CPT Dan Kearney receives MacArthur Award for Leadership

Package of a recipient of the Douglas Macarthur Award for Leadership to a commander who leads a team in the Korengal Valley. Produced by Sgt. Nathan Bowen.

Unit(s) Involved: Battle Company, 2-503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment

Interviewee(s): Capt. Dan Kearney, Commander

Submitting Unit: 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs

More on the 173rd here at my blog (keep scrolling). http://soldiersangelsgermany.blogspot.com/search/q=173rd?max-results=100

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Afghanistan
• military
• 173rd
• ABCT
• sky
• soldiers
• 2-503

[schmonkey]

Just watched Restrepo, the man seemed like a hell of a leader, I'm glad to see he got awarded

[grifter84]

Have to disagree with most of the comments. I've never been in the military, so my perspective is incomplete, but I saw in Restrepo an officer who, while he might have been a solid tactician, was horrendously ill-suited to the job of communicating with the local people. He lectured and alienated the village elders even after his unit inflicted great harm on them. I understand that he was trained to be a soldier, not a diplomat, but, in this war, he needed to be both. Hope he's safe, though.

[zzsql]

He got promoted to major already.

We're lucky to have guys like him in the US Army

[xAntiIdiot]

Alpha male and great leader.

[grifter84]

@johnanthonyp Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to anyone like Capt. Kearney who puts his ass on the line for me. I'm not criticizing his military decisions. I'm not competent to do that. But I get the impression that, since they dress differently and speak a different language, he just can't see the Afghans as real people. This award is for leadership and, by treating the locals the way he did, he set a bad example for his troops to follow, maybe even a dangerous one.

[grifter84]

@FlyingBoxHead Not to be glib, but try saying "shit happens" the next time a foreign army drops airborne munitions on your hometown and kills your neighbors or your family. Even if what happened on that operation was the result of a reasonable mistake, it didn't absolve the officer who ordered it of the obligation to address the victims with dignity and consideration for what he'd just inflicted on them. Instead he got petulant and talked down to them as if they were children.

[thundercliez]

In the movie Restrepo, Kearney was a terrible choice for a leadership position. In the beginning of the movie he admitted he hadn't read anything about the area and was continuously rude to the tribal elders. One time he ordered an aerial attack that killed a bunch of people and injured children and women. Then when it cuts to him he says "Deeeaaamiitt, first impressions are last impressions.. blah blah maybe i shouldn't have done that duuuurrr..."

[murdan13]

LOL Macarthur didn't stand for duty, he abandoned his command in the Pacific at Bataan ,disobeyed orders during the Korean war and a MASSIVE ego on top of that. This captain seems to be a humble and talented leader who can follow orders.

[TheGhostfacekilla86]

@schmonkey I love when he says, " I DON'T GIVE A FUCK." lol

[FlyingBoxHead]

@grifter84 But then again there's the ''shit happens'' aspect that the Afghans seem to forget about.