Assignment 6

The next reading assignment is "Hell in a Very Small Place", "Death in the Tall Grass", and "Escape and Evade". The topic of discussion is open so write about anything that catches your interest about these chapters. We are nearing the end of this book and only have one more reading assignment left which will be posted after Thanksgiving!

 

In this section I feel as if though the underlying things being portrayed + stressed on is the lack of preparedness and communication, and how the absence of these two things can turn the tide of a battle or a war. In these chapters the book goes into numerous events, one being how an American unit is ambushed by the NVA and is slaughtered due to the placement of the leaders and communication equipment. In spite of this, the unit was overwhelmed and without leadership, panicked. Thus losing control of the situation. Never the less, obviously getting out of an ambush alive is a feat in itself, but the possibility was never even there for the majority of the unit, as the leaders position and radio equipment was placed at the top of the patrol's column isolating people in the rear. Thus, this is why the army created a GOTWA and contingency plans as well as an established chain of command.

Assignment 5

An example of when COL. Moore illustrates his transformational leadership skills is when he had put himself in harm’s way in order to collect the corpses of his fallen soldiers, despite the fact that he could have had a subordinate do it instead of risking himself. This portrayed and reinforced his loyalty to his word even under the most difficult situations. The first PL, Rick Rescorla, exemplified behavioral leadership by making his men back up in order to make it more difficult for the enemies’ avenues of approach. Furthermore, to add to this, it is blatant to see that he learned his leadership traits through his previous experiences, an example being Cyprus.  He also exemplifies good transactional leadership when he  gives his men a contingency plan to fall back on in case the approaching enemy was to penetrate through their line of defense. Also, CPT Herren stated that Doctor Lose the medic showed amazing transformational leadership in spite of his actions portrayed on the battlefield, these actions pertaining specifically to his ability to ensure that the wounded soldiers he was treating remained stable and alive.  This shows not only the presence of essential leadership throughout all ranks of the army, but the importance of it as well.

Assignment 4

The warrior ethos is the backbone of every soldier in the Army, it’s there as a set standard in which every soldier is expected to portray and live by on and off the job. It is these four ethos “ I will never leave a comrade behind, I will always place the mission first, I will never accept defeat, I will never quit”, that make the United States Army the very best in the world. Specialist Parish exemplified these traits and his loyalty to them to the tee. During his engagement with the enemy his rifle jammed and he could not fix it in his foxhole. He knew the enemy would overwhelm his position in due time.  Despite the advancing enemy, Parish held his ground and took his .45 one is each hand, and held back the enemy which was within arm’s reach of him at a distance of about 20 yards. He successfully suppressed his attackers and stated that he didn’t feel he had done anything special or out of the norm compared to what everyone else had done that day.

Assignment 3

LTC Moore and his men are under significantly more fire and pressure to not make mistakes, knowing that if they do it will cost them, as they have seen the severity of the situation since touching down on the landing zone.  The majority of officers now are primarily focused on their units composure and just maintaining their fighting efficiency rather than anything else.  LTC Moore I feel demonstrates exemplary leadership when he denies to be debriefed by his superior back at the base. He does this thinking that he feels if he leaves, his men’s positions will falter.  CAPT Nadal I felt played a significant role in these chapters as well. I say this because I liked how before him and his company started a rescue mission of the isolated and cut off platoon, he took them all aside and gave them a boost of morale as well as inspiration. I feel that the main point of there chapters is to exploit the importance of reacting correctly. A good leader must be able to make quick and concise decisions if they wish to be successful. And this I feel, thus far LTC Moore has followed to the tee.

Assignment 2

In this chapter, the first major battle between the US and the PAVN takes place in Vietnam. LTC. Moore finally engages the enemy on the PAVN occupied hill. As the chapter progresses we see many leadership responsibilities start to unfold. Moore’s primary one being able to maintain and support the combat effectiveness at the maximum level available. To do this he starts by picking the one most strategic out of three landing zones.  In which he was looking for a big enough area to get his men in and out hastily, as well as maintaining maneuverability to reinforce weak positions fast and fending off enemy attack points. As they land and set up security its Moore’s responsibility to send out patrols to find and fix on the enemies location.  Moore maintains constant communication with his subordinates. He constantly is thinking ahead and going through every plausible situation and acting accordingly. This is exemplified beautifully as he expects an enemy flank attack at a dried creek bed. Thus he sends the next addition of soldiers to hold, later they are attacked (as Moore had predicted). As for subordinates, their underlying concern is executing Moore’s overall plan effectively as well as the conservation of the lives of his troops under him.

Assignment 1 1-52

As you read this section think about leadership as it pertains to preparing your soldiers for combat. What is required of a leader to ensure that his/her unit is prepared for combat operations?

Specific and repetitive training is vital and can never be under-minded. Training is the thing that a unit has to fall back on when the going gets tough. There is no such thing as being OVER prepared. Being in a leadership position, one must be able to make the decision on whether or not your unit is combat ready as well as effective and trained for every possible given situation. In the book, it states how Col. Moore was a hardened and firm believer in tough training, discipline + conditioning. It also said he was a “what if” strategist always thinking of what could go wrong and coming up with a solution to it to prevent it even from happening. I took notice and liked, how he lead by example thus creating a decentralized chain of command making sure every man knows the job of the man ahead of him. This is especially useful in that it gives the PL’s more of a cushion in working with their men which I feel adds to the unit’s maneuverability aspect. As a leader you have to set an example and lead by it. This is exactly what Col. Moore did. As much as he trained his men they were still ill prepared for the horrors that lay ahead of them on PAVN occupied hill. I feel that given the new helicopter drop in methods the army was utilizing and the time frame Col. Moore had to prepare his men, was the best he could have done.