One of the first instances where LT McDonough resolves a conflict between himself and one of his soldiers was when he first met PFC King. King was upset with LT McDonough because LT McDonough had burned his marijuana cigarettes. In response to this, King fired a 40-millimeter round out of his M-79 grenade launcher at LT McDonough while LT McDonough was checking over a squad.  In response, LT McDonough stuck his M-16 rifle under King’s head and tells him that if King does that kind of thing again, he better kill him or else he would “blow his brains to kingdom come.” I believe that LT McDonough did react appropriately because King had endangered his life on purpose and could have easily killed/severely maimed LT McDonough. By the LT shoving the rifle under King’s head and threatening him, he was able to not only solidify his control over King, but he was able to solidify his control over his entire platoon. LT McDonough’s platoon was in a war-zone, so he especially needed to have the most complete and utmost control of his platoon. His actions of asserting his dominance were vital in making sure his platoon would operate like a well-oiled machine down the line because his soldiers will not question his commands.

One thing that really stuck out to me during chapter 11 when the patrol base is attacked is that LT McDonough is how calm and collected he was throughout the whole event. He had been in a few fire-fights before, but this was his first big engagement and I was really impressed how he did not get bogged-down with the emotions of seeing his soldiers, especially his RTO, being hit. He instead kept his head on straight and continued to direct his soldiers as to where to position their fire. I was also impressed that he was able to hold off the advancing enemy with very little men. He did an excellent job in relocating his men to different parts of the patrol base when he felt they needed more in a particular part. Moving on, I thought that the LT really handled the situation very well while working with the two Cobra gunships. It was clear that the gunships really did not have a good feel for what they were going to be shooting when they almost made a run past the village which would have certainly killed innocent people. The LT quickly realized this and assertively stated for them to halt their strafing run, and instead directed them to fire upon a different location that was out of the way of innocent bystanders. This was a very important moment because it showed that LT McDonough was able of making the choice between the “hard-right” and the “easy-wrong.” It would have been easy for him to have let the Cobras slaughter the villagers, but LT McDonough had the correct moral compass to know that that was wrong to do.

I agree with LT McDonough when he writes: “military leaders must weigh the effects of their decisions carefully because usually there is no turning back.” I agree with this statement because there are many instances where a leader has to make a decision that will either result in life or death of not just him or his soldiers, but of innocent civilians. This can be related to the scene I discussed in the previous paragraph where LT McDonough directed the Cobra gunship fire away from the village. To me this quote means that a leader must be very calculated and must put a lot of thought into his decisions and how they will affect others because sometimes you only get one chance to pick the right choice. As I continue to train to become an Army Officer, I will use this knowledge and other information like it to help me be able to distinguish between the right and the wrong actions. It is important to remember that one decision/action can have a ripple effect that can affect more than one may realize.