Band Of Brothers

[indianajdp]

re: Captain Sobel

Some of the men admitted that Sobel made them the fighting unit they became because of the pure hell he put them through in camp. There were little things:
- completely over-the-top apperance and/or equipment expectations
- witholding liberties for individuals or the entire unit because of minute infractions
- telling the men there would be no run, watching them eat a huge pasta dinner, then making them run the five miles up the mountain
- while most units ran a mile or two, Sobel routinely made his men run 5 or more, fully equipped

Again, he may have ridden them unnecessarily hard, but there's no doubt he conditioned them to take just about anything the Germans would throw at them. But it was his tactical shortcomings that others have mentioned that, IMO, ultimately sealed his fate with the men. I think had he done the things above but proven to be like Winters in his command he would have gained the begrudging respect of most of the men. But, as we saw on film and read in the books, he just didn't have it.

I think back to the scene late in the war when Winters was asked to send a patrol across the river by Sink, resulting in the loss of one of the replacements. Winters didn't want to send the first one, did, and then took the loss personally, especially with minimal returns. When Sink asked for another patrol the next night, well, we know what Winters did (and if you have not seen it yet I will not ruin it for you). The point is, imagine how Sobel would have most-likely handled that situation. There is definitely more to being a leader than dotting your "i"s and crossing your "t"s.