We Were Soldiers Movie Essay

1278 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of leadership

We Were Soldiers Dustin W. Olinger MGMT 101 American Military University Professor Joan Wilder 24 January 2016 We Were Soldiers The movie We Were Soldiers depicts an amazing leadership story of Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore (played by Mel Gibson). Colonel Moore was given the honor of commanding the first Battalion, 7th Cavalry regiment, the same regiment led by General George A. Custer in the 19th Century. Colonel Moore was a natural leader, he uses his god given talent and many leadership skills to lead his men into an impossible situation that most would cower and take as a defeat. He leads his men, who were vastly outnumber to an unforeseen victory in November 1965 against Vietnam soldiers. Colonel Moore is a man of many skills. He uses many different supervisory skills to lead his men. The first leadership skill he uses is leading by example. He makes it a point to always be around his men and to do what they do. He will always the first to step on the battle field and will be the last to leave. He was given orders to leave the battle field and be briefed in Saigon. He refuses the order and tells them he will not leave his men. All people follow those who lead by example, but to our …show more content…

He shows that during a battle field type of setting, there are no cut and dry textbook type leadership skills to use every single time. The scene is ever changing, with many different scenarios happening at the same time. Flexibility is a huge skill that leaders in these high stress environments, a MUST have in a leadership toolbox for a high stress environment. Factory leaders or CEO’s of fortune 500 companies go to work and come home at the same time generally. They have the liberty of being in a routine and living by that routine. Leaders on the battle field may not ever go home or sleep more than an hour a night, that is why flexibility is a key to success and a skill they must

Show More
Related

  • We Were Soldiers Historical Accuracy

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    “We Were Soldiers” is a movie about the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division’s battle against the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Ia Drang Valley northeast of Chu Pong Massif, Vietnam in 1965. It is filmed from the point of view of Lt, Col. Hal Moore, who takes command of the newly formed Airmobile Cavalry battalion and leads them in the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam war.

    Read More

  • The Battle of la Drang in Vietnam

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    Moore was the first man out of the lead chopper to hit the landing zone, firing his M16 rifle. Little did Moore and his men suspect that fate had sent them into the first major battle of the Vietnam War between the American Army and the People's Army of Vi...

    Read More

  • Leadership In Robert Dees The Resilience Trilogy

    480 Words  | 1 Pages

    This discussion will focus on leadership as described by Robert Dees in The Resilience Trilogy, Resilient Leaders text. The points made in the book can be personally related. The three most important concepts learned from chapter 1 and 2 are tribulation, risk management, and selflessness. It is crucial for anyone is seeking to delve into leadership that everything will not happen as planned all the time. After a leader experience failure, knowing the avenues to take to regain a solid footing is also key to successful leadership. Often leaders who are unaware of available resources fold and give up. In the military profession, when someone gets knock down they get up brush themselves off and get back in the fight.

    Read More

  • Colin Powell: Military leader, Statesman

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and expensive than similar training in industry or government. Secondly, military leaders tend to hold high levels of responsibility and authority at low levels of our organizations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect.”

    Read More

  • Staff Sergeant Essay

    1728 Words  | 4 Pages

    Staff Sergeant (SSGT) Louis Moeller shaped me into the Recon Marine I wanted to be and the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) that I am now. By embodying the Recon Creed and always setting the example, he made me want to be an NCO that my troops would look up to and want to follow. Even when not in charge he was constantly the one peers and junior Marines alike, turned to for guidance and inspiration. To this day, I still find myself asking “What would Louis do?” when confronted with a leadership dilemma.

    Read More

  • The Concept of Transformational Leadership

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    Leadership at the tactical level is built on personal interaction. This type of leadership is face to face and encourages adherence to policy and procedures. This leadership also takes into account the human element of command. In the LW course, we studied numerous leaders that exhibited this type of leadership style. Robin Olds was a leader that transformed the squadron they led. Three keys to their leadership were mission success, people focus, and espirt de corps.

    Read More

  • Nursing Leadership Analysis

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of The Marines And The Marine Corps

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Simon Sinek’s idea and concepts of leadership are very similar to ones used by the Marine Corps. The Marines are one of the most successful military organizations around the world. They have achieved success by accomplishing missions and winning battles. Battles fought in difficult terrains, climates and circumstances. They have thrived in times when other military branches are better funded and equipped and never lost sight of their purpose and goal. Marines always seem to defy assumptions. They appear to have something special and different when compared to the other military branches. Extract young man and woman from a broad society filled with different cultural backgrounds and make them a Marine. Furthermore, they prepare these young individuals to fight for this country and give their life if necessary defending it. Marines have no problem standing out. The Marine Corps and Simon Sinek’s ideas and concepts for successful leadership are related because both know “why” they do what they do,

    Read More

  • We Were Soldiers Once, And Young: A Review

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    The New York Times Bestseller We Were Soldiers Once... And Young was authored by Lt. General Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway. In November 1965, Lt. Colonel Harold Moore commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th cavalry at the Ia Drang Valley-one of the bloodiest battles of Vietnam. He eventually retired from the Army in 1977 after thirty-two years of service. After his military career, Lieutenant General Moore resided as executive vice president for four years at a Colorado ski resort before founding a computer software company. Harold Moore currently lives in Auburn, Alabama and Crested Butte, Colorado.

    Read More

  • Platoon Sergeant

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Regardless of the career you choose in your life, whether it be an accountant or a Soldier in the United States Army, someone, somewhere most likely had an influence to bring you to that decision. The Army defines leadership as the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (JP, p. 1). Now imagine you are a young Private, in one of the most dangerous places in Iraq and you have constant leadership changes, and not much support from your direct leadership. I am sure at this point you can imagine, it is not the best scenario to be in. Throughout the duration of this essay you will read about Sergeant First Class Rob Gallagher and Sergeant First Class Jeff Fenlason, their leadership abilities, and the techniques they attempted to use to resolve the issues in this Platoon that was in a downward spiral after losing many leaders to the hell of war.

    Read More

  • Leadership Self-Assessment

    3035 Words  | 7 Pages

    As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.

    Read More

  • American Soldier Interview Essay

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Why would you want to interview me when there are plenty of people back home that would be easier to interview in person?” asks John Stout. He is about 5’11, has dark black hair and his eyes are a rich chocolaty brown. He is tan and has a strong muscular body. John is currently deployed in Bagram Afghanistan. He departed on July 7th, 2016 and will not return until April of 2017. He grew up in Fort Ripley, MN and graduated from Brainerd High School in 2014. John is very close with his Mother, Father, Brother and Sister. He grew up with a wrench in his hand and always helped his Father work on project cars and fixing things around the house. To John, family is everything. His family always took vacations and every summer, he gets to travel around the United States for Army training. John grew up in a military family. His Father works as a Warrant Officer in the Minnesota National Guard and his Brother, Curtis, is in the Marine Corps and is also deployed right now.John has always wanted to serve his country

    Read More

  • Leadership Reflective Essay

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    The inherent leadership ability of CSM Hambrick is unparalleled by most leaders. His embodiment of the Army Values is evident to any Soldier that may observe or interact with him. As the Brigade CSM of the 506th Infantry Regiment, CSM Hambrick was known to spend little

    Read More

  • Movie Essay: The Movie War Room

    897 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tony and Elizabeth Jordan thought they had it all – a beautiful daughter, great jobs, the best cars, and their dream house, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors their marriage is falling apart, and they are constantly fighting, pushing away from each other and hurting their daughter emotionally and mentally in the process to the point where she says to her friend ¨I wish I lived at your house, my parents are always fighting.¨ Tony and Elizabeth are typical churchgoers who have become self-righteous and, in Tony case, even hostile towards the God who created him for his glory. Elizabeth is a real estate broker, and Tony is a salesman who is always traveling. While Tony relaxes in his professional success and flirts with temptation,

    Read More

  • My Mother Is A Great Leader

    754 Words  | 2 Pages

    Finally, leaders are able to keep everything in perspective. They invest themselves fully but also are able to keep their priorities in order. As a child I never understood anything that my mother did or said but now that I am an adult I realize that my mother had a valid reason for everything she did. My entire childhood my mother has molded me to become a great leader and all the lessons that my mother has taught me I can spread the knowledge to my children. Successful leaders keep it all in perspective because they are able to separate the important from the urgent, and devote their time

    Read More

More about We Were Soldiers Movie Essay

Open Document