12 O Clock High Military Leadership

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Investigating the Interactions among Leaders in Twelve O'Clock High Introduction Twelve O'Clock High is a movie that the United States Navy and Air Force utilize “as an educational aid” in their respective educational institutions (IMDb). This movie, acclaimed by New York Times critic Bosley Crowther, addresses the topic of leadership through “a middle-aged American ex-major... recalling in nostalgic sadness his experience at... [Archbury] during the... [Second World] war” (Crowther). Because Twelve O'Clock High's story incorporates militaristic topics, it inherently focuses upon the topic of leadership and followership. Statement of the Question How does the interaction among leaders and followers serve as a positive or negative influence …show more content…

General Pritchard transfers Colonel Keith Davenport, the current commander of the 918th, to Bomber Command because of his resentment of this strategy. Now that the 918th now lacks a commander, General Frank Savage assumes command. The rapid growth in casualties and dissent towards General Savage demoralize the flight crews, which causes the pilots to request transfer to a different squadron. Realizing that he caused the transfer requests to a degree, General Savage asks Adjutant Major Harvey Stovall for assistance. With Major Stovall's assistance, General Savage is able to increase the time he spends with his crew and, therefore, increase morale. The 918th eventually gains a level of morale high enough to withdraw their transfer requests and execute a mission without General Savage's …show more content…

Upon Major Stovall’s arrival, General Savage orders him to arrest everyone who is not currently on base. Major Stovall, somewhat disdainful of his orders, executes General Savage's request. Although it is rational to expect essential officers to stay on base during a time of war, General Savages actions serve as a negatively influence on the leadership because of how he chose to execute the requirement. Upon the arrival of the recently arrested Lieutenant Colonel Gately, General Savage decides to ignore him for a bit to instill fear within him. When Lieutenant Colonel Gately expresses his dissent for General Savage's actions, General Savage becomes infuriated and begins verbally destroying him. General Savage makes it quite clear to Lieutenant Colonel Gately that his actions within the base, such as a low number of missions flown despite the amount of experience with B-17s he has had, did not qualify his

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