It Doesn’t Take a Hero In this book titled “It Doesn’t Take a Hero” (H. Norman Schwarzkopf), General H. Norman Schwarzkopf reveals his remarkable life and career. He begins his autobiography by describing his childhood and how he eventually became a leader in the U.S. Army. This type of autobiography demonstrates how a leader is developed and what is needed in order to succeed in a career as well as how to lead a life by following a motto instated by his past leaders and followers. The autobiography goes through some background and detailed first hand experiences that makes a leader think twice of why he in the situation he is in. With the prestige of having good traits, comes triumph and success. There are sacrifices that come with the …show more content…
There was a time when he did get in trouble and even now he remembers clearly when his father taught him about honor: “No matter what happens, no matter how bad a situation is, no matter what you think the consequences will be if you tell the truth, and honorable man does not lie. A Schwarzkopf does not lie.”(11) It was not only his father who had shown him how to conduct himself, but it was his mother as well. His father would be out on missions for long periods of time and he learned from his mother the need for tolerance. Respect and how to be courteous to all no matter whom they were or what they looked like, is what his mother taught him. Not everything was as pretty as it seemed, their family had issues that they had to overcome and the fear of loosing the battle away and at home was something that he struggled with on a daily basis when he was young. His mother was left with the entire burden when his father left and it eventually became too much to handle. His mother became an alcoholic and he and his family suffered tremendously from his mother’s sickness. He felt like if he had let his father down when he came home to find this out. Living with all females and putting up with them was too much for him that he decided to convince his father to send him to military school. This was the best thing that happened to him, because from here on he lived an Army world. During his teenage years he became interested in girls, partying, and
Lt. Audie L. Murphy’s name stands as one of the most prominent in American military history. He was a figurehead of leadership and the epitome of the seven Army Values (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage). He was a model for every soldier to follow, one that overcame every odd that was ever against him and rose to conquer every challenge. In his personal memoir “To Hell and Back”, he expressed a very personal view of what it takes to embody these characteristics which would eventually encourage anyone who reads it. In the next few paragraphs I will expound on his leadership and analyze what it really takes
The movie “Twelve O’ Clock High” is a case study in the application of leadership theory during World War Two. Gregory Peck portrays Brigadier General Savage, a United States Army Air Force officer thrust into a situation that requires a maximum effort both on the ground and in the air as he attempts to re-invigorate an undisciplined, anxiety ridden, and ineffective combat unit. Throughout the movie we observe Peck’s character employing a variety of leadership methods, but ultimately discovering that true combat effectiveness and cohesion is accomplished through a
The army acted as a second family for the men, the closest bond of friendship imaginable, not only did they fight together, but ate together every night in their ssystia, or mess group. Men were required to eat in these groups every night, even after married and fought with these groups in battle, showing the importance of the army in the lifelong friendship. These ssystia shared barracks together whilst before the age of 30 men had to live in the barracks despite marriage, this implies the great importance of the army over ruling the importance of family ties whilst the boy is young and then over relationships when the man grows older.
General Tommy Franks defines well practiced leadership and superior intelligence for combat decision making. His personal values and character define how all Army leaders should lead their men. General Franks practices the Army Values religiously and sets an example for courage and commitment. His successful accomplishments will be addressed in this essay, including how the Warrior Ethos and Army values were displayed by his decisions.
What is an epic hero? Although we would like to believe that a hero would always be there to save us as needed, that is not always the case. All heroes are different, but what makes them epic? Many would answer that question by saying because they are in an epic poem or story; however, that answer isn’t true. An epic hero, of course is in an epic narrative, but it is what they accomplish in that specific text. First, an epic hero has to make a grand journey and be in the Gods favor or shall we say the chosen one. Also, he has to be seen as superior than any other man. For clarification, the epic hero needs to be bigger, faster, stronger, and wiser than anyone else in the story, except for the Gods of course. Also, and epic hero is also
Imagine what it would take to one day be competing as an Olympic athlete, soon after find yourself stranded on a life raft for forty-seven days, only to be captured as a prisoner of war (POW) for the next twenty-five months. This is exactly what Louis Zamperini did and he lived through it all too be a visionary and ethical leader until the day he died. In this paper I will explain how through all ups and downs of Zamperini’s life he used the elements of adaptability and transactional leadership behavior of contingent rewards. I will also explain how he was an ethical leader by showcasing his resiliency and how his actions fit into the Air Force Core Value of service before self. I will also explain Zamperini’s actions relate to a few instances of me showing similar traits in my actions. First I will explain how Zamperini acted as a visionary leader.
This is an essay on the short story “Soldier’s Home” by Hemingway. Will the life of a soldier ever be the same after returning from war? Many generations of young adults have gone from their homes with tranquil settings to experience war and come home to a different world. Many have witnessed the devastations and atrocities that occur with war. Harold Krebs, a young man from a small town with a loving family is no different from those before him and those to follow. The anguish of what war is however cannot dispel the thoughts and memories of what many young men come home to face in the real world. Many have trouble coping in the new world known as home.
Before the narrator was deployed his mother told him that no matter what happened, he that must always look after his brother. Then she proceeded to tell him a story about his father and his father’s brother. She said that one Saturday night his father and his father’s brother were coming home and they were both a little drunk. They were headed down a hill and beneath them was a road that turned off from the highway. So, his father’s brother, being kind of frisky, decided to run down this hill. Then his father heard a car motor not too far away, and that same moment, his brother stepped from behind the tree and started to cross the road. So, his father started to run down the hill and when he looked at the car he noticed that it was full of drunken white men looking to have a good time. When the men saw his father’s brother they let out great whoops and hollers and aimed the car at his father’s brother, running him over. So, as a result of hearing that story the narrator promised to his mother that he would always look after his brother and the narrator kept his promise, but in the end he just pushed his brother further and further
way to survive at his teenage. This war not only affected the separation of the family but also the
The story was about the time when he found out that he had to go to the war, however, he didn't want to go to it, so he decided to leave the United States. He stated his feelings about the war by saying, “I was no soldier” (41), to show that he knew nothing about it. The way he was raised didn't expose him to the types of things that he’d face in war. In addition, he had a whole future ahead of him due to how well he had done in school. He went on to say that he remembered “the rage in [his] stomach” (42), which showed the feelings of unease that he felt.
His mother knew that he was going to disobey her so she knitted him some socks, and put his bags together. After he came home from signing the paper that states that he is now in the military, his mother gave him a speech that made him impatient and even more ready to leave the house. Once he had reached the house, he began to wonder what he had done. A part of his job was to guard the shelter they were at, and to do so, he had to sit still and look. The part about sitting is that he had to try and keep warm, and without moving your body is kind of hard. At the unit’s camp he is in, everyone realizes that the more they wait the more doubt, fear, and anxiety slips into their mind.
In discussion forum 9, leaders are challenged through situations of crisis and are given ways to confront those challenges which allows them to overcome setbacks and face adversity. In the book “Resilient Leaders”, written by Major General Robert Dees, he provides leaders with his personal experiences of the battlefront and home front and what he had to do in order to cope as well as overcome each situation he was placed in. Major General Dees discusses his foundational ideas on leadership in Chapters one and two. The three concepts that our group decided on are Selfless Service, Character and Risk Management.
How maybe he was a scholar and maybe his parents were farmers. Then O'Brien goes on to talk of maybe why this young man was in the army, and maybe why he was fighting; these are something’s that are taught in the schools. O'Brien states that the man may have joined because he was struggling for independence, juts like all the people that were fighting with him. Maybe this man had been taught from the beginning that to defend the land was a mans highest duty and privilege. Then on the other hand maybe he was not a good fighter, and maybe in poor health but had been told to fight and could not ask any questions. These reasons are all reasons that are taught in textbooks; they go along with the idea of the draft. Some people go fight because they want to and others go because they are told they have to. How do you tell these people apart in the heat of battle or when they are dead? The way that O'Brien starts to describe the young man as someone who was small and frail, and maybe had plans for a bright future puts sorrow in the readers heart, in that all his plans can not happen for him or maybe the family that is longing for his return. It also shows the regret that maybe going on in the killers’ mind. For O'Brien to be writing on how this young mans life has come to a sudden end and his plans for the future is over is intriguing. Then to add to that he had the story written through the eyes of the soldier that ended this young mans life. The
Born November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California, General George Smith Patton, Jr. was one of the most complicated, yet greatest leaders in military history. On June 11, 1909, he attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for a year and then to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 15th cavalry Regiment. Growing up, Patton’s ultimate life goal was to become a hero and a successful leader. In Robert B. Williamson’s book, “General Patton’s Principles for Life & Leadership”, the author takes a personal account of Patton’s principles which he lived and fought for. These main principles consisted of the following: Leadership,
He probably felt as if he himself were a child in the war. Scared, and alone. No orders on the battlefield, just instinct. He probably wanted people to feel exactly what he felt.