"X-Ray" Chpts 8-10

There were numerous examples of leadership in this section, but I thought the actions of Crandall really stood out. He realized that the fate of 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry was in his hands and he more than rose to the occasion. Crandall started his extra servitude by bringing in supplies and ammunition, but upon seeing that there was no one to evacuate the causalities he loaded them into his own Huey. Eventually Crandall took over control of directing all flights into the LZ; he kept the mission in mind and the hot LZ barely phased him.
Many of leaders in the Ia Drang Valley utilized the decision making process we discussed in class. Cpt. Nadal's decision to pull back after trying to rescue the cut-off platoon was one example of this. He identified the problem, which was they were in an intense battle, one of their platoons was cut-off, but they were unable to make significant headway in their rescue mission. Nadal then gathered information based upon the number of casualties they were taking and the time of day. He generated possible solutions which were to keep trying or to pull back. He analyzed and compared these solutions, using his NCO's to help in the process and eventually executed the decision to withdraw.

"X-Ray" Chpts 5-7

LTC Moore exhibits many examples of good leadership in this section. The major one, I believe, is that he is the first one on the battlefield. In the chapter he talks about how SGM Plumley flashed some of the troops a smile in the field. I think this is important because it is motivating for the troops knowing their commanding officers are on the field are right there with them. LTC Moore also showed good leadership skills by continually adjusting his company positions as the battle progressed based on what his instincts told him about the enemies avenues of approach. Although he was under immense stress during this, he never became flustered. This is important because if he were to lose his composure it would surely transmit down the ranks.
The one critique I have of Moore in this section is that he is too compassionate towards Lt. Herrick in his writing. it seemed like he was almost praising Herrick, even though he messed up. I thought Lt. Herrick actions represented bad leadership because he forgot about the overall mission which led to his platoon being cut-off and taking a substantial number of causalities.

"Going to War"

I have actually read this book before because it is one of my dad's favorites. When he was stationed at Ft. Hunter Liggett we went out to visit and he showed us where parts of the movie had been filmed there.

The thing that amazes me most about this book is the amount of respect LTC Moore has for the enemy. This is apparent, even in this first section, because he devotes an entire chapter to General Man and his soldiers. Never once does he refer to the enemy in a negative light; he realizes the North Vietnamese had their own beliefs and that is what they were fighting for. I think this was an advantage for LTC Moore because it caused him to never underestimate the enemy during the planning and battle.