Order Given: Task Force Dawn Sky Deploys
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Fitzwallace briefs Bartlet and Leo on the rescue operation’s planned execution, detailing the use of Comanches, a Blackhawk, and a covert sniper team.
Bartlet questions the necessity of the CIA 'wet team,' prompting Fitzwallace to explain the term—revealing the mission's deadly nature.
Bartlet issues the decisive order—'Go'—authorizing the high-risk rescue mission, triggering immediate operational execution by the military team.
Military officers confirm the execution order, signaling the launch of the mission with urgent professionalism.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Grim professionalism — outwardly controlled and businesslike while acknowledging moral hazard; steady under pressure.
Admiral Fitzwallace stands in the Situation Room and delivers a terse operational briefing: assets, force composition, timeline, and a blunt description of the CIA wet team's role. He answers tactical questions and repeats 'Go' after the President, facilitating execution.
- • Convey a clear, executable plan to the President and staff.
- • Secure presidential authorization to launch the rescue within the required timeline.
- • Ensure operational security (emphasize radio silence and timing).
- • Speed and precision are essential to rescuing the hostages.
- • Lethal, deniable options (the wet team) are sometimes necessary to succeed.
- • Chain-of-command clarity and quick authorization will improve the odds of success.
Heavy and resolute — the surface calm of command covers the recognition of potential blood and political cost.
President Bartlet listens, poses a moral/terminological question about the 'wet team,' then issues the one-word order 'Go.' He remains silent afterward as staff immediately mobilize, absorbing the weight of the decision.
- • Authorize a mission to rescue American servicemen.
- • Balance moral scrutiny with the urgency of action.
- • Maintain control of the presidency's use-of-force decision.
- • The President must be fully informed before sanctioning lethal operations.
- • There are moments when action, even bloody action, is required to fulfill the government's duty.
- • A measured, informed 'Go' is necessary to legitimize risk to personnel.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Radios are invoked by Fitzwallace when he orders 'radio silence' for the 47-minute transit; they function narratively to emphasize operational security and the tension between communication and secrecy.
Heavy sniper rifles are referenced as part of the assault team's equipment for subduing sentries and providing overwatch — their mention signals lethal readiness and force escalation in the plan.
The two Comanche helicopters are described as the air assets that will insert assault elements and support rapid, low-profile penetration to secure the objective's perimeter; they are central to timing and tactical surprise.
The Blackhawk is specified as the heavier insertion platform accompanying Comanches to insert the 20-man perimeter force, anchoring the assault's emplacement and enabling the snatch team's entry.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Task Force Dawn Sky is the consolidated assault organization authorized by the President's order; it is the vehicle through which the White House converts strategy into a field operation to recover hostages.
The CIA wet team is invoked as a covert lethal element attached to the assault — its mention underscores that the operation anticipates close-quarters, bloody engagement requiring deniable, lethal expertise.
The 20-man perimeter force is described as the insertion element that will forcibly secure the barracks perimeter, enabling the snatch team to operate — functionally crucial to isolating the objective and protecting extraction routes.
The Six-Man Snatch Team is the mission's core seizure element tasked with penetrating the objective and physically removing the hostages; its presence raises the stakes of close-quarters, high-risk engagement.
CRF Guards are the hostile sentries and visible guards that the assault must subdue; they function as the immediate antagonists whose presence shapes force composition and the decision to include lethal elements.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The briefing on the Marines' location leads directly to Bartlet's authorization of the rescue mission."
"The briefing on the Marines' location leads directly to Bartlet's authorization of the rescue mission."
"The briefing on the Marines' location leads directly to Bartlet's authorization of the rescue mission."
"The go-ahead for the rescue mission leads to the retaliatory bombing at Red Haven."
"The go-ahead for the rescue mission leads to the retaliatory bombing at Red Haven."
Key Dialogue
"FITZWALLACE: "They fly in on two Comanches and a Blackhawk. 20 men forcibly secure the perimeter of the barracks. A snatch force of 6 men penetrate and take the captives.""
"FITZWALLACE: "No, sir, it's called... They call it a wet team because it's bloody.""
"BARTLET: "Go.""