.
Hose him down.
If serena's latched onto something that makes her feel better, what's the big deal?
- It's not the way bob and I do it. - You said serena was christened.
- I just assumed. - Yes, she was.
She saw my two girls praying, and she wanted to join in.
Of course she wants to do what they do. They're older.
She'd follow them into a busy highway if there was no one there to stop her.
I didn't see it as a problem. Now she thinks if she doesn't pray for her father,
If something happens to him, it'll be her fault.
- Well, she misunderstood. - As four-year-olds often do.
I don't want god and religion and guilt and damnation...
Put into her head unless I'm the one putting it there.
I don't mean to be short.
No. You're just being clear. Yes. I want to be clear.
And now you are. It won't happen again.
Again. [ coughing ]
I don't like the sound of this.
- Say the word, doctor. - Let's call it quits.
Brown, you just got a pass. You're heading to the hospital.
I can't opt out of sere. Not without my teammates. I'll be kicked out of the unit.
No. This is a medical exemption. You can't make me.
You're right, soldier, but I can.
I'm the one making the decisions here. It's my call.
- I'll call transport. - You go on and lie down.
We do need you to sign out on this line, brown.
Sign it. Let's get you some help, son.
And by signing this document, I am not admitting...
To any treason or cooperation with an enemy of any kind. Sir?
It's not a break of faith.
- What did I sign? - You can't kick him out of the unit for a party trick.
I only need to appear to separate one to pry them all apart.
It's all I need you for, colonel. You may go.
[ door opens ] what about going to the hospital?
- I think you know the answer to that. - I signed...
An admission of cooperating with the enemy. Won't make your friends too happy.
I didn't... I...
Prisoner number 602 will be brought into the interrogation room.
You will slap him, or I will use this document to flunk you out of sere school...
And you will be removed from the unit.
[ Coughing ]
Go on, hit him.
Get him outta here. Get him outta here.
Let's try again. Prisoner 604 is next.
One slap. That's all.
[ Coughing ]
Brown, decide his fate.
As you wish. Guard?
Aaah!
Okay. Bring in the next one. If sergeant brown is uncooperative,
Be especially brutal with this one.
Sergeant brown?
Thank you.
Here's your water.
Aren't you gonna give your commander the a-okay sign?
Your boy broke.
Signed his confession. Slapped you in the face.
You may go back to your cell now.
[ Whistles ]
He says he's with us. But it looks to me like he's sitting pretty.
It's a setup. Brown didn't break faith.
Maybe not, but he's drinking your water.
No, wrong. Not in here. He doesn't go in with the others.
- Code's been broken. - [ grey ] code's broken.
What does that mean? We got a problem with brown?
Where is he?
Here you go.
How good a shot's bob? If memory serves, pretty damn good.
Because if they did break him,
The traitor's now in possession of a rifle.
Tiffy send you to civilize the heathen?
Tiffy told me. But I read between the lines at dinner.
They're my lines, molly.
You haven't gone to church since coming here, have you?
It's not the most unusual thing,
But you used to go, didn't you?
- And what about faith? - Bob asked me that.
Some have it, some don't.
And you're surviving all right without it? I have so far.
And my daughter is fine too.
My whole family is fine.
[ Coughing ]
Prisoner, don't stack around that wire.
Pick it the hell up.
And you help him, you lazy bum.
[ Bob coughing ]
- Traitor! - Pull that crap up.
You gonna take that?
[ Grunts ] hey!
- Get off me! - [ grunts ]
[ Coughing ] you turning against us?
[ Guard ] that's cute. Now stop it!
Maybe he doesn't know what he's doing.
I think not. He slipped me this.
My objection is not that the tactics are brutal... they are worthless.
I know these men. You will permanently maim them...
Before they will bow to physical torture.
We've taken blood samples, measuring epinephrine levels before and after stressors.
Most soldiers show depleted levels of adrenaline after peak events.
Your men? They return to normal without a recovery period.
We need to find out why. I finally figured you out, lady.
You're not here to train these men. You're here to test some theory.
It's not a theory. The algerians...
We do not follow in the footsteps...
Of those who raised torture to an art form.
They're not our teachers.
Your men are extraordinary. Don't you want to find out why?
I don't give a rat's ass why.
We do have one possible exception.
Williams shows a slight norepinephrine drop.
His stanford-binet suggests he's most personally imprinted on his leader.
All the men look up to jonas.
With williams there's a deeper, almost familial bond.
And damned if you're not gonna exploit it.
Williams, hector. I am an american...
Fighting man?
That's right. You've been fighting all your life.
Isn't that so, boy?
'Cause that's what they think of you, boy.
Like your boy jonas.
Just another boy to them, doing their dirty work.
Putting his life on the line. Nobody cares.
Look here.
Is that your granddaddy?
Yes, it is.
And nobody arrested for that crime.
If it was a white man... children of crisis. That's the lever.
His grandfather, 1952, hung from a tree in alabama.
Now family lore, but the kind never talked about.
That young man has overcome so much.
Idea is, colonel, for him to overcome this.
Now, I don't want you humiliated in front of these guys.
Don't want you to break, son.
I tell them they can't break you,
Cut you some slack.
Cut jonas some slack.
See, I'm not opposed to the psychological side,
As long as you're willing to soften them up and then finish them off physically.
And tell me anything you can...
So I can go easy on you.
[ Liquid pouring ]
[ Williams ] so it's iraq. We go in.
Gotta infiltrate this château being used for r&r.
Disrupt the chain of command.
- Can't tell you any more. - Sure you can, son.
You gotta disrupt the chain... yeah.
Infiltrate. We gotta raid it.
People are gonna die.
First, it was wladislaw died.
Minorities first, right? Yeah.
Then victor franko. Italian.
Bad ass. Crazy as a loon.
Then colonel's breathing down our backs.
"Do the job. Take 'em out." colonel breed.
Born with a gun in his hand.
Robert ryan. Tavish, check back records.
Give me when williams was under the command of a colonel breed.
Tell tavish never mind.
We get background intel on this breed,
We can work williams more if sergeant manning doesn't finish him off first.
Doctor, colonel everett breed is a character in a movie.
So are the other guys. John cassavetes and charles bronson.
You've been taken, pick. He's giving you the plot to the dirty dozen.
Think that's funny.
You don't kill that boy, or you do kill him, and any of his mates lives,
We better take a head count of our family members.
Because my men motivated and angry will not be deterred.
He's sedated. Versed. It's an amnesiac. He won't remember.
- If he dies, they'll remember. - We'll check his vitals again.
You'll be checking your own vital signs, he gets any sicker.
Let's see how the leader's holding.
Oh, for god... Hose him down.
And get the electric shock kit.
Don't you dare! I am in charge here.
Do not mock the ways of the past.
They were born on the backs of men and women who were there.
You learn from them. Let me show you what works.
You willing to bet your new position here you're right?
I'm only willing, miss, to do this job the way it's supposed to be done.
Take 20.
You okay?
I didn't ask you to tell me if you were cooperating with the enemy. I...
I courteously inquired as to the state of your health.
You can't catch me.
I'm the gingerbread man.
The thing is, jonas,
I need your help.
Brown is dangerously ill.
He's unconscious with a high fever, and he's fading fast.
- He went over, so treat him. - That's my point. He didn't.
The document he signed isn't the document he read.
It's just a trick to break the rest of you.
And this doctor woman won't treat him until somebody breaks.
- Then you gotta stop her. - I tried. Ryan tried.
It's out of our hands. I need your help.
We gotta stop this thing together.
- Is this the one you wanted? - Yes. Thank you.
This is helene rouse.
Ah, another newbie. From? Molly's church actually.
And you're here to see me.
I was hoping to talk to you about some of the things we have to offer...
At the first church of... No, thank you.
This is very wrong.
I'm not trying to drag you into a cult.
Helene's here to tell you all the church has to offer by way of support.
Meetings, focus groups.
There's babysitting, things for you to do to...
- Forget? - Keep busy.
This is only informational.
On how to get connected.
I'll tell you what I'm connected to.
Memory.
I remember my husband and I planning a christening for a baby I lost last year.
And my mother's minister said, "it's god's will."
To let a baby die? Really?
Well, I've got another one on the way, and he's just gonna have to rely on me.
I'm sorry molly wasted your time.
That was a plant.
You're right. It's not about connecting. It's about reconnecting.
I'm sorry you lost a child, kim.
Was that god's will? I have no idea.
But I've been a part of this man's army many years.
And what I know is, it is our will that keeps the home fires burning.
Our will that lets our men leave and walk into harm's way.
Our will that allows us to survive if something happens to them.
And for me, that's a kind of faith.
What is it that you're looking for?
It doesn't have to be my church or any church at all.
But it's gotta be something.
[ Cell door opens ]
Lookee here. It's christmas.
You could've drunk that. But you need to wash your dainties.
- Hey, you okay? - No, bro. I gotta lie down.
[ cell door closes ]
[ groans ]
You playing nurse or are you gonna clean up?
I wash when I wash, hector. You ain't my mama.
Puppies nipping at each other. That's a good sign.
The system's screwed up. And who pays? You men.
I thought, take this job, identify the problems, fix the problems.
But it's a cancer now.
The pentagon wouldn't know what it was doing...
If info was hand-delivered up their butt.
You need to break faith.
Sign our document, and save brown.
You can't trust him anymore. Brown changed teams.
[ Mack ] he looks bad.
I don't care.
[ Grey ] he's with us. He gave us the magazine.
Yeah. Or he was playacting.
Guess we'll just have to ask him.
[ Coughing ]
Tell your mom I'll drop by around 8:00.
- It's a trick. - No.
I resigned my position.
I'm just trying to save brown.
My name is blane, jonas.
This isn't a drill anymore. This is life or death of one of your men.
- You understand me? - I'm a sergeant major in the United States army.
I'm talking to you as your oldest best friend.
And I'm telling you, you're the only person that can save that kid.
My old friend?
Yes.
And I swear on our friendship...
That the only thing that'll save brown...
Is breaking your faith and signing her confession.
Jonas, you're responsible for him.
I'll get the papers.
Water salty enough to make it work?
We better hope so.
We got about 20 seconds before they wonder what the hell we're doing.
I'm almost done.
Can you get me another angle on that camera?
Oh, come on.
I got it.
All available men to the holding cell.
[ Grunting ]
You find this amusing, colonel?
Ma'am, I find this nothing short of hilarious.
I am an american fighting man.
[ Electric sizzle ]
Lock it down... Where are those guards?
[ Bob coughing ] [ man shouting ]
[ Man ] you heard 'em, let's get that generator online!
[ Grunting ]
[ Ron ] just sign these papers for brown.
[ Bob ] top?
[ Ron ] brown?
[ Jonas ] you said he was... I got you, top.
You swore on our friendship.
I had to prove her wrong.
Right. All's fair.
What the hell's going on in here?
- Good to see you. Mack? - Should be in the woods.
Mack had the gate. Tie him up? No.
He ain't going nowhere.
[ Clears throat ]
Sere ain't over.
Breakout's not on the approved list of activities.
And I thought sere meant survive, evade, resist, escape.
Back inside.
You're lucky this is just a drill.
Otherwise we'd already be two miles away from here.
Come on, soldier. Let's get you some help. Steady him.
[ Ron ] congratulations, gentlemen.
You have survived sere school.
♪ [ reveille playing ]
They've got the fever down a little.
They're worried about infection. But they say in a week or so he should be fine.
What did you do to him?
Too much.
Hey.
When they called me and told me how you were, I got so scared.
And I did something.
Waiting for the ride,
I realized I was praying.
Not hands clasped, not on my knees,
But something over and over.
"Don't let him die."
And that's prayer. Right?
And if that's prayer, it's gotta be a kind of faith.
You're a little bit ahead of me in the faith department,
But I'm working on it.
You really got me working on it, baby.
Shh.
Shh. Just go to sleep.
We're gonna be okay.
Just sleep.
[ Call and response ] ♪ fired up fired up ♪
♪ twenty-seven fired up ♪