During his initial exposure to the war in Vietnam, LT McDonough has no idea what to expect when he assumed control over his platoon. On paper, the Army thoroughly prepared McDonough for combat (West Point education, Airborne School, Ranger School, Jumpmaster school). While these certainly gave him a solid backbone in tactics and enhanced his leadership skills, he could tell that he was unprepared for the horrors he was about to face simply from observing the demeanors and looks of soldiers who had been in-country for an extended period of time.

He observed a lieutenant in the 173rd Airborne Division in a tattered uniform leaning against a beam. Attempting to gain a better understanding of his current situation, LT McDonough approached the man to start a conversation. What he found was the man had experienced no serious physical injuries during combat, but instead was rendered utterly insane and absorbed in bloodlust from his actions and what he had witnessed. What struck me was that McDonough could be correct when he asked: “if this could happen to him, could it happen to me?” This lieutenant was clearly proficient in his tactical skills, as he had executed an ambush earlier that day killing over 20 North Vietnamese soldiers. However, this demonstrated to me that despite having exceptional training no one can truly predict the toll actually witnessing combat and loss of life will have on a person.

On the other side of the coin, LT McDonough encountered a completely opposite personality when he met Tom Rolfe, the platoon leader he was replacing. I would describe Rolfe as being a coward and lacking any real empathy for his men. As summarized by McDonough, “He was not the leader of this platoon. He felt no responsibility for the mission; he felt no compassion for the men. In his mind, the other members of the platoon existed for only one reason: to protect him, to keep him alive. The men were expendable; he was not. He had reason to live; they did not.” Rolfe thought it was unfair for him to be an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam and thought of nothing besides his own personal survival. I think it is very important for an Army Officer to try and grasp the effects of war, even if he/she has never been in combat. It is important because as a platoon leader an Officer has countless personality types, all of which will experience and comprehend the effects of war in their own unique ways. It’s critical for a leader to understand how to manage their personal to maintain the unit’s effectiveness. I also predict while the Army does a great job training soldiers, no one can be truly prepared to see a trail littered with 22 dead soldiers and smell the surrounding death. What I took from the first four chapters is that it is critical to put a primary focus on the well-being of the unit you’re in control of, and to not for a second think that people are beneath you or out to serve your own personal agenda. Tom Rolfe was out of line for his attitude. Just because he felt it was unjust that he was in Vietnam away from his family, his soldiers also had friends and families they left behind and it was unfair to them that he showed cowardice and poor leadership.