At the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, Private William Santiago is a weak Marine, has poor relations with other Marines, and has broken the chain of command to ask to be transferred away. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson advocates that Santiago be transferred; however, Base Commander Colonel Nathan Jessup orders Santiago's platoon commander, Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick, to "train" Santiago. Santiago dies shortly afterwards. Marines Harold Dawson and Louden Downey are accused of his murder and face a court-martial.