Lt. McDonough wrote wisely over the aspect of fear. It should not be shameful because 99% of individuals feel it. As McDonough says, the challenge isn’t in denying fear. It’s being able to act when you face it. I believe that his first fears were that of combat, dying, and the fear of leading his platoon and the thoughts of his men. His first two times outside the wire, he was waiting for an inevitable shot that would spark a firefight. His eventual injury came from a booby-trapped mortar. He overcame the injury and saw that many others had much more unfortunate injuries than he did while in the hospital. At the end of Chapter 7, he states, “Now I was better prepared for whatever might come. This time I wasn’t going to wonder about my fate. I was going to try and control it.” Simply put, he experienced Vietnam and adjusted himself. He adjusted emotionally and mentally the most in my mind. He realized what he experienced, he knew he was fortunate, and was now more prepared to the ways of war. I think the same fears from before came back to haunt him upon his return, most noticeably his reaction to the dropping of his compass. He made a mistake, but more importantly he says, “I had overcome my fear.” His greenhorn status was over and he knew it. “I could now turn my attention away from the self-conscious concerns of how I might be perceived by the soldiers I led.” This is what stuck out to me. He was more internally afraid of how he looked to his soldiers. He recognized it, and overcame it. He could now concentrate on improving his style of leadership and fighting the enemy. I don’t know for sure if he overcame his fear of combat or the unknown of the bush, but I do know he overcame the fear of judgment. I also think this is something that future leaders can prepare for. I believe it’s normal for a leader to question himself on what his men think of him, but it can be overcome. It comes from time and from personal experience. I believe the best way to learn is to fail. He didn’t necessarily fail, but he got knocked down and was fortunate enough to get a second opportunity. We’ll see in the next reading how he acts in the future.