The Herbert Sobel Debacle [Part 1] - The Transfer Was Just The Start (Band of Brothers/Easy Company)

When Captain Herbert Sobel got booted from Easy Company, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But the ramifications of the transfer spread well beyond the Jump into Normandy.

*There have been some comments regarding the photo of Sobel at the 2.12 mark. According to the Easy Company scrap book I have the photo is credited to him. He Retired a Lieutenant Colonel which is his rank in this photo. There can always be mistakes however so if anyone knows any more on this please let me know.

[deanschulze]

This is ultimately the fault of Colenels Strayer and Sink. They knew they had an incompetent company commander, but it took a mutiny to get them to do what needed to be done. Good leaders don't have mutinies.

In the military crap rolls downhill, but accountability goes up the chain of command.

[ska]

Luz actually pulling that prank is honestly hilarious

[jojr]

Everyone keeps confusing a good drill sergeant for a good company commander. Sobel probably would have been a fine drill sergeant, but an officer is not a drill sergeant, that is the job of an experienced Noncom. The fact that Sobel and others in this comment section don’t understand that astounds me. Sobel had no business being in command and was rightfully relieved. A commander like him in the field would have gotten many men killed and would have led the company to ruin.

[ccramit]

Had a similar incident at my unit when I first got in the army. We had this one CO who would just start screaming one liners from war movies during training exercises and kept us at the Company area well after 1800 most days even though we ran out of stuff to do by lunch time. The guys even called him Captain America, ala Generation Kill.

We all thought he was a terrible leader and would probably cause a lot of deaths during dpeloyment, both on our side and among the civilians in Afghanistan. I honestly believe even the company 1SG disliked the guy. Fortunately, a few months before deployment, we got a replacement CO who turned out to be an amazing leader and actually cared for the guys.

Captain Gold, wherever you are, thank you for your leadership. The dude is probably a Colonel by now as this was in 2010.

[grogery]

This story reminded me of some thing a veteran told me about his WWII service. Prior to shipping out for a combat assignment his platoon had lost confidence in their commander and made complaints that were considered mutiny by the superior officers. They were tried and convicted, but, it was pointed out by their defense that certain procedures were in error and they were entitled to a new trial. It had become impossible to provide that trial according to regulations so they were sent back to boot camp as raw recruits with clean records.
When I was told that story I thought it was set up so they could warn them about disobedience and remove them from their units without giving anyone else bright ideas about how the army worked.

[donaldg.freeman]

Good story, every time I have all the info you squeeze out a little more. I'm a retired navy senior chief. i have experienced any number of personnel situations that resulted in bad outcomes. I can't recall any time where I had to worry about going into combat with somebody like Sobel. I did have a feeling of weary familiarity with the events portrayed and a sick, morbid fascination with how it played out. In the navy I have seen enlisted stick it to officers they didn't like, usually by following orders. I'm sure more than one officer has found himself running aground or smashing a pier because some enlisted did what he was told rather than doing what was right. Looking forward to your further efforts!

[bruceday]

I met officers like Sobel when I was in the Navy. They usually got theirs in the end - from other officers. The good ones would eventually get the word to the top levels that would do something about it.

[terkish]

I always felt sorry for the doctors and chaplains of the 101st when they showed up for jump training after this episode.

[jasonbutler]

I never thought about it in this way, the transfer actually saved Sobel's life and tragically ended Lt Meehan's. The Universe moves in mysterious ways. Thank you for this video

[gforce]

CPT Sobel was the type of officer, who, had he gone into combat, would have been the victim of an "accidental" weapons discharge.

[henryc]

If Sobel hadn’t been transferred he eventually would have been fragged.

[daniellebcooper]

I think Sobel has been judged harshly ever since the TV series. As although he wasnt cut out to LEAD soldiers, he was more than capable of MAKING them. Thankfully the army recognized this and acted accordingly.

[lochnessmonster]

I couldnt imagine a battalion commander like Chesty Puller tolerating Sobel for very long.

[timothywilliams]

The only "officer" I ever had like Sobol was a senior ROTC cadet assigned to my ARNG unit when I was an E-3. Under the Army's SMP program, he was getting a few months of experience acting as the company EO before his commissioning. I never met such arrogance combined with such incompetence. I sincerely pray he did not get anyone killed in the Gulf War, which took place five years later.

[mountainadventures]

I find it strange that a officer would act as a DI or in the case of the Army a Drill Sergeant. Typical an officer tells his NCO’s what he wants and they make it happen. Lieutenant’s being wet behind the ears and getting lost or making bad choices is common. They are privates with a BA…..

[johnharris]

It was Major Strayer not Colonel Strayer. Major Strayer dismissed the first charges but then Soebel filed new Charges the next day. It was then that Strayer transferred Winters to the Mess hall while he and Sink tried to figure out what to do about all of this.

[Rutherford_Inchworm_III]

Aside from being unfair and uninspiring, Sobel was mentally fragile and emotionally unstable. You can tolerate that in a drillmaster but not in a field commander. It is too much of a liability of character. In a functioning Army, promotions are merit based. Even Patton had to watch his subordinates promoted over him because he was simply too much of an a-hole to be trusted to take the next step up.

[forrestsory]

I am aware of officers in the Navy like Sobel. It's not just a Army problem.

[THE-michaelmyers]

When I think about H Sobel I am reminded of two things. First, his transfer OUT of Easy actually might well have saved his life. It was another man in what might well have been the aircraft that went down during the flights to the LZs. Last, a telling of how Sink and the other staff thought of Sobel was during the latter stages of the war with officers in short supply Sobel as far as I know never again was given command, not even as an executive officer of a combat unit. Also, I have said this many times in these types of video comment sections and I fully believe what I am about to say. Sink was a fantastic Combat officer who later retired as a three-star General. Going all the way back to Toccoa I highly doubt Sink was not aware of what was going on in Easy. After the 506th left the US I refuse to believe he was not aware of the goings on in the 506th. I know several men now retired who commanded at the Regiment/Brigade level and higher during their careers. One such man at one time was a Divisional Commander. I asked this man what he thought about Sink's actions when he had Sobel transferred out. The day I asked this question both of us had been playing Golf and he told me to come have lunch with him. After we sat down he told me about a situation that happened when he was a Col. One night before bed his wife told him of a conversation she had with the wife of his Sgt Major that day. An officer under his command had attacked a female who was the wife of one of the NCOs. The first thing he did that next morning was call CID. About 6 weeks later the Convening Authority started an Article 32 investigation that led to charges being filed. Later that officer was dismissed with bad paper. Now I know the wives were not in the UK then, but I am 100% positive based on the many conversations I have had that Sink had his spies everywhere and his ear was to the ground. He knew what Sobel was and simply gave him enough rope and let Sobel do it himself. I doubt the Easy NCO mutiny did anything but remind Sink and Strayer both Sobel had to go.

[Mrmagil]

Sobel was a bad faith actor. I don’t care if you think you’re doing the “right thing”, if you are acting without honor or integrity, you are not in the right.