An Infantry Officer Taught Me About Leadership
He was the last patient of the day. He was still a leader, He stood straight and erect. There was a presence about him. He was dressed for a dinner meeting. I knew the pin in his lapel was for a silver star medal for heroism. When his visit was over, I asked him if he would mind telling me the story. Here it is.
“I was already at the airfield with my bags packed. I had finished my tour of duty in Vietnam and in just minutes, I would be in the air and headed home. A courier came running in and breathlessly said, “Come quick, hurry. The general needs you now. There is a fire base about to be overrun and their commander is too badly wounded to lead them now. He wants you to go up there and save the situation. A helicopter is ready for you now.
I ran to the chopper and boarded. We flew off into the night. As we approached the fire base I could see it was bad from the air. There was a virtual storm of tracer rounds streaking across the compound. The chopper got close enough to the ground near the command post for me to jump out and they were off. The helicopter crew made it out OK. I rushed into the shelter and immediately received an update. The situation was worse than reported. A very large force of North Vietnamese army troops was about to annihilate the defenders in this base. A few were already inside the barbed wire defenses. It would be over in minutes.
There was a very young second lieutenant forward artillery observer in the bunker. I looked him over quickly and asked, “Lieutenant, how confident are you in your box calculation?” “Very confident sir” “OK then, it is time. Do it.” The lieutenant called in a box barrage from an artillery unit in range, and this is very tricky business. The idea is to bring in concentrated artillery fire as close as possible to the square compound so that it kills attackers without killing defenders. The young lieutenant was right and he saved the day.
The morning light showed just how near they had come. There were hundreds of dead enemy troops around the base and heavy casualties inside. My patient turned the tables on the enemy. He was very familiar with the surrounding terrain, and he knew they would cross an opening on their way back to their home territory. He left the safety of the compound with a small escort. Two enemy troops popped up out of spider holes along the way. If anything, this trip was more dangerous than the night before. They reached a spot where they could observe the opening. When the North Vietnamese were crossing it. He called in another artillery strike and inflicted great damage on the enemy.
So what were the lessons for me. He was headed home. He was safe. He had not seen his family in a year. He learned American soldiers would be lost without his action, and he did not hesitate. His focus was on saving Americans and mitigating the threat. His actions were selfless and mission driven. In that one day, he saved hundreds. He changed the tactics to change the outcome. We are in the same business-saving American lives. That is the kind of leadership we need right now. Won’t you join the effort to improve health and reduce cost? We are about to be overrun. You are needed.