Directions:

1. Opening questions. Ask the students to write their ideas on a piece a paper to the questions and

then discuss.

a. "What does leadership mean to you?"

b. "Describe some characteristics of leadership."

c. "What kind of leadership skills would be needed to lead men into battle?"

2. Read the two selections from "With the Old Breed" of E.B. Sledge's two leaders he served under.

Answer and discuss the following questions:

a. "Compare and contrast the two leaders. What are positive qualities and negative qualities shown by the leader?"

b. "Have you ever met someone like Captain Haldane or "Mac"? Describe them.

c. What can you learn from these 2 men about leadership?

"Mac"

"Our new mortar section leader was a New Englander out of an Ivy League college. Mac was blond, not large, but was well built, energetic, and talkative, with abroad New England accent. He was a conscientious officer, but he irritated the veterans by talking frequently and at great length about what he was going to do to the Japanese when we went into action again. We sometimes heard such big talk from enlisted replacements who were trying to impress someone (mostly themselves) with how brave they would be under fire, but Mae was about the only officer I ever heard indulge in it. Whenever he got started with, "The first time one of our guys gets hit, its gonna make me so mad that I'm gonna take my kabar between my teeth and my .45
in my hand and charge the Japs," all the veterans would sit back and smirk We threw knowing glances at each other and rolled our eyes like disgusted schoolboys listening to a coach brag that he could lick the opposing team single?handed, I fell embarrassed for Mac, because it was so obvious he conceived combat as a mixture of football and a boy scout camp-out.

"Burgin stood a short distance behind Mac, shaking his head slowly, in disgust. As we came up, I asked Mac what he had fired at. He pointed to the ground and showed us his target: the lower jaw of some long-dead animal. Mac said he just wanted to see if he could shoot any of the teeth loose from the jawbone. We stared at him in disbelief There we were, a patrol of about a dozen Marines, miles from our outfit, with orders not to fire unless at the enemy, in an area with dead Japanese scattered all over the place and our lieutenant was plinking away with his carbine like a kid with a BB gun.
If Mac had been a private, the whole patrol would probably have stuck his head in a nearby well. But our discipline was strict, and we just gritted our teeth?"

With the Old Breed pages 173,198

Captain Andrew Haldane

"Acclaimed by superiors and subordinates alike for his leadership abilities, Captain Haldane was the finest and most popular officer I ever knew. All of the marines in Company K shared my feelings. Called the "skipper," he had a strong face full of character, a large, prominent jaw, and the kindest eyes I ever saw". No matter how much he shaved or how hard he tried, he always had a five o'clock shadow. He was so large that the combat pack on his back reminded me of the bulge of his wallet,
while mine covered me from neck to waist.

Although he insisted on strict discipline, the captain was a quiet man who gave orders without shouting He had a rare combination of intelligence, courage, self?confidence, and compassion that commanded our respect and admiration. We were thankful that Ack Ack was our skipper, fell more secure in it, and felt sorry for other companies not so fortunate. While some officers on Pakrukru thought it necessary to strut or order us around to impress us with their status, Haldane quietly told us what to do. We loved him for it and did the best job we knew how."

With the Old Breed page 40