Order of the Gold Spurs

Logline: An injured commissioned officer is tested to the limits of his abilities facing brutal adversity at West Point, and then battles the odds under a ruthless Captain to survive two tours of duty and disaster in Iraq. MATTHEW SERAGO has it all. Good looks, athletic build, and smarts. He comes across as the perfect cadet at West Point, but adversity strikes twice. He dislocates his shoulder playing rugby and does not seek medical attention for fear of being separated from the Academy. Determined, he attempts to pass the physical fitness test with one-handed push-ups and fails, being tagged as a wise-ass. Adversity strikes again in his senior year. He contracts pneumonia before graduation and one week prior to the last physical fitness test. Failing a second time in his West Point career on the two-mile run, he does not graduate with his class. He attends summer school with twenty-five other cadets, where he finally graduates with the rest of the slugs. After a successful tank training program, Lieutenant Serago assumes command of a tank platoon on deployment in Iraq. Lieutenant Serago experiences continual harassment from his Commanding Officer, CAPTAIN ARNOLD YATES. The Captain reprimands him for leaving his tank when he rescues the drivers of two oil tanks which collide. Consensus suggests he deserves a medal of bravery. Lieutenant Serago befriends an Iraqi Village Mayor providing his village with food and water, only to have the Mayor reward him by attempting to set a road-side bomb, leaving the Lieutenant with no choice but to kill him. Leading his Platoon through successful battles in Najaf and Fallujah, one of the officers is killed by a sniper bullet and dies in his arms. Subdued, the First Cavalry returns to Fort Hood, Texas. Lieutenant Serago is promoted to Captain, is transferred to Division Headquarters, and returns to Iraq for a second tour. General Dwight Murray recognizes his talents and designates him the Daytime Battle Captain, a position usually reserved for more senior officers. His nemesis, Arnold Yates, returns with him as a Major. Captain Serago quickly earns respect as a result of some decisive choices. He accompanies General Murray and other officers, including Major Yates, on a helicopter trip to an Army Base into the heart of enemy territory. The choppers are shot down by insurgents. Ten of the sixteen soldiers survive the crash but are seriously wounded. Captain Serago, limping on a wounded leg, single handedly holds off countless insurgent attacks until a rescue team arrives, but how will he cope facing adversity under Yates’ critical eye? His courageous effort affords him the Congressional Medal of Honor at a ceremony conducted by the President of the United States.