I think the LT McDonough’s approach towards becoming involved with his platoon was very beneficial. LT McDonough stood back for a moment prior to completely jumping into is position. This allowed him to gage the environments and personalities that he would be dealing with. When LT McDonough believed he had an idea of what he was getting involved in., he did not hesitate to engage. This is admirable, especially because it is his first deployment and a very early stage in his leadership. Regardless of this disadvantage, his training prepared for this situation.

However, even though he did not hesitate to take leadership, he still was overcome by anxiety and stress caused by his environment. Lt McDonough seemed to be looking forwards towards what would go wrong, and was in a constant state of awareness and fear. It is not long before everything that he had anticipated becomes real. However, when this happens, he manages to maintain his composure.

However, where I do criticize him is how he failed to utilize his resources. Lt McDonough could’ve used the knowledge of his Platoon Sergeant, instead of attempting to make all of the decisions himself. Though, he does have the final say, he could have used his PSG for recommendations that could have potentially relieved him of some stress. Overall, I do believe that Lt McDonough is not doing a terrible job accommodating to this environment, even though he has performed some tasks in ways that I may find questionable.