The first scene that I chose to analyze in “We Were Soldiers” is one that comes some 45 minutes into the movie. The United States Military has just gotten word that the French Army is a disaster over in North Vietnam, literally walking in and being gunned down. The United States decides to step in and use an aerial attack, the air cavalry, which is to be headed by Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Mel Gibson).

The scene begins after the members of the air cavalry finish training, and are to leave for “la Drang Valley”(the Valley of Death) in North Vietnam the next day. The troops are gathered in formation on the infield of a stadium, facing the stands, which are filled with their family members. Facing the troops on a podium is Lt. Col. Hal Moore, who begins his address to the troops as helicopters pass by in the background. He begins his speech by commenting on the number of me

n serving in the United States Military that are not of American origin, then, saying “So let us understand the situation…”, he begins telling the troops what it will be like when they arrive in North Vietnam. The lines that stick out the most in this part of the speech are, Lt. Col. Moore speaking of himself, “I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together.”

In this particular scene, I believe that Enabling Others To Act is a practice that is exemplified. Both the commanding officers are off away from their troops. They see that there are men who step up and assume leadership roles, maybe not as productive as the other, and they don’t step in when they make decisions or when they tell the men to do something. Moore and Plumley show that they are sharing power, which is probably limited, and discretion with the men of the cavalry, thus strengthening others. This clip exemplifies how leaders will share their power and let others make decisions.

The focus then shifts back to Moore and Plumley, Moore making the comment that Kagen is a born leader. Pl

Some topics in this essay:
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