That means he s a young fire-eater just a couple of years out of college and in command of a platoon of paratroopers in a combat zone. The secretary of defense wants him court-martialed. Well, brace yourself. He, an infantry officer, allegedly communicated a threat. Which, if you think about it, seems almost natural for a guy packing an M16.
Some people think the entire purpose of an army is to communicate threat.
Serafini and his men had caught a bad guy and they were interrogating him. That s what soldiers do. Apparently GI Joe was asking this ragamuffin where his killer pals were and no answers were forthcoming. So Serafini remembers that stuff he learned about psychological warfare and decides to try some of it. He raises an unloaded gun to the head of Mr. Tight Lip the Albanian and says something to the effect that now would really be a good time to start talking.