In "A few good men" something's bugged me...

why couldn't Lt. Kaffee directly accuse Col. Bishop in a few good men? If he feels he did something wrong, he should be able to accuse him of it, regardless of rank.

Col. Bishop was a very powerful man. He could literally have people killed and get away with it. He had the power to alter reality and falsify evidence. The scene at the end says it all: "I am the truth!"

Wrecking Kaffee's naval career and ruining his law career would have been small potatoes for Bishop.

Challenging him is the "movie" moment. If he nails him, he becomes a man of principle and integrity. If he misses his shot, he becomes marked as a goat and loser for the rest of his life.

Kaffee needed direct evidence before accusing an officer of a crime. An educated guess is not evidence.

Anyone from Markuson down to the accused sergeant could have decided to order the Code Red. That wouldn't mean Jessep was guilty of any crime. The only person that was directly accused, by the sergeant, of ordering the Code Red was Lt Kendrick. It's very conceivable that Kendrick originated the Code Red order and that Jessep knew nothing about it.

I don't know how the UCMJ would define it, but accusing an officer without proof could be considered some type of defamation of character.