Chapter 10 - The Trial
Major Eric Bolton's court-martial began in federal court in Pensacola in October.
It lasted nine days.
It was presided over by a military judge named Colonel Helena Vasquez — no relation to the safety board president; the coincidence had been the source of a single awkward moment at the beginning of the trial. It was prosecuted by a judge advocate named Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Chen. It was defended by a civilian attorney from Fort Walton Beach named Robert Kessler.
The prosecution called seventeen witnesses.
The first was Special Agent Michelle Okafor. She testified for six hours. She walked the jury through the investigation. She walked them through the master override code. She walked them through the workstation logs. She walked them through the security camera footage. She walked them through the forged signature. She walked them through the email from the group commander.
The second was the production supervisor. He testified for ninety minutes. He described the work order. He described the red X. He described the morning of the thirteenth, when he had come in and found the red X gone and the aircraft released. He described the phone call he had received from Major Bolton on the evening of the twelfth. He described the words Bolton had used.
"Sir," he said, "Major Bolton said, 'The aircraft is going to be released tonight. Do not discuss it with anyone.' And I said, 'Sir, what about Staff Sergeant Cole's red X?' And he said, 'I have handled it.' And I said, 'Sir, is that legal?' And he said, 'Sergeant, do not ask questions you do not want the answers to.'"
The courtroom was silent.
The third was Captain Noah Bennett. He testified for three hours. He described the sortie. He described the loss of hydraulic pressure. He described the emergency procedures. He described the recovery at 4,000 feet. He described the landing with the hydraulic fire in the wheel well.
He described the meeting in the hangar.
He described the moment when Major Bolton had kicked Staff Sergeant Cole's toolbox shut.
He described the moment when he had walked forward with the envelope.
He was cross-examined for two hours by Robert Kessler. Kessler tried to make him look like a man whose memory had been distorted by trauma. Kessler tried to make him look like a man whose recollections were unreliable. Kessler tried to make him look like a man who was remembering things that had not happened.
Bennett did not take the bait.
"Captain Bennett," Kessler said, "is it not true that you were under extreme stress on the fourteenth of May?"
"Yes, sir. I was."
"Is it not true that extreme stress can affect a person's memory?"
"Yes, sir. It can."
"Is it not true that your memory of the events of the fourteenth of May may be affected by the stress you experienced?"
"Sir," Bennett said, "my memory of the sortie is affected by the stress. My memory of the emergency procedures is affected by the stress. My memory of the eleven seconds before impact is affected by the stress. But my memory of the hangar — of the meeting in the hangar, of the moment when Major Bolton kicked Staff Sergeant Cole's toolbox shut, of the moment when I walked forward with the envelope — that memory is not affected by the stress. That memory is affected by the fact that I was standing three feet away from a major who was telling my crew that a staff sergeant had nearly killed me. That memory is affected by the fact that I had filed a sealed defect report six hours before the sortie. That memory is affected by the fact that I knew, when I walked forward with the envelope, that I was going to be on the stand today. That memory is not affected by the stress. That memory is the truth."
The courtroom was silent.
"No further questions," Kessler said.
The fourth witness was Staff Sergeant Jasmine Cole.
She testified for three hours. She described the work order. She described the red X. She described the part number discrepancy. She described the morning of the thirteenth. She described the meeting with Major Bolton. She described the hangar.
She described the moment when Major Bolton had kicked her toolbox shut. She described the moment when she had said, "Sir, I did not sign the release." She described the moment when Captain Bennett had walked forward with the envelope. She described the moment when she had asked, "Who put that aircraft back in service?"
She was cross-examined for two hours by Robert Kessler. Kessler tried to make her look like a liar. Kessler tried to make her look like a staff sergeant who had fabricated a story to save her career. Kessler tried to make her look like a woman who had been out for revenge.
Jasmine did not take the bait.
"Staff Sergeant Cole," Kessler said, "is it not true that you called Captain Bennett on the twenty-second of May, in violation of the terms of your administrative leave?"
"Yes, sir. It is true."
"Is it not true that you were told, in writing, not to contact any witness in the investigation?"
"Yes, sir. It is true."
"Is it not true that you did it anyway?"
"Yes, sir. I did."
"And yet you expect this jury to believe that you are a credible witness?"
Jasmine looked at him.
"Sir," she said, "I am not asking this jury to believe that I am a credible witness. I am asking this jury to believe the evidence. The evidence is a maintenance log. The evidence is a red X. The evidence is a part number discrepancy. The evidence is a master override code. The evidence is a forged signature. The evidence is a sealed defect report filed by a pilot six hours before the sortie. That is not my testimony. That is the evidence. That is the truth. And I am not going to be a liar because I made a mistake. I made a mistake. I called a witness. I have been punished for it — I have a Letter of Reprimand in my file that will remain there for two years. I accept the punishment. But I am not going to accept being called a liar. Because I am not a liar. I am a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force. And I signed a red X."
The courtroom was silent.
"No further questions," Kessler said.
The fifth witness was Major Eric Bolton.
He testified for four hours. He denied everything. He denied forging the signature. He denied using the master override code. He denied receiving the email from the group commander. He denied that he had told the production supervisor to "not ask questions." He denied that he had kicked the toolbox shut. He denied that he had told the crew that Staff Sergeant Cole had nearly killed a pilot.
He was cross-examined for ninety minutes by Lieutenant Colonel Chen. Chen presented him with the master override code. Chen presented him with the workstation logs. Chen presented him with the security camera footage. Chen presented him with the email from the group commander. Chen presented him with the production supervisor's testimony. Chen presented him with the moment when the crew had watched him kick the toolbox shut.
Bolton did not have an answer.
He sat in the witness chair and he looked at the table and he did not answer.
Judge Vasquez looked at him.
"Major Bolton," she said, "you are directed to answer the question."
Bolton did not answer.
"Major Bolton," she said, "if you do not answer the question, I will hold you in contempt."
Bolton looked up.
He looked at the judge. He looked at the jury. He looked at Staff Sergeant Cole.
And then he said, in a voice that was barely above a whisper:
"I do not have an answer. I did not have an answer twelve years ago, when I first realized that the Air Force rewarded officers who made the flying schedule and punished officers who did not. I did not have an answer three years ago, when I was assigned to this squadron and I learned that the group commander's only question at the end of every week was 'How many aircraft did we launch?' I did not have an answer on the evening of the twelfth of May, when I sat in the group commander's office with a maintenance release in front of me and a staff sergeant's signature that was not on it and an email from the group commander that said 'I do not care how you do it.' I did not have an answer. I have never had an answer. I have only ever had a career. And I have only ever had a schedule. And I have only ever had the certainty that if I kept the aircraft on the schedule, I would be promoted, and if I did not, I would be transferred. And I kept the aircraft on the schedule. And I forged a staff sergeant's signature. And I released an aircraft with a bad part. And a pilot nearly died. And I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry."
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The courtroom was silent.
"No further questions," Chen said.
