When LT McDonough took command of his platoon and made a series of decisions, I believe his actions had an overall positive effect. I believe that by quickly making the decision to send out patrols and ambushes regularly showed his men that he had some tactical ability, even though he was very green at this point. He also made the decision to go out with every other patrol/ambush, and I believe that this was a very good move on his part. By going out on patrol and putting himself in the same kind of danger he was asking his men to put themselves in, I believe he was able to start to gain some respect from his platoon. It shows that he was not life the last platoon leader, but instead he was willing be put in harms way. This was also a good move, as he points out, because it gives him a chance to survey the terrain and it keeps the enemy in a defensive mindset. One decision that really stood out to me was when LT McDonough told Sergeant Donne and the rest of Donne’s squad that they were not going to kill the old man and the boy they saw on one of the patrols. This decision by him showed the men that he was the man in charge and that he was willing to make tough decisions. In my opinion, he made the right decision because the man and boy did not have any weapons and did not immediately resemble Viet Cong soldiers, so it would have been wrong to shoot them.

It is clear to me that after being blown up by the booby-trap and returning to the platoon, LT McDonough did not overcome his fear. This was evident when he went on his first patrol after returning to the platoon in which it was clear that he was nervous to leave the safety of the wire. I do not blame him for still having fear. If I was him, I feel that I too would still have fear after a traumatic experience like that. Regarding as to whether or not these fears can be overcome, I really do not believe that anybody could 100% get over these fears. Perhaps they could block it out of their mind for a little while, but deep down that fear will still be there. In addition, I do not think that these types of things can be trained for. He went through a very traumatic situation, and I just do not think that an individual could be trained to deal with something like that. I feel that it would be very hard to replicate the same type of situation, so I think that some fears cannot be trained for until one has happened to you.