In Chapter 11 LT McDonough’s patrol base is attacked and forced to respond. What sticks out to you as he describes his actions during the defense of his position? How does LT McDonough bring all available resources to him into the fight? During the battle LT McDonough is again faced with a tough situation while working with two Cobra gunships. What is your impression of his response? Why is it so important?

The two largest things that stick out to me from the defense of the patrol base is the failure of the company commander to integrate battalion assets into the defense of second platoon’s patrol base and the medic’s action rescuing the wounded Vietnamese mother and child in the middle of the firefight. With intelligence promising enemy offensive actions, the company commander failed his platoon or one third of his company by not inspecting their defensive position and coordinating some sort of battalion assets in case they were attacked. LT McDonough quickly sidesteps his commander and utilizes his battalion operations officer to bring in indirect illumination rounds as well as close air support into the fight for his patrol base.  LT McDonough share some blame by not coordinating such assets beforehand, if he too understood that they could be attacked. A platoon leader must speak out if help is not forthcoming. It may go against intuition, leaders are taught to always look strong, but when resources are lacking, it is the officer’s job to go higher and get what his unit needs (in this case pre coordinated indirect fires and more dismounts).

The medic’s efforts to save the local national could be viewed as foolhardy or courageous. Given the possibility that the woman could have been carrying an explosive, I believe that the medic’s actions were foolhardy. The platoon was taking casualties and they could not risk their only life saving asset. The woman had the perfect cover to bring in a weapon and/or explosive into the perimeter and the medic assisted in the process. While both PL and medic’s instincts were rewarded when they assisted a wounded child, it could have ended very differently if mother, daughter, and medic were shot in the open by a Vietnamese machine gun.

LT McDonough’s response to the Cobra Gunships was as it should be, he controlled the assets on station and mitigated the damage that could have been inflicted on the civilian populace. He understood as the ground commander and observer, that he was the sole responsibility for what the gunships did on station.