I absolutely believe that McDonough had a valid reason to send members of his platoon to the beach. They were tired, dilapidated, and covered in tiny, infected cuts. Had I been in LTs place, I would have made the same decision to send my soldiers to the beach. I think that the fact that he didn’t accompany the squad to the beach really doesn’t make a difference in preventing the events that ensued. Regardless of his presence, the ocean was going to pull those soldiers away from shore. Perhaps the presence of McDonough would have allowed for the squad to reevaluate the location where they entered the water and subsequently avoid the riptide. Realistically, had LT been there, he would have most likely entered the water to save his soldiers and he too would then be swept away in the Riptide and drown. Like Ritter said, this loss would have been extremely detrimental to the composure of the platoon. To place the blame for this accident on the LT seems harsh. Accidents happen all the time, this really is no different than if LT ordered men to leave on a helicopter and the helicopter malfunctioned and crashed. There is inherent risk in everything, and unfortunately, accidents like this can be devastating.