Defense of Hill 781 by James R. McDonough Page A

and report on the task force. He was recalcitrant, but a map on him gave a clue, nothing more than that, of some enemy dispositions in the valley below. It was enough to divert the few scouts Always did have to check out the possibility of an ambush beyond CP2.
    The order went much smoother this time. The written product was reduced to only two pages, the bulk of the information being written on the operations overlay prepared for each subordinateelement. A great deal of the administrative instructions that had dominated the last order was omitted from the briefing and placed in a written annex to be given to the company execs. Only information that was pertinent to the operational mission was included in the order. Nonetheless, there were still a few vital holes. The aviation coordination still had not taken place, so their incorporation in the plan could only be tentative. The helicopter liaison officer did arrive toward the end of the briefing, but it was too late to confirm exactly how the aviation assets would be employed. The best employment of the engineers could not be determined until more intelligence came in. It was clear that their priority would go to the mobility of the attacking task force, but the objective was so far away, uncertainty remained as to terrain conditions and the location of enemy obstacles. Ominously, the intelligence officer briefed of the possibility of chemical release by the enemy. This necessitated the movement of the battalion in chemical suits, with masks at the ready for instant donning. This could take a heavy toll in a movement that would last several hours into the heat of the day.
    At the end of the briefing, Lieutenant Colonel Always stood before his battalion’s leaders and explained his intentions for successful accomplishment of this mission. He sensed their complete support and was quietly astonished at their willingness to place their faith in him again despite the rough mission he had led them on that morning. He acknowledged the uncertainties that lay before them, and ordered that a radio net call of all key subordinates take place at 0330 to share in the latest intelligence uncovered and to make any modifications necessary to the existing plans.
    In the last ten minutes of the briefing Always drew out the questions of his subordinate commanders. He had gained an appreciation of the complexity of their jobs, and realized that any misunderstandings of intentions could result in confounding the entire mission. As soon as they left the TOC they wouldbe racing to do their own planning, orders, and preparations. Any confusion would be compounded a hundredfold before dawn came. It was, therefore, with great care that Always listened to their comments, and only when he was sure that each man understood what his battalion commander wanted him to do did he dismiss the group. As he watched them go, he hoped that he had given them enough time to complete their preparations. It would be nine hours before the attack kicked off at 0400, but all of that time would be dark, and there was a myriad of tasks yet to accomplish.
    Command Sergeant Major Hope had been present at the briefing, and in the short interlude after the meeting and before Always moved on to other matters, he came up to render a report on the state of the battalion. Morale was high, discipline holding; although the men were feeling fatigue from their exertion, they had plenty of starch left in them and were eager to get another crack at the enemy. As the noncommissioned officer spoke, Always realized how many problems Hope had taken care of for him during the day. Not that Hope claimed any credit for having done so; he was much too modest a man for that. But it was clear that he had taken a great deal of the burden off his commander by setting things right where they had gone astray, by understanding the intentions of the commanders and putting forces in motion to accomplish their ends. It was ironic that this soft-spoken,