Platoon Sergeant

“We are so caught up in the myths of the best and brightest and the self made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth” (Gladwell 268). People believe that outliers come from nowhere, as if they have risen up from the earth. However, people also believe that dedication and talent create outliers. The truth is that what one is born into is what defines an individual. One’s social background forms the type of person you are and is what can define an outlier, one who stands apart from…

Two Platoons of Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, commanded by Captain Mike Steele, would load into four MH-60Ls to form the blocking chalks. The third platoon, with McKnight, operated the ground convoy to evacuate the prisoners and potentially all of the Rangers and Delta. TFR would enter the Bakara Market into an area called…

intelligence on the enemy’ strength. After daybreak, all hell broke loose. Rangers and snipers began to engage the enemy from multiple fronts. The Iraqis descended on the American forces AK47s, effective mortar rounds and RPG. In one instances, Sniper Staff Sergeant Ronald Jones spotted Iraqis shooting RPG from the west side of…

The crossbow required time to arm, yet was fairly accurate over short distances. Therefore crossbowmen fired as individuals. The longbow was less accurate. By firing as an individual the longbowman was more likely to miss his target. But if whole "platoons" of English longbowmen fired rapidly as a body, the result was devastating. A blizzard of arrows rained down on the enemy. Theoretically, a body of longbowmen that was 10,000 strong - such as the yeoman armies of Edward I - could loose a…

Alvin York’s first and most difficult battle was fought not on the battlefield, but in his own mind and soul, as he struggled to reconcile his firm belief that God did not want him to deliberately set out to kill another human being with his equally strong belief that it was his duty to defend his country. In his diary, York explains that his mother tried to claim that Alvin was her only means of support and that she needed him at home. He goes on to say that his pastor wrote to the army…

On December 7, 1941, Daniel Inouye knew his life had changed. He explained that he was getting ready for church like any other Sunday until he heard an announcement on the radio announcing the attack on Pearl Harbor. Looking towards Pearl Harbor, huge amounts of smoke could be seen and three Japanese aircrafts soared above him. About a month after the attack, the United States government designated all Japanese Americans as 4C, enemy alien. “So here I was, 17 years old, who considered himself…

reports to our division commander, then it was my turn. I was nervous, to say the least, these men could make my military career a nightmare if I rubbed them the wrong way. I started speaking and my voice was so soft they could barely hear me. My platoon sergeant leaned over my shoulder and told me to speak up so I cleared my throat, took a deep breath and started talking again. My voice was more direct and firm in what I was saying, all of a sudden I did not feel afraid of them anymore. Yeah,…

them while my squad leader asked yours truly to put the goat out of its misery. Everyone expects the DOC, a term they used for the combat medic, to take care of things like this, especially since I carried a pistol along with my rifle. The Platoon Sergeant had different views on what should happen so he told me to standby. He gave a direct order not to put the goat down, that he would recommend punishment if I did so. I pulled him aside and tried to reason by applying the (1b) perspective…

Euclid High School’s NJROTC unit held its freshman orientation August 3rd-7th. Freshman orientation is an annual event ran and managed by Lieutenant Commander Morek, Sergeant Major Rethage, and all cadets willing to volunteer and help teach the new cadets. Freshman orientation is crucial for all incoming freshman because it gives them a leg-up and will help them succeed in the program. The purpose of freshman orientation is to teach cadets about the program and what's involved in our daily…

One example of that, out of many would be when “Sergeant Padilla is cooking Philly cheesesteaks for the men at Firebase Phoenix and has just yelled, “Come and get it before I get killed,” when an RPG sails into the compound and takes off his arm.” “Pemble helps load him into a humvee, and for weeks afterward he has dreams of Padilla standing in front of him with his arm missing -Pg 54 into 55”. After losing a man in battle many platoons fought harder than ever before and sometimes name places…