What Exactly IS Internal Affairs?

[jaglady]

You've heard the terms IAB, IA, or Internal Affairs. And it seems like our bad guys or jerks (Rick Stetler, Gerrard, etc) are the Internal Affairs or IAB guys.

I've found out that a lot of people really don't know much about what Internal Affairs is or does.

Everybody thinks of Internal Affairs as those evil investigators. That's only part of their job. Much of what they do is prevent brutality or abuse. It's also their job to advise and even protect both the troops and the management. In fact, JAG is essentially Internal Affairs for the military. It's their job to know the law as well as procedures. In foreign countries, it's their job to know the host country's laws, treaties and agreements between both countries, and even customs of the host country.

I love the exchange between Tom Cruise and Demi Moore in A Few Good Men. This describes it to a T.

Tom Cruise: "Excuse me, but what is your jurisdiction in all this?" (or words to that effect)

Demi Moore: "As the Head of Internal Affairs, my job is to make sure you do your job, so my jurisdiction is pretty much in your face."

My husband worked for The Army's version of Internal Affairs, called Office of Professional Conduct (OPC). He not only helped to investigate. He also advised and helped military lawyers to dispense justice when troops were wronged. He helped advise commanders on what needed to be done to get dirtball criminals out of the Army, and he helped advise commanders when they were overreaching on their authority.

There is a lot of playing politics. Lots of paperwork, lots of research, and lots of dealing with people who want you to take a flying leap somewhere. As you can guess, it is very, very high-pressure. People are generally having a bad day when they have to talk to you.

Then there are cases like the Tailhook Scandal or Aberdeen Proving Ground in which the media are all over you for the juicy details. I can tell you from what I've observed in Miami, that Rick Stetler would be sucking on Maalox bottles in a high-profile case like in "A Grizzly Murder" or "Chain Reaction."

Hope that helps a little bit.

[mirium]

So if the question is "Who will guard the guardians?" the answer is "Internal Affairs" and "JAG".....

I've always felt CSIM has been particularly unfair to Stetler and IAB in general, and not just because he's cute. There have been rogue cops on CSIM -- Ray Caine, for one -- yet Our Heroes seem to think it's unreasonable for anyone to ever question what they've done, and that any infraction of the rules they have committed should be excused because Their Hearts Are Pure.

What they don't seem to realize (especially Calleigh, for some reason) is that there's no way to tell who's a good cop and who's a rogue before the investigation, but a thorough and competent investigation will vindicate them if they were right. Instead, they get all self-righteous, stonewall and make a thorough and competent investigation difficult at best, and maybe impossible. Which is particularly ironic, considering how often they themselves investigate suspects who turn out to be innocent. They can dish it out but they can't take it?

One thing I liked about the recent story arc on Without A Trace is that Jack Malone was held at least a little bit accountable for his actions (if you've seen it, you know what I'm referring to; if you're getting delayed seasons, I won't Spoil it for you. And with Jack, you might not be sure which actions I'm referring to; he's frequently a naughty boy. ;D). He didn't protest (much) at being held accountable, either, because the WAT world is less of a fantasy than CSIM.

[jaglady]

That was the motto of one of the JAG units hubby was in. "Guarding Those Who Guard Our Freedom."

And yes, very often I understand IAB's side of it. Despite Horatio's and Rick's love/hate relationship, very often Rick will be either advising ("A Grizzly Murder") or even protecting ("Going Under")

One of my favorite epis, "Stand Your Ground" shows what I saw a lot of. Right or wrong, Rick is getting heat from above. To be fair, he probably could have been more tactful. I don't believe Calleigh was totally fair with him. Of course Calleigh was eventually cleared, but things might have been easier if everyone had been a little more forthright.

People don't realize it, but being a JAG can actually be dangerous at times. Long story short, a battalion was bullying its troops and breaking laws left and right. Finally some officers got brought up on charges. The captain my husband supported put one of them on the stand and ripped his credibility to shreds. It's his job to do that. Well, that night, somebody lobbed a training grenade at him. He had a burn on his leg and lost his hearing for about half an hour. That battalion had a reputation for bad behavior and bullying. Unfortunately nobody was ever brought to justice over that. The battalion ended up getting reflagged, and some officers got kicked out or busted.