I stood before the small, white casket. Beside it lay a folded American flag, its stars sharp against the deep blue. I didn’t cry. I had learned a long time ago that in the Corps, you process the mission first. The grief could wait until the objective was secured.

The investigation was a surgical affair. Because the assault happened on a military installation in the presence of senior officers, NCIS took immediate jurisdiction. There was no room for the “he didn’t mean it” defense. There were two hundred witnesses.