Lt. McDonough expressed how he had gone through training that were set to prepare him for this (Vietnam war). As you start he starts to describe his arrival, through each area he travels through to get to his set location, you sense how it is different for everyone.   He expresses this sense of desire to be part of the 173d, pride in its history and how he wants to be a part of that. Some things he didn’t seem ready for like the smell of death or the blood thirsty expression on the first lieutenant’s face while telling him a story.

McDonough noticed the patch and assumed that would lead him to answers he needed. Instead he was in horror to find how twisted and effected this officer was. The lieutenant was lost in his own gory story. His coping mechanism was poor he had snapped into his trauma and just had this rage about him. Who wants to follow such a person into war? This side of him is not one that I could see many wanting  leading from the front. Just as the Major that he met, appearances can certainly effect how someone sees you.  He had an instant dislike for him before knowing who he was or what his job was.

The last person that stood out was the officer he was replacing. This guy was so focused on his own self interest that he was not accomplishing his mission at the time, which was to brief the incoming officer. Instead he was off topic and leading the conversation to somewhere it shouldn’t have gone. It amazed me how later on he would go to make himself sound like this brave person when at the moment of him being introduced in the book he seems so selfish and cowardly. McDonough notices this within minutes of meeting him, can you imagine what the soldiers that have been out there with him for the entirety must have picked up of his character?

The Army has focused on training for how to conduct missions. With medical advances on PTSD and traumatic brain injuries focus has shifted towards resiliency training. I believe they have tried their best on helping soldiers learn how to deal with stressors properly, teaching coping mechanisms. I also believe that the shift on how to communicate and leadership skill resources are available. “You can only lead a horse to water” I think that some just don’t grasp the concept of interpersonal skills or how to properly follow the army values. There are many factors before one joins that can determine the outcome and effectiveness of what the Army teaches you. I like that the focus is on training like you fight, muscle memory allows ones to complete certain tasks without having to think twice and allowing the focus to shift on properly dealing with things that were not expected.

Just as the author said, “the style of the war changed from year to year, from unit to unit, from place to place”.  No two peoples experiences will be the same. We can learn from others experiences and train to be prepared on how to react to the unexpected.