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Synthesis Essay : Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy

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Synthesis Essay – Audie L. Murphy

MSgt John C. Latham

Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy

September 9, 2015

Instructor: StFw Rainer Lichtsinn

Audie Murphy “August, 1944. Beach landing south of France. Suddenly the day is ripped apart by the sound of machine gun fire; you and your men are pinned down with no help en route. As you rush forward, sliding in amongst your men, you see the fear in their eyes. If ever there was a now or never moment, now is it. With no regard for your own safety, you slam a fresh magazine in your carbine, grab two grenades and charge around the farmhouse between you and the machine gun nest. You quickly find yourself separated from your men; the only option is …show more content…

By taking the lead and directing the assault on the machine gun nest from the point position, Sgt Murphy provided a focus point for his men to rise to the occasion and press forward when they had little, to no motivation to continue. At this point in time, this type of leadership trait was visionary in respect to how military leaders were trained to behave thus successfully removing the status quo. We can also see that when applying the concept of Emotional Flexibility in regards to the Three Elements of Adaptability (BCEE, 2014b, p. 6-7), Sgt Murphy was able to control not only his own emotions in regards to fear, apprehension, and concern. But he was able to assess his men’s emotional situation and concentrate them on the act of completing the mission. In a passage from Audie Murphy’s Autobiography, To Hell and Back, “For the first time in the war, I refuse to accept facts. While Brandon grows cold beneath my hand, I keep telling myself, ‘He is not dead. He can’t be dead, because if he is dead, the war is all wrong; and Brandon has died in vain.’” (A. Murphy, 1949, p. 177). It was at this point when Audie Murphy moved forward to finish the attack on the German machine gun nest. Audie Murphy suppressed his urge of fear in order to adapt to the situation at hand. If he had not adapted to this situation, and been able to provide an inspirational example to his

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