I do not believe Lt. McDonough overcomes his fears, however, he uses them as motivation to make the decisions he needs to as a leader.  As a biologist, I view fear as a natural mammalian trait that has been conserved through evolution as one of the most necessary means of survival.  I agree with Lt. McDonough in the sentiment that fear should not be pushed away shamefully, and it is even worse if not felt at all, as it serves as an instinctual safety net in a sense for ourselves, and if coped with appropriately can save the lives of others.  Fear and physiology are intertwined deeply, and the emotion can either break or make someone effective in combat depending on how they are able to process it.  Fear is one of the emotions known to activate the sympathetic nervous system, associated with the “fight or flight” reflex.  When this nervous system is stimulated heart rate increases and lungs expand, blood rushes to ones muscles, pupils dilate to take in as much stimuli as possible, and epinephrine gives one the colloquially known adrenaline rush.  As seen prior to his wounding, the fear and anticipation of what was to come with his third patrol engaged his sympathetic nervous system, priming his body in a sense to face the mortar explosion to come.  After reflecting upon his injury, he decides to utilize his fear as a source of power to decide whether to ease himself into conflict or jump in head first. When returning back to the field one of his first moves was an overreaction to mistaking his own compass dropping for a booby-trap.  However, he was in turn relieved, and by being safe rather than sorry, no one was hurt. While he interpreted this as himself overcoming his fear, I believe it is more of a new attenuation towards his own fear, and greater awareness of how himself and his men interact with their surroundings.  I do not believe we can be trained to overcome fear.  At this point the most action we can take to prepare is taking from our own personal experiences with stressors thus far, and knowing how our physiology and thinking respond to our emotions during these times.  By doing so we can determine how to best manipulate our EQ and IQ to work as one with our physical selves to be the most effective leaders we can be.