Prior to entering Vietnam, LT McDonough believed the road to war was set.  He had earned an education from West Point that empowered and inspired him to serve in the infantry, joining the only U.S. Airborne brigade in the war in a way that came as naturally as falling in love.  McDonough had proven he had physical strength and tactical skills that were worthy of assuming a Platoon Leader position within the 173d Airborne Brigade, the “fire brigade” that went to where the action was fiercest.  However, as he is going through the process of transitioning to his unit, he meets two men whom are the human manifestations of the “fight or flight” physiological reaction to conflict.   He first encounters Lt. “fight”, a man who has let the adrenaline rush of war turn into an all-consuming blood lust.  “Fight” left a trail of 22 Vietcong, taking immense pleasure out of mutilating their corpses, swinging them from trees and smashing maggots into their stumps. With every violation of the Geneva Convention this man committed, he lost more of his humanity, mind, and soul to the point where he is a carcass of what was once an officer when Lt. McDonough meets him.  While “fight” obviously had the tactical skill and physical endurance to endure the ugliness of war, without strong character or basic respect for the rules of war, he failed as an officer, and serves as a strong example of the vitality of emotional and mental strength.  On the other side of the leadership failure spectrum there is Lt. Rolfe.  As Lt. McDonough reaches his platoon command post, he finds Rolfe lying on his stomach during his last few hours of the war he “flew” from.  Assuming that his platoon consisted of “just boys” who did not have a family, he utilized them only to serve his own self-protection.  Lt. McDonough’s analysis of Rolfe perfectly depicts a man who exhibits the “flight” response to conflict, as means for his own self-preservation “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.” Within the United States Army  it is every Soldier’s, no matter the rank, duty to uphold the Soldier’s Creed in order to effectively serve your country and fellow service members, and “flighty” Rolfe failed to put the mission first,  be mentally tough, and be a member of the team.  From reflecting on the experiences of Lt. McDonough, and viewing where we are now as a Army, I believe we are continually evolving to try to prevent the “fight” and “flight” kind of “leaders” from sprouting up as results of war. As leaders we will not truly know how we will react to the reality of war until we experience it ourselves, but we can prepare for it from analyzing the paths of leaders that came before us, and looking inward on ourselves in regards of how we deal with conflict and stress, and work to build greater mental resilience.  When we someday endure warfare, we must be open and honest with ourselves of how well we are operating under the stresses we encounter, and when necessary let others know if we are struggling, as a team is only as strong as its parts.  Like Wineland I believe the Army prepares us for the concept of war, but until that day comes we cannot truly assess how well we will handle it.  Looking at the PTSD and suicide rates of those who have served, the military as a whole must work towards removing the stigma of getting help in regards to mental health, and ensure every soldier has a network to rely upon even when the war is over.  As a class of future officers it is our responsibility of fostering a healthy environment in all meanings of the word, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

If you ever need someone to vent to or are in need of emotional support please do not hesitate to message me or another trusted classmate.

Excerpt From: James R. McDonough. “Platoon Leader.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/platoon-leader/id420661976?mt=11