Тюленът Върнън Ривърс рискува живота си, за да спаси зам.-държавния секретар Гулбертсън от ислямски фундаменталисти и Раб и Макензи са пратени да установят дали заслужава медал на честта.

When Harm, Mac and Bud are ordered to run a routine background check on a Navy SEAL who is a candidate for the Medal of Honor, they uncover unsavory information that may make him unworthy.

Lt. Rivers is up for a medal after he single-handedly rescues the undersecretary of state from fundamentalist terrorists. Harm and Mac, in their investigation, find Rivers, an African-American, to be a very tough, complex and uncommunicative individual who is totally devoted to his country and his duty. But his men paint a different picture of him as a gung-ho loner who doesn't care about the safety of his team and, in fact, botched the mission by leaving one of his men behind. Rivers finally agrees to open up to Harm -- but only if Harm can withstand arduous SEAL training for one day -- including the brutal manhandling required of the ""hostage interrogation.""

Un lieutenant de la marine risque sa vie pour sauver Lawrence Culbertson, un secrétaire d'Etat. Le lieutenant Harmon Rabb Jr et le major Sarah MacKenzie sont chargés de mener une enquête approfondie sur lui, pour savoir s'il mérite la médaille d'honneur du Congrès...

Der schwarze Lt. Vernon Rivers befreit in einem kühnen Handstreich den Politiker Culbertson aus der Gewalt islamischer Fundamentalisten. Dafür soll ihm eine Ehrenmedaille verliehen werden, doch zuvor erhalten Rabb und MacKenzie den Auftrag zu prüfen, ob Rivers die Auszeichnung wirklich verdient. Culbertson lobt die Tat des heldenhaften Lieutenants, doch die Soldaten, die bei der Befreiung dabei waren, zeichnen ein ganz anderes Bild. Rivers selbst verweigert jegliche Aussage.

Un tenente colonnello dei Marine è accusato di disobbedienza per aver inviato dei soldati a salvare altri marine prigionieri ad Haiti. Il caso è seguito dal presidente a causa dell'eco provocata per l'uccisione di civili durante l'operazione. Harm deve accusare il militare, Mac deve difenderlo.

Harm, Mac y Bud deberán inspeccionar al Teniente Vermon River, un SEAL candidato a la medalla del honor por un rescate realizado por el solo. River resulta ser un afro americano bastante complejo y poco comunicativo devoto de su trabajo pero según los hombres que dirige es una persona a la que no le importa la seguridad de su equipo. Finalmente River acepta colaborar si Harm soporta un día de entrenamiento de los SEAls. Después de experimentar el arduo entrenamiento físico Harm consigue que los hombres de River modifiquen su versión y admitan que en realidad ellos desobedecieron las órdenes para completar el rescate. Finalmente se le otorgará a River la medalla del honor.