Is this the Army version of “Kirk vs Picard”? “taking point” vs “empowerment”?

I had a Squadron Commander who insisted on physically being at the most dangerous point of the patrol. We had one officer take sniper fire (non-lethal) on a particular patrol route, so our Squadron Commander insisted on being in that exact spot on one of the next patrols. Many loved him for it – being unafraid of a particularly dangerous part of the mission – but there were some who felt this disempowered that platoon leader and reduced the squadron’s efforts to that of a platoon. I suppose the key is messaging?