Compass 68 Analysis

783 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Leadership development in the military

Found Item Tuttle dug into a ragged box, pulled out an Army issue compass, counted “68”, and put it on the desk. “I hate doing inventory, hung above”, he said. Tuttle was the most junior Soldier in the supply section, that along with his poor attitude led to his having to count just about everything the unit owned. Tuttle droned on, “It takes so long and the Captain just signs what we put in front of him.” Clark rolled his eyes “First of all, the only thing you know about the Captain is what he looks like and second of all,”…Clark pointed to a plaque hung above the door for all to see and read it forebodingly. “The trust between Supply and Leadership runs deep if lost, it is nearly impossible to restore.” Clark picked up Compass “68” then …show more content…

If compasses could show any personality traits, the other compasses back at Fort McClellan would have found Compass“68” changed, perhaps quiet or withdrawn. Compass “68” endured long days in the hot, wet Panamanian jungle each training cycle.Though not among the other countless pieces of equipment considered a training loss and never to see the inside of a supply room again, Compass “68” was coming to the end of his usefulness for the Jungle school had taken a toll. Although still functioning the ten-year life span of a lensatic compass were drawing near. It had been three years in Panama and the supply guys were already eyeing Compass “68” warily. It came to the point that Compass “68” would only be issued if no other compasses were available. It was only a matter of time before Compass “68” would be sold as bulk Army surplus. That is until 1989 when the US invaded Panama and Rob Savague can along saving Compass “68”. Private Rob Savague was part of a Military Police Team tasked with securing Fort Sherman prior to and during the invasion. In the hectic days before the invasion, Savague need a compass and went to the supply room, Compass “68” was hand recited to Private Savague and after the invasion, Savague never returned

Show More
Related

  • Stephen Crane and Walt Whitman: The Natural and the Language of Social Protest

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    In The Red Badge of Courage, Henry Fleming was drawn to enlist by his boyhood dreams. His highly romanticized notion of war was eclectic, borrowing from various classical and medieval sources. Nevertheless, his exalted, almost deified, conception of the life of a soldier at rest and in combat began to deflate before the even the ink had dried on his enlistment signature. Soon the army ceased to possess any personal characteristics Henry had once envisioned, becoming an unthinking, dispas...

    Read More

  • Outlaw Platoon Sparknotes

    1937 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sean Parnell was a normal college student, partying on the weekends, going to class when he wanted, and being as carefree as one could be. A year later, he becomes the leader of a forty-man platoon at the ripe age of twenty-four. After being the leader of the platoon for only eight short months Parnell claims he “had enough knowledge to know that he didn’t know anything” (page 27). The job of ...

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way of connecting to their homes. The story depicts the soldiers by the baggage that they carry, both mentally and physically. After the death of one of his troops, Ted Lavender, Jimmy finally realizes that his actions have been detrimental to the squad as a whole. He believes that if he would have been a better leader, that Ted Lavender would have never been shot and killed. The physical and emotional baggage that Jimmy totes around with him, in Vietnam, is holding him back from fulfilling his responsibilities as the First Lieutenant of his platoon. Jimmy has apparent character traits that hold him back from being the leader that he needs to be, such as inexperience and his lack of focus; but develops the most important character trait in the end, responsibility.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘The Things They Carried’ by Tim O’Brien provides a insider’s view of war and its distractions, both externally in dealing with combat and internally dealing with the reality of war and its effect on each solder. The story, while set in Vietnam, is as relevant today with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s in Southeast Asia. With over one million soldiers having completed anywhere from one to three tours in combat in the last 10 years, the real conflict might just be inside the soldier. O’Brien reflects this in his writing technique, using a blend of fiction and autobiographical facts to present a series of short narratives about a small unit of soldiers. While a war story, it is also an unrequited love story too, opening with Jimmy Cross holding letters from a girl he hoped would fall in love with him. (O’Brien 1990).

    Read More

  • Comparing The Identities Between Redeployment And The Things They Carried

    1821 Words  | 4 Pages

    From this, the soldiers have become robotic due to the war, as they no longer possess any emotion or individuality among themselves and thus are no longer differentiable. In order to restore what’s left of their respective identities, the soldiers must carry items that one may assume are “trivial”, when in actuality they are the most significant “things” they carry. For instance, O’Brien details the story behind what one of the soldiers in Cross’ platoon named Kiowa carries by stating, “Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma” (3). This is the only item Kiowa possesses to reminisce on his

    Read More

  • Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another unique aspect to this book is the constant change in point of view. This change in point of view emphasizes the disorder associated with war. At some points during the book, it is a first person point of view, and at other times it changes to an outside third person point of view. In the first chapter of the book, “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien writes, “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity (2).

    Read More

  • Bad Leadership Skills in Black Hearts by Jim Frederick

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...

    Read More

  • Hammerhead Sharks

    972 Words  | 2 Pages

    on this built in compass sense to guide them in the open ocean. Another use for

    Read More

  • The Emotional and Psychological Burdens in 'The Things They Carried'

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tim O’ Brien alternates between narrative and descriptions of the tangible items that they soldiers carry. He remembers seemingly everything that his squad mates were carrying and provides an “emotionless recitation” of the weights of each of the items the soldiers carried into the field. He frequently uses the term “humping” to describe how the soldiers carry their gear; making them appear more uncivilized, like animals. As he switches back to mentioning the intangible items, such as the experiences of his leader Jimmy Cross and his love Martha, the emotional weights of each soldier is felt by the reader. This contrast in style affirms that they soldiers are human and provides emphasis to the weight these intangible objects have on the soldiers.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing the character’s psychological burdens.

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tim O’Brien wrote the novel The Things They Carried in 1990, twenty years after the war in Vietnam.In the novel,Obrien takes us through the life of many soliders by telling stories that do not go in chronical order. In doing so we get to see the physical and mental things the soldiers carry throughout the war in Vietnam.Yet the novel is more than just a description of a particular war. In the things they carried Tim O’Brien develops the characters in the book slowly, to show the gradual effect war has on a person. O’Brien shows this by exploring the life of Henry Dobbins, and Norman Bowker.

    Read More

  • Coping Mechanisms Used for Survival in The Things They Carried

    920 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel, “The Things They Carried”, is about the experiences of Tim O’Brian and his fellow platoon members during their time fighting in the Vietnam War. They face much adversity that can only be encountered in the horrors of fighting a war. The men experience death of friends, civilians, enemies and at points loss of their rationale. In turn, the soldiers use a spectrum of methods to cope with the hardships of war, dark humor, daydreaming, and violent actions all allow an escape from the horrors of Vietnam that they experience most days.

    Read More

  • Making the Corps

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Why did he pick the Marines as his topic? Attracted to the Corps perception and morale, Thomas E. Ricks expresses the Marines as the only service still upholding its honor and tradition. Due to society changing into a commercial society with a “me” attitude, civilians focus on how they can splendor themselves with material items—never looking big picture at all that we can accomplish as a team if we give our heart and soul in life. Team meaning everyone on earth, for we are the people that provide for one another with peace and prosperity. As a Marine, it is imperative to have leadership skills along with being capable to work with others. This book was written to enhance the reader’s mentality of how the Marines operate. It informs those who are looking into the service, and provides an in depth look into the trials and tribulations it has been through—as well as conquered.

    Read More

  • Character Comparison in Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

    Read More

  • Psychoanalytic Perspective In The Things They Carried

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien offers readers very unique and interesting view of the Vietnam War and the mentality of a soldier.

    Read More

More about Compass 68 Analysis

Open Document