Band of Brothers Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

Chapter 3. “Duties of the Latrine Orderly”; Aldbourne, September 1943–March 1944

Summary

After training in the expansive backwoods of Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, the men of Easy Company find themselves crammed uncomfortably into the passenger liner Samaria built for 1,000 that had been converted into a troop transport for 5,000. Overcrowding on the vessel creates dreadful conditions. They sleep in shifts, two men to a bunk; ration fresh water, which they are only allowed to drink in fifteen-minute shifts; take cold salt-water showers; and eat the terrible food served in the mess hall below deck. When the transport docks in Liverpool, the men are happy to be done with the maddening conditions. They travel by truck to Aldbourne, a small English village that will serve as Easy Company’s home for the next nine months.

The camps and forts back home in the States were isolated military complexes, whereas in Aldbourne the men find themselves amid conservative British townspeople. There is the danger of friction with the locals, but the Army puts together a program to acquaint the men with English customs, habits, and manners. Easy Company quickly adapts to the idea that the quiet British countryside is not an ideal location for misbehaving. The men of Easy Company also finally meet the troops of other Allied nations who will be fighting alongside them.

Training is as intense as ever, with real bullets being fired. The men perform fifteen- to twenty-five-mile hikes with regularity, train in street fighting, and learn map reading, first aid, chemical warfare, and the identification and use of German weapons. There are specialty courses in booby traps, communications, the removal of land mines, and the like. Weekly, the men perform two- and three-day exercises designed to give them a working knowledge of combat mechanics and to teach them how to use the ground to devise tactical strategies and provide for their safety. They dig trenches for safety and live off the land for days and nights on end.

The battle for leadership of the company that began back in Camp Mackall reaches its peak. Sobel assigns an inspection task to Winters but changes the schedule without telling him. When Winters fails to inspect the latrine at the new time, Sobel demotes Winters to battalion mess officer. This move outrages two noncommissioned officers, Ranney and Harris. They prepare to demand Sobel’s removal, threatening their resignations. When Colonel Sink catches wind of the situation, he demotes Ranney, transfers Harris and Sobel, promotes Winters back to platoon leadership, and brings in Lt. Thomas Meehan of Baker company to replace Sobel.

With the leadership situation now resolved, the men refocus on their training, and their exercises grow in scope. After several more months of intense training, on March 23, the 2nd and 3rd battalions make a combined jump for the inspection of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. First Army Commander Omar Bradley, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, and many other important men. Pleased with the performance of the 506th and aware of their capabilities, it is now up to the generals to figure out how and where these men will fit into the larger picture.

Analysis

As Easy Company transitions from training in the United States to the English countryside, the men’s impending conflict with the Germans draws nearer. And part of the change in scenery is to get them familiar with the idea that the Germans are very much nearby. When they arrive in England, Easy Company sees representatives of all the militaries of the member states of the alliance. This is the free world they are fighting alongside and for. And the Americans are showing up with gusto and teeth to do their part. As most of the American soldiers are twenty- and twenty-one-year-olds, they lack the maturity and wisdom to know how to appropriately let off steam. In the end, however, they accept the new rules of behavior and take pride in showing the world that they are strong, courageous, and respectable. Even though their conduct first rubs some members of the English public wrong, most American allies are happy the Americans are in Aldbourne and only wish they had entered the war much earlier. Easy Company’s first wartime experience draws nearer, which means they have limited time left in which to prepare themselves for an enemy they have only heard of.

The idea behind rigorous training is to ensure that the skill sets that are being developed will execute properly when amid active conflict. Bullets fired during exercises of training, though identical to the bullets fired in battle, are two very different sequences. Training for war is much different than being a participant in war because, in a real war, soldiers’ actions could kill hundreds of people at a time. If a unit practices their measures consistently, assuming and understanding their responsibilities, they believe they’ll be ready to act when the moment of truth arrives.

One of the things that makes a military unit successful is respect for command, and respect is something that travels the entire gamut of a division. Easy Company finds itself at a breaking point of trust between commanding officer Sobel and the men he commands. The men have had their reservations about Sobel from the very beginning. At first, it was merely resentment for the fatigue caused by the excessive amount of calisthenics demanded of them. But as things progressed through the different sites of training for Easy Company, people begin to fear that Sobel is a danger to their success.

On the one hand, Sobel’s desire to make sure the men are ready for anything motivates them to become peak physical specimens. On the other hand, there are essential skills that Sobel lacks as a soldier, and this is evident to the fighters he is supposed to lead. When Sobel takes it upon himself to disrespect Winters, he unduly disrespects the entire company of Easy. After all that the men had put up with stateside, Easy Company wouldn’t allow Sobel’s behavior to go any further, not with their greatest and most dangerous challenge looming ahead. When Ranney and Harris come up with a plan to right what they feel is wrong, they set in motion a resolution that reflects the men’s attitude toward those who lack honor. After Colonel Sink moves some men around, balance is brought back into the group. The men fight for Winters because they knew he’d certainly fight for them, a stark contrast with a superior who schemed against them when they were out in the field.

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