'— I nonetheless must object to this procedure. If there are reasons why a civilian such as myself cannot be provided with this same private briefing, surely Lieutenant Owings can be given that access.'
Commander Carr shook her head again. 'I'm sorry, but the government is not prepared to agree to that. Lieutenant Owings lacks the necessary background investigations and clearances, as did Lieutenant Pullman even before his arrest.'
'Your Honor-'
Judge Campbell held up a restraining hand. 'Defense Counsel's objections and concerns are noted. The court will fairly evaluate the nature of the government's evidence and then rule on its admissibility. Is the government prepared to continue its arguments at this time without reference to the material on the list, or must the court-martial be suspended until my ruling?'
'The government is prepared to continue, Your Honor.'
'Then do so.'
Commander Carr faced Captain Hayes, who had listened to the argument without apparent emotion. 'Captain, Lieutenant Pullman was a member of your crew. What is your assessment of him as an officer?'
Hayes frowned. 'To be perfectly frank, Commander, Lieutenant Pullman was a member of my crew for a very limited period of time. I only had the opportunity to develop preliminary impressions.'
'Please share those impressions.'
'Lieutenant Pullman seemed to be a capable officer.'
'Would you describe him as knowledgeable?'
'Objection, Your Honor.' David Sinclair gestured with one hand toward Commander Carr. 'Trial Counsel is leading the witness.'
'Objection sustained. Let the witness use his own words, Trial Counsel.'
If Carr was abashed, she didn't show it. 'Yes, Your Honor. Captain Hayes, please provide a more detailed description of your impression of Lieutenant Pullman as an officer prior to his arrest.'
'All right.' Captain Hayes frowned again, this time in thought. 'Lieutenant Pullman gave me the impression of being capable, as I said. His performance of duties was at least competent. He learned his new responsibilities as communications officer quickly. He seemed to get along well with his shipmates and presented a good military bearing.'
'Did Lieutenant Pullman make many mistakes?'
'Not to my knowledge. I didn't personally observe any significant errors on his part.'
'Did he demonstrate awareness of standard procedures on your ship, including the proper handling of classified material?'
'Yes, I believe he did.'
'In your professional assessment, Captain Hayes, did you believe Lieutenant Pullman was sufficiently well- trained and capable that he could be trusted to carry out tasks without committing serious errors?'
'Objection.' David Sinclair shook his head. 'Your Honor, it appears that Trial Counsel is attempting to get the witness to comment on hypothetical situations.'
Carr shook her head in turn. 'Your Honor, as commanding officer of the USS Michaelson it was Captain Hayes' responsibility to make such assessments of all his officers. It is not a hypothetical situation since such judgments are required on a constant basis.'
Judge Campbell thought again, then looked toward the members' table. 'I'd like the opinions of the members on this matter since it deals with issues of command responsibilities and the court doesn't have that experience. Do you believe such an assessments are made routinely as a part of daily command responsibilities?'
Captain Nguyen, Commander Sriracha and Lieutenant Kilgary immediately nodded. Lieutenant Commander de Vaca, after clearly thinking for a moment, nodded as well. Lieutenant Mahris nodded apparently just as soon as he realized that Captain Nguyen was doing so. Captain Nguyen looked to either side to tabulate the responses, then nodded again to the judge. 'It's unanimous. Any commanding officer has to make such assessments every moment of every day. That is why commanding officers are held accountable for failures by their subordinates. They're responsible for deciding whether or not those subordinates can be trusted to carry out tasks.'
'Thank you, Captain,' Judge Campbell stated. 'Objection overruled. Continue, Trial Counsel.'
'Thank you, Your Honor. Captain Hayes, would you like me to repeat the question?'
'No, that's not necessary.' Hayes' mouth worked for a moment. 'Yes, I did assess Lieutenant Pullman as being well-trained and capable enough to carry out the duties of a junior officer on my ship. If I'd thought he wasn't to be trusted to do his work or stand watches properly, I would've relieved him of his duties and had him transferred off of the ship.'
Carr leaned closer to the witness stand, her eyes locked on Hayes. 'Captain, did you feel you had any reason to doubt Lieutenant Pullman's understanding of security regulations?'
'No. None at all.'
'Are you confident he knew it was contrary to regulations to download classified material onto portable media using his stateroom terminal?'
'Yes, I am.'
Carr stepped back, raising her data pad slightly again. 'At this time Trial Counsel would like to enter into evidence the security briefing papers signed by Lieutenant Pullman when he was granted his clearances, and the nondisclosure agreement signed by Lieutenant Pullman at that same time, which spells out the penalties for unauthorized disclosure of classified material. Trial Counsel would also like to enter into evidence the page from Lieutenant Pullman's service record which certifies that he attended and passed standard security indoctrination training.'
Judge Campbell, leaning her chin on her hand again, twisted her head slightly to look toward the defense table.
David Sinclair shook his head. 'Defense Counsel has no objection.'
'Then the court orders those documents be entered into evidence. Continue, Trial Counsel.'
Commander Carr faced Captain Hayes again. 'Captain, did you ever, by any means whatsoever, order or instruct Lieutenant Pullman to download classified material onto portable media?'
'No, I did not.'
'Are you familiar with the list of classified material contained on one of the coins found in Lieutenant Pullman's possession?'
'I am.'
'Did you ever, by any means whatsoever, order or instruct Lieutenant Pullman to download any or all of those specific items of classified material onto portable media?'
'No, I did not.'
'Did you ever, by any means whatsoever, order or instruct or approve of Lieutenant Pullman's removing from your ship coins containing classified material?'
'No, Commander. You can ask any officer in my wardroom. I don't permit or encourage my officers to violate security regulations.'
'Thank you, Captain. No more questions.'
David Sinclair stood a ways back from Captain Hayes, his posture respectful but not submissive. 'Captain Hayes, I understand the commanding officer of a warship deals with a tremendous quantity of decisions and actions every day. Is that a fair statement?'
Hayes gave David Sinclair a sidelong look, but nodded. 'I believe that's a fair statement.'
'Have any of your orders, statements or instructions ever been misinterpreted or misunderstood?'
'Perhaps I should explain to you that orders are routinely repeated back, so that I and other officers can be sure they're properly understood.'
David Sinclair smiled, unabashed. 'Thank you, Captain. I do understand the system is designed to minimize the chances of misunderstandings. But no system is perfect. What I asked was whether, in practice, any orders, statements or instructions of yours ever have been misunderstood.'
Captain Hayes didn't look happy. 'I can't honestly say that has never happened.'
'Has anyone in your crew ever done anything, believing it was what you desired, even though you were sure you had given them no such instruction?'
Hayes spent a moment watching David Sinclair, then nodded. 'That sometimes happens.'
