My outfit, 2nd brigade of the first battalion, 27th Wolfhounds, stood down as a unit and were we reassigned in country, sent home, whatever fit the guidelines.
We kept our patrol routines right through to the end of our last patrol.
In my experience with 24 men, some liked to walk point and they were good at it, so they walked more often than the others; some were good but they didn't like it, so they shared with those who were adequate and hated it.
Mostly the point was taken by the guys who were good at it, whether they liked it or not. The job was too important to be given to someone who might mess up.
In my platoon the workload seemed to even out. We were worked in small groups - 10 or 12 men only - and everyone knew everyone else very well, who could do what, who shouldn't do what, how to even the strain.
I accepted the platoon's individual deals with sharing the burden. The only rule I broke is that I sometimes walked point myself. It was very scary to be the first in a ranger file with the real possibility that you could be ambushed.
I believed in that old time "don't ask another man to do what you won't do yourself" routine.
kilo - remembering the old daze, Woody, glad to be alive.
©2002 Philip W. Knauth
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