When LT McDonough enters his platoon for the first time he does so with a purpose. He needs to understand the dynamic of how the platoon is operating and what the status is of the area he is assigned to. When he meets the outgoing PL for the first time he gets the feeling that his own leadership will be much different from what had previously been in charge. He wants to set the course to know the enemy and to know his men. He does this by jumping right in to the action. He sets up squad patrols and he himself will go out on every other one to start. He wants to know how the squad leaders lead and to discover the lay of the land that surrounds him. He wants to remove the defensive strategy that had previously be in place.  By him going out on these patrols it also provides credibility for him within the platoon and establishes him as the leader. One scene in the book that stands out o me is when the squad leader was getting ready to take out the two individuals out in the distance.  LT McDonough decided that this was not going to happen. He ordered the squad leader to stand down and to not fire on the two. One of the individuals was a young boy around the age of 8. LT McDonough gave the order to stand down and the order was followed. Moments such as this help him to establish his leadership with the platoon. Even after LT McDonough had been blown up he said to himself that it was the right thing to do to not shoot the two individuals and that he would make the same decisions in the future. The LTs actions of moving into his leadership position as quickly as he did may seem to go against the grain when establishing yourself a s a leader. Typically it takes time and the leader will try to get to know everyone as much as he/she can first. However in this instance there situation has made that type of approach a difficult one. The platoon is alone in the middle of a war and decisions need to made quickly. LT McDonough can not afford to take that time to establish his leadership. He must do it abruptly and quickly.