I have never been in the military. But, my understanding is, you can't disobey an order or you can be court martialed. If the Marines had refused to code red the dead marine, wouldn't they be in serious trouble?
At the end, one marine says, "They were suppose to protect Willie (the dead marine)". How could they do that without disobeying an order?
If any marines or military personnel could answer . . .
United States Marines are trained to give their lives, if necessary, to protect their fellows. Whether it's risking court-martial by refusing a command, or transferring a man with a legitimate medical condition that puts him AND (by extension) his fellow Marines at risk, by accepting the consequences of being an incompetent diagnostician or XO, or jumping on a grenade, you protect your fellow Marine's life, because if you survive, one day he will do the same thing for you. Pvt. Santiago's death was caused by a CO, an XO, an MCO, a junior officer and two Privates, and once that happened, they all failed in their duty. Simple as that.
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