In response to Murray, I both agree and disagree with points he made about LT McDonough’s decision to send his men to the beach. I agree that the intent behind the decision was of good faith and it was a good decision to send his men for a day of relaxation/recuperation. I believe that SGT James should have followed the orders to stay no deeper than knee height and only two men go out at a time. So while SGT James made some poor decisions, the Officer is the man in charge of mission success or failure, so it was right that McDonough took responsibility of what happened. While ocean currents are very strong, I strongly believe that if the men stayed in shallow water, the events could’ve been avoided. Another good point that Murray brought up was the opportunity that McDonough could’ve gained intelligence on the beach or waves as a liability. He didn’t perform a thorough risk assessment of the mission. If McDonough was present, that could or could not have stopped the incident from occurring. If knee depth was maintained then it could have been stopped. If they were pulled out to sea regardless, then I don’t believe McDonough could’ve made a difference. He wasn’t an Olympic swimmer. In the end, it was a costly mistake that could’ve been avoided, but it happened anyway. I am surprised that he was not reprimanded at all from higher for his decisions.

I also like Murray’s point of not training anyone else in the platoon on the functions of the mortar. Sure, it was his and the PSG’s “baby” to operate, but what stands out to me is the difference in his standards from the day he arrived. As Murray stated, McDonough always maintained a high level of readiness in all aspects of his platoon. Suddenly, the requisition of this weapon system changed a way that he always had operated. This is what stood out to me.