Band of Brothers Episode 8 REACTION!! (full watch-a-long)
Added 2021-06-21 18:43:38 +0000 UTCJust a reminder, this is a watch-a-long so you do need to bring your own copy of the episode to see it, there is no PIP. There are a few visual cues and a timer to help you sync up
Comments
Not sure why all the hate for Webb. This story is through his eyes and the dialogue that is written is to explain that even though he went through training with these guys, Jumped into Normany and did the Market Garden campaign etc cause he was in the hospital he missed out on Bastogne and because of that the guys were treating him like a replacement even though he had been w/ these guys for like 2 years. Bastogne was only a month. So I get where he's coming from, but he's explaining how it was coming back, and the shock of finding out in just one place within a month so many guys got killed or sent out due to serious injuries etc. He was doing everything he could to get back into the fold w/ the guys so volunteering for the patrol and getting Leibgot out of doing the patrol, he wasn't trying to get himself out. He was doing everything he could to get some the guys that were really "spent" out of it to help gain the respect he lost while being gone.
Ryan Towell
2023-10-04 04:45:49 +0000 UTCI met my wife doing construction work in West Point in 2016. My labor union (local 17) has most of the contracts there and we’ve been renovating the barracks since 2013. I learned a lot from her. She did a tour in Afghanistan in 2012 with MP Company 978 out of Fort Bliss. She lost four friends in that deployment. MP is combat MOS. It’s nothing compared to WW2 but the similarities are that she still feels like her friends she was deployed with are like family. They went through a lot down there. Most of these fresh lieutenants do have respect for and take advice from the NCOs because of their experience. A lieutenant who was leading them on a mission and was giving bad advise saw her ssg scream in his face,”this isn’t going to work and you’re not getting me killed sir”. The lieutenant saw the seriousness in the staff sergeants face and took his advice without reprimanding him. One person she knew that got blown up was a 20 year old that used to baby sit her kids when her and her ex husband used to go out. It was very hard for her to explain to them what happened to him. Right now she’s on terminal leave and has been medically discharged after serving 13 years. She saw the Army is not what it used to be and would not be comfortable going down range with all of the new soldiers they have today. The generations of the US Army and new policies are making it weaker. They are becoming more concerned about people’s feelings than getting the job done. They are not as nearly as brave are the generation that served in WW2. She retired as a E6 (SSG) and I’m very proud of her. We decided to stay in El Paso because there’s more freedom in the state of Texas than in New York. It’s also a much more military friendly state.
Anthony Faricellia
2021-12-18 05:03:10 +0000 UTCNikki, Webster wasn't trying to get out of the patrol. He just knew that it was foolish to send two translators. He wanted to take Liebgot's place. From the beginning of this episode he is trying to get back to where he was with his friends. Trying to get out of a patrol is not a good strategy for that. Substituting himself for another guy is the way to do that. Webster was hit by shrapnel and it took time to heal. Essentially the other guys leaving the hospital were ignoring their doctor's advice. Webster didn't do that. I don't think he should be blamed for that. If it had happened to me, I don't think my first thought would have been to leave. As for promotions. Generally when you are of lower ranks as Enlisted or Officer, your first few promotions are automatic based on the time you have been in. For enlisted people, you get your first few sets of stripes automatically, and then you need to start testing for further promotions. If you are an exceptional soldier/Airman/Marine/seaman, you can sometimes be step promoted on the spot. I have seen that a few times while in the Air Force.
Scott Fellows
2021-07-12 22:23:14 +0000 UTCthats right, I didnt even think about them because they are so high up and not really used much
Donald Sherman
2021-06-25 15:41:40 +0000 UTCThe enlisted grades listing is very helpful, thanks! Don't forget about your O-10s... there were a handful of four-star generals (e.g. Eisenhower, Bradley), not to mention Eisenhower and Marshall actually put on five stars before the war was won.
Hope Youguess62
2021-06-25 12:16:59 +0000 UTCSo for Lip to get a promotion to Second LT, he had to be discharged as a First Sergeant (highest enlisted rank at this point) and give him a commission, and if I remember most of these guys are in there early 20s and Winters was only 27 Years old at this point, as he was born in 1918, so winters is still really young, also Jones got promoted from 2nd LT, to 1st LT and made a staff officer up at regiment so he was no longer in the field. And just to get a basic sense of the rank structure of the US ARMY cira 1945 it was broken in to two major branches Enlisted men and Officers Enlisted - or those that signed up without college would be classifed between there ranks of Grade 7 - Grade 1 (grades justing being your pay) Grade 7 - Private (what you join as and what the guys that have clean sleeves are) Grade 6 - Private First Class (given to the most senior Privates to denote seniority, a Company could only have so many) Grade 5 - Corporals / Tech 5 (In charge of smaller units / Tech 5 is just a specialty rank without the leadership responsibility of Corporals Grade 4 - Sergeants / Tech 4 (Sergeants are normally Squad leaders, about 10-12 men/ Tech 4 same as 5 Grade 3 - Staff Sergeants / Tech 3 (Also Squad leaders but had more leadership roles in the platoon / Tech 3 same as 4 and 5 Grade 2 - Tech Sergeant (they are normally the Platoons senior enlisted and advisor to the Platoon commander) Grade 1 - First Sergeant and Master Sergeant (First Sergeants job is the same as the Tech Sergeant but at the Company level which is 3 Platoon and a HQ unit / and Master Sergeant is the Same but at a Battalion and up level) Officers are broken down between O-1 to O-9 O-1 - Second LT - Platoon Commander (About 50 Men) O-2 First LT - Platoon Commander / Company Second in Command O-3 Captain - Company Commander (Three Platoons - 150 Men) O-4 Major- Battalion Second in Command O-5 LT. Colonel - Battalion Commander (4 Companys - 600) O-6 Colonel - Regimental Commander (3 Battalions - 1800) (The guy that wanted the second patrol is here which is why one man isn't that big of a deal to him) O-7 to O-9 are your generals Hope this helps, if y'all have any other questions Ill gladly to my best to answer
Donald Sherman
2021-06-25 05:31:43 +0000 UTCAshley, Your edit helped a little... but you're convoluting the hell out of a relatively simple concept, and your terminology is simply wrong. You should not be trying to explain military promotions to anyone. Sorry. Here are a few examples of things you might want to look up (or ask a veteran): "Grunts, or infantry, aka "enlisted men" do not have college degrees (aka West Point)" - Grunts, infantry, and enlisted servicemembers are not necessarily the same thing. Enlisted sailors are neither grunts, nor are they infantry, for example. - Plenty of enlisted servicemembers DO have college degrees. It all depends on what you prefer to do, and many college graduates don't want the hassle of being in charge (especially the administrative burden). - Also, bear in mind that non-commissioned officers are still enlisted men. There's a distinction between junior enlisted and senior enlisted for that very reason. "They can still be elevated to officers, but even then, their officer titles distinguish them from those with degrees." - Not necessarily true. One can be promoted from junior enlisted to non-commissioned officer or even to warrant officer, both of which have their own distinct titles, but there's also the option for promotion to limited duty officer (LDO) in the Navy and Marine Corps, whose ranks are the same as commissioned officers. "Lipton was a regular enlisted man, and was promoted to NCO, Lieutenant." - I've never heard of an NCO, Lieutenant. That's not a thing. Lieutenants are all commissioned officers, no matter the branch. "At some point, awhile back, he rose up in rankings, (titles which differ between branches of military)... but at least 4 ranks you rise.... and promoted to ranking that is an officer, aka leader of enlisted men, but the ranking comes with a caveat: distinguishes that he is not a soldier that went to college and had that training, thus becoming commissioned." - There are rates and there are ranks. I'm not sure what you mean by ranking but that's not a thing, except in periodic performance evaluations. - Officer does not necessarily entail that you are "leader of enlisted men." You might be "writer of reports" or "coordinator of logistics" without actually leading enlisted servicemembers. Or you might be high enough up the chain of command that you rarely even encounter an enlisted person. - Once he received the battlefield commission, there was no distinguishing caveat between him and any other officer in the company. It is difficult and rare that someone receives a battlefield commission, but once you get it, you've got it, and Lipton became a Second Lieutenant like any other. I'm not writing this with the intention of being mean or hurtful, but please try to avoid passing inaccurate and incomplete information. Thank you.
Hope Youguess62
2021-06-24 04:19:27 +0000 UTCHope, that is exactly what I was laying out. I was explaining the difference between officers and why—-an officer like Tom Hanks’ son and an NCO like Lipton has been up until this point—when he was awarded a combat commission—which overrides having not been a guy like Tom Hanks’ son, who had a degree and officer training. and in my 2nd comment I explained in their situation, POV, what earns respect. And why they were knocking on Hanks’ character.
Ashley
2021-06-23 17:16:12 +0000 UTCAlso the amount of respect given to an officer or an NCO has less to do with rank and more to do with... how much the troops respect you. Major Winters was a highly-respected officer, not because he came from being a private, but because he was a damned good leader. Same for First Sergeant and then Second Lieutenant Lipton.
Hope Youguess62
2021-06-23 10:00:17 +0000 UTCNope. Sorry, but this is absolutely incorrect. First Sergeant Lipton was already a non-commissioned officer. That's part of being a First Sergeant. He received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant, which means he became a commissioned officer. He wasn't a warrant officer, and he wasn't a non-commissioned officer. He was a commissioned officer--that's why they call it a battlefield commission, and why it was such a big deal.
Hope Youguess62
2021-06-23 09:57:35 +0000 UTCps note on that mentality: Tom Hank's son, he was seen as "playing soldier" in school while these guys were actually in the shit. Those guys will generally need to work much harder to gain that respect.
Ashley
2021-06-22 18:47:43 +0000 UTCSteven, I'll explain rankings for you: Grunts, or infantry, aka "enlisted men" do not have college degrees (aka West Point). They can still be elevated to officers, but even then, their officer titles distinguish them from those with degrees. Army,/Marines/Navy/AF ranking titles of enlisted vary, but once going from enlisted, to promoted as an officer, you are called an NCO - non commissioned officer (those didn't get degrees officer training school). Lipton was a regular enlisted man, and was promoted to NCO, Lieutenant. NCO's are the most respected men, because they earned that from bottom up. Hope that was not convoluted. EDIT: I guess I was a bit convoluted, I was explaining difference between an enlisted rank, and the two distinguishing officer rankings, I was not diving into Lipton's current promotion. A commentor above addressed that. But I can piggyback; If you go to college/and get officer training, you are commissioned in the military. Your ranking starts at Second Lieutenant. Lipton, enlisted in the Army, with no college degree or officer training school. He started at bottom as a private in his career, like all enlisted men. At some point, awhile back, he rose up in rankings, (titles which differ between branches of military)... but at least 4 ranks you rise.... and promoted to ranking that is an officer, aka leader of enlisted men, but the ranking comes with a caveat: distinguishes that he is not a soldier that went to college and had that training, thus becoming commissioned. It is called an NCO, aka non-commissioned officer. Lipton has been an NCO this whole series. THen he did was is really a HUGE honor, and pretty rare: the commissioned him, without that college degree and training like Tom's son. Hope that was easier.
Ashley
2021-06-22 18:35:01 +0000 UTCThe Academies are super tough. They learn tactics, engineering, and certainly things like firearm training - my Dad did in the 1970’s. Lipton was moving up in rank. You have to be discharged as an NCO to move higher in the armed forces.
Nancy Peterson
2021-06-22 06:52:45 +0000 UTCYes and as a German speaker (though American), I always felt that Liebgott spoke better German than Webster. But when Webster was asked if he spoke some German, he replied ‘a bit’. Even Webster spoke more than ‘a bit’ and definitely enough to grab a few prisoners and bring them across the water. For a mission like this and of this size, only one translator was needed.
Nancy Peterson
2021-06-22 06:37:40 +0000 UTCYeah, have tissues available
Nicholas Rothert
2021-06-22 01:36:23 +0000 UTCThat face on Malarky as he's taking his shower, breaks my heart every time. He (they all) look so tired of it all. When they said that Lipton was honorably discharged as a Sgt, but was recommissioned as a Lt., only means that he's done with one part of his career, and now onto another. Closing one door, and the other opened, in a sense. He's not leaving. Jones doesn't have real life experience, but they do teach battle tactics at West Point, so he learned some things at the school. Remember when Winters was at Brecourt and they took out the guns, and the end cards said that they use his tactics at West Point, till this day? That's an example of the stuff they learn there. I've been loving your reactions for this show.
angie808
2021-06-21 22:49:40 +0000 UTCYeah Webster was definitely trying to get Liebgott off the patrol, not the other way around. Especially after Liebgott made that comment about Webster’s German being just as good as his. I think Webster also could overhear them talking about him right before he talked to Winters.
Nolan schwab
2021-06-21 22:47:37 +0000 UTCI've waited for this whole day! xD Thank u Steven for the work, hope u had a great Fathers day!
Buck Finn
2021-06-21 22:10:05 +0000 UTCWhen lt.Jones graduated from west point on june 6th, he would have been commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant. he then would have gone through airborne training to get into the 101st. he has been a 2nd lieutenant for about 8 months. On the other hand, lt. dike probably went through an rotc program (90 day wonder) and had friends in high places helping him along.
Ross E
2021-06-21 20:51:17 +0000 UTCThe next episode is hard hitting one.
Paul T Hewes
2021-06-21 19:53:48 +0000 UTCExactly this. Cannot be enlisted and be a commissioned officer. He had to be discharged then granted a commission as 2nd Lt.
Paul T Hewes
2021-06-21 19:52:41 +0000 UTCGreat reaction! I was actually going through a little withdrawal when I didn't see the notification on Sunday ;) Regarding that scene where Webster pointed out there were two translators, I took it that he brought it to Winter's and Spears' attention knowing full well that they would give Liebgott a pass. Taking in to consideration that Webster was trying to influence getting Jones on the patrol by also getting Malarkey a pass on the patrol before hand, I don't feel he tried to get out of it with any selfish intention. Will you also be reacting to The Pacific? That would be a great follow up to this fantastic series.
JJR10
2021-06-21 19:51:22 +0000 UTCLipton did not go home. He was discharged as a enlisted soldier and given his battlefield promotion to Second lieutenant, as Spiers informed him at the end of "breaking point". And for Lieutenant Jones junior officers can be promoted quite quickly. The final 2 episodes are brilliant and yes bring some tissues.
Thomas Hamilton
2021-06-21 19:43:30 +0000 UTCDont read any comments until after you watch the next episode. Might need tissues btw. Thank you guys for watching this incredible docuseries. The Pacific is the next one Tom Hanks and Spielberg did, different DNA from this, not focused on brotherhood that much but more focused on the mental state of these men (Marines, in the case of The Pacific) especially in the gruesome unrelenting environments of the Pacific theater in WW2. Fighting against a hardened enemy that just wouldn't care about losing his life as long as he took yours. It shows three amazing stories, in 10 episodes as well. Highly highly highly recommended🤝
E
2021-06-21 18:54:30 +0000 UTC
