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.