You can see McDonough’s leadership abilities right from the start of this section. He gets the Intel that enemy forces will be increasing, and he makes sure that his men will be ready for it. He is constantly analyzing his men and deciding how he needs to improve the most. Not only is this developing his own personal abilities, but he is developing his men as well. Other examples of leadership here involve his presence among his men. When PFC King tried to get back at McDonough for burning his marijuana by firing a round over his head, McDonough had to assert his authority, he couldn’t let his men get the best of him, and he had to make an example of this man’s insolence. McDonough went up to him, put his rifle up to his chin, and threatened to actually fire the next time this happens. Though this might not look like good professional image, it does demand respect and authority from the men, which is another part of Military Bearing. His real strength, however, showed during the actual fight. Under constant pressure from the enemies and with already diminished forces he held off the VC and called in for air support. With the air support, he had the good judgment to keep the fire off of the village and attack from a different angle. This attack really showed how well he performed under pressure, and showed his strong leadership qualities.
As we discussed in class, the two biggest incidents in this section were occasions for McDonough to display his leadership ability
First, he exhibited every facet of leadership presence in dealing with King, his rogue soldier. He was confident and resilient, and he didn't back down. I believe he did what was needed to resolve the issue; I don't necessarily believe that he did the right thing.
Second, and most importantly, he kept his head on during his first major engagement. He heeded the intel reports and strengthened his positions, and he made sure the platoon would be ready for combat. When the fighting started, he showed both great physical ability and mental agility by directing the platoon's fire and calling up to higher for air support and vision flares. Most important of all, he extended his influence beyond the chain of command when he redirected the helicopters away from the village. The consequences of such an attack would have been disastrous: innocent blood would be on his hands, his relative good standing in the village would be destroyed, and the mission to defend the village would be compromised.
This selection of the book was full of action and Lt. McDonough made his leadership readily apparent throughout the chapters we read. At the beginning, PFC King comes back to the platoon after being injured prior to McDonough’s arrival in Vietnam. McDonough senses something is awry with this soldier and searches his gear to find Marijuana stashed in there. This is good use of interpersonal tact and knowledge of people. He reprimands the soldier and burns the cigarettes, but the action was only beginning. Out on patrol, King fired his grenade launcher at the PL and said he dropped his weapon. In the split second decision making, McDonough goes off on the soldier and holds his gun under King’s chin for about a minute and really screams his ear off. This was a moment of contention during our class discussion, but it was really necessary to maintain his control over his platoon. If he had not controlled the situation, then his platoon would have seen him as all talk and would have figured that they could get away with essentially anything. Later, there is an actual battle, and McDonough really showed good leadership strategies during this, making good use of his machine gunner and extended his influence beyond the chain of command when he made absolutely sure that the helicopters knew where they should fire so that they did not shoot into the village that the platoon was supposed to protect. Overall, I felt that Lt McDonough did what he needed to do in these difficult situations. He did not make perfect decisions, but he acted as a leader.
These chapters put a lot of lieutenant McDonough's leaderships skill on display. The first thing he has to deal with is a insubordinate soldier. The soldier brings contraband to base and the Lieutenant destroys it. For this the soldier threatens the Lieutenant's life. The Lieutenant keeps his military bearing and asserts his command of the platoon by making it clear that the soldier will not be tolerated. He did this by threatening the soldier back. While this may not normally be the best way to deal with a soldier, in the Lieutenant's situation he had to act quickly and respond confidently to this soldier or else he would have lost his effectiveness as a leader. The big display of McDonough's command skill came during the battle. This was his first major engagement, but he performed very well, and the best example of his skilled leadership was the calling off of the helicopter that was going to destroy the village and re task it to destroy the enemy. he showed innovation in using the tracer to mark where the enemy was, and he did well to keep control of the helicopter and stop it from destroying the village.
You can see McDonough’s leadership abilities right from the start of this section. He gets the Intel that enemy forces will be increasing, and he makes sure that his men will be ready for it. He is constantly analyzing his men and deciding how he needs to improve the most. Not only is this developing his own personal abilities, but he is developing his men as well. Other examples of leadership here involve his presence among his men. When PFC King tried to get back at McDonough for burning his marijuana by firing a round over his head, McDonough had to assert his authority, he couldn’t let his men get the best of him, and he had to make an example of this man’s insolence. McDonough went up to him, put his rifle up to his chin, and threatened to actually fire the next time this happens. Though this might not look like good professional image, it does demand respect and authority from the men, which is another part of Military Bearing. His real strength, however, showed during the actual fight. Under constant pressure from the enemies and with already diminished forces he held off the VC and called in for air support. With the air support, he had the good judgment to keep the fire off of the village and attack from a different angle. This attack really showed how well he performed under pressure, and showed his strong leadership qualities.
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in class, the two biggest incidents in this section were occasions for McDonough to display his leadership ability
ReplyDeleteFirst, he exhibited every facet of leadership presence in dealing with King, his rogue soldier. He was confident and resilient, and he didn't back down. I believe he did what was needed to resolve the issue; I don't necessarily believe that he did the right thing.
Second, and most importantly, he kept his head on during his first major engagement. He heeded the intel reports and strengthened his positions, and he made sure the platoon would be ready for combat. When the fighting started, he showed both great physical ability and mental agility by directing the platoon's fire and calling up to higher for air support and vision flares. Most important of all, he extended his influence beyond the chain of command when he redirected the helicopters away from the village. The consequences of such an attack would have been disastrous: innocent blood would be on his hands, his relative good standing in the village would be destroyed, and the mission to defend the village would be compromised.
This selection of the book was full of action and Lt. McDonough made his leadership readily apparent throughout the chapters we read. At the beginning, PFC King comes back to the platoon after being injured prior to McDonough’s arrival in Vietnam. McDonough senses something is awry with this soldier and searches his gear to find Marijuana stashed in there. This is good use of interpersonal tact and knowledge of people. He reprimands the soldier and burns the cigarettes, but the action was only beginning. Out on patrol, King fired his grenade launcher at the PL and said he dropped his weapon. In the split second decision making, McDonough goes off on the soldier and holds his gun under King’s chin for about a minute and really screams his ear off. This was a moment of contention during our class discussion, but it was really necessary to maintain his control over his platoon. If he had not controlled the situation, then his platoon would have seen him as all talk and would have figured that they could get away with essentially anything. Later, there is an actual battle, and McDonough really showed good leadership strategies during this, making good use of his machine gunner and extended his influence beyond the chain of command when he made absolutely sure that the helicopters knew where they should fire so that they did not shoot into the village that the platoon was supposed to protect. Overall, I felt that Lt McDonough did what he needed to do in these difficult situations. He did not make perfect decisions, but he acted as a leader.
ReplyDeleteThese chapters put a lot of lieutenant McDonough's leaderships skill on display. The first thing he has to deal with is a insubordinate soldier. The soldier brings contraband to base and the Lieutenant destroys it. For this the soldier threatens the Lieutenant's life. The Lieutenant keeps his military bearing and asserts his command of the platoon by making it clear that the soldier will not be tolerated. He did this by threatening the soldier back. While this may not normally be the best way to deal with a soldier, in the Lieutenant's situation he had to act quickly and respond confidently to this soldier or else he would have lost his effectiveness as a leader. The big display of McDonough's command skill came during the battle. This was his first major engagement, but he performed very well, and the best example of his skilled leadership was the calling off of the helicopter that was going to destroy the village and re task it to destroy the enemy. he showed innovation in using the tracer to mark where the enemy was, and he did well to keep control of the helicopter and stop it from destroying the village.
ReplyDelete