Band of Brothers - Captain Sobel lost Easy Company

Band of Brothers - Captain Sobel lost Easy Company

[gcHK]

Karma's a bitch, isn't it? Sobel was so focused on making Easy Company the best, he convinced the Army that he was a better trainer than a soldier.

[warilban]

First of all, top notch acting by Schwimmer.

Secondly, this is probably the best possible scenario for the Easy Company. You have a guy who works everyone to the bone and condition them all to be optimal soldiers. Guy absorbs all the grievances and hate from the troops and replace him with more even tempered Winters. Winters inherited a fit unit and none of the hate that comes with it.

[anunnakimenagerie]

"permission to speak sir"
"granted"
"we were on a break"

[mikepastor.k]

Whenever you get compliments from a superior, just wait for the bad news...

[Rickster]

Col. Sink handled the problem very skillfully. Herb Sobel was a good staff officer, but probably not really cut out to be a line officer.  Like the rest of us he was an imperfect individual. It's up to the Colonel to put people where they will be most effective. Good management skills on Bob Sink's part.

[glaxko]

I've always been fascinated with the story of Captain Herbert Sobel. Excellent casting, excellent script. His attention to detail and intense training are just a few examples of what made him an effective trainer, and yet in this very same episode we can see multiple examples of what makes him terrible in the field. Indecisiveness, lack of subtlety, and the inability to read a map.

[rbryant]

I like how MAJ Strayer swings the door open after Sobel learns he is losing his command and being reassigned

[PCarDriver]

Love how the Colonel knew exactly what was going on. He read Cpt. Sobel like a book, and quickly determined that the NCO's must have had a good reason to protest Sobel. The Colonel blows just enough smoke up Sobel's ass to keep him calm and then gently informs/re-assigns him to a less combat-intensive position. He instinctfully sniffed out Sobel's incompetence. By making an executive decision here, Colonel Sink effectively salvaged an entire company while also reallocating Capt. Sobel to a role more appropriate for his talents as a manager. We can only speculate the profound impact and consequences of these critical wartime decisions.

[alanfangor]

ironically this saved Sobels life since the company HQ plane was shot down and he would have been aboard it instead of Meehan, Also SImon Peggs character SGT. Evans was also on that plane and died hence why we never see him again.

[nuancolar]

This is where Sobel's plan to get rid of Winters crashed and burned. How poetic - it was Sobel who got shipped out, not Winters. The next time Sobel would lay eyes on Winters, he'd be squinting from the glare of those oak leaves.

[emprahsfinest]

Patton would've loved Sobel's obsession with uniform neatness.

[sillyone]

After the war, Herb Sobel shot himself. Holding a pistol to his temple, he fired, missing his brain, but taking out both optic nerves. Blind, Sobel lived out his life in a nursing home, dying 17 years later of starvation.

[dcornejoy]

I like how Strayer opens the door to let him know "you're fucking out"

[danschneider]

I love how Sink glares at Strayer towards the end of the scene like "open the door and get this sniveling shit out of here"

[rhyswong]

I watched this when I was in my late teens and remember my dad told me "some people can lead on the field, some can't like Sobel, don't harbour too much shame on that and move on to something that is right for you."

[bagoquarks]

This scene proves that David Schwimmer is a fabulous actor. Cast against his 'Friends' stereotype, he inhabits a very unlikable character and makes it real. Sobel chronologically disappears from the Band of Brothers series here, aside from a brief appearance near the end, yet you never forget you hated him. If you felt no sympathy for Sobel as this scene concludes, Schwimmer did his magic on you.

[headlesssoldier]

schwimmer does a great job in this role!

[Aleancelo]

Being transferred has even saved Sobel his life.  His successor, Meehan, got killed on the plane even before landing on French soil (Sobel's aide  - Evans- also got killed with Meehan on that plane).  Winters was wounded on the foot in Carentan.   By being transferred, Sobel survived the war without a scratch.

[Emanresuadeen]

What? What? Eh..what? The volume on this is lower than Easy Company's opinion of Captain Sobel.

[wukanimation]

Bit of a personal story, one that makes me actually empathize with Sobel yet see where he went terribly wrong.

In my second year in the USMC I was an 0311 in charge of a new squad of boots. We were so understaffed, I went from boot lance straight to squad leader. I didn't spend a single day as a team leader. I admit, the newfound power got to my head. After a subsequent ass chewing and talking to by some of the seniors I respected, they got me looking at myself and made me realize what I was doing. I cut back on the non-sense and put myself towards being a better squad leader. From then on I thought I did decent with them, in garrison and in the field. I wasn’t bad in the field, knowing the in's and out's of grunt work. I did my best to be firm but fair with my boots. Looking back, I think I got too firm sometimes but I can say with certainty I had an effective squad. Soon after a few major field ops I was sent to AIC, our advanced squad leader course.

In AIC I wrote amazing orders, and did extremely well in a classroom. But on my first field test (called a FLE) I didn’t initiate an ambush on time and failed. I was so shaken by this failure and self-conscious of being seen as a weak leader that I couldn’t pull it together and failed subsequent attempts. I was so mortified of failure that I allowed it to impede my ability to lead. Result being I failed AIC. My command was so pissed they sent me to HQ platoon to manage logistics, taking away my squad and kicking me out of the line platoons. I wasn't gently fired with a pep talk and whiskey. Nobody in the CoC said even a word about it to me. I discovered it on a roster sheet and reported to the Platoon Sgt. I spent the remainder of my time in HQ with good guys, but I was always sad and angry with my new role as a POG. I became more belligerent, often to the wrong people. I had been strongly considering re-enlisting but the abrupt transfer to HQ after my failure embittered me so much I elected to get out of the Marine Corps. after my first contract.

I understand what Sobel is feeling here. Despite his petulant nature and the fact he deserved it by trying to ruin the career of Winters, I have felt his emotions when he realizes he's being transferred. Everything you worked for, everything you thought of yourself, every relationship you built just comes crashing down in a cascade of confusion, terror, and anger. You almost don't believe its happening, like command is playing some horrible joke on you to make you see the error of your ways. Having your squad whom you trained since their induction to the fleet and your very job, which you trained and pined for since Day 1 of Boot Camp, taken away from you is a feeling so intense it makes you want to actually die. For a short time I felt I'd be better off getting popped on a rifle range. I abused alcohol in the immediate aftermath and hit one of the lowest points mentally in my life. My self-confidence, built up by Marine Corps. training, was atomized.

As we can tell by Sobel's behavior in the end of this series he never lets go of the notion that others were responsible for his downfall. Perhaps this can partially explain why later in life Sobel attempted to take his own life; perhaps he finally stopped running from himself and those old feelings of inadequacy resurfaced. To me, while I was still in the fleet, I began to see that what happened to me was first and foremost my fault. I had good friends tell me I was fucked over. It is a notion I still partially agree with since other dudes in my AIC class, who willingly took dives just to get out, kept their squads and jobs. Despite this, I took a good hard look at myself and saw that I simply was not ready to lead a squad mentally. Perhaps I would have been if given more time in leadership roles, but that's a what-if. In the end, it was on me. Afterward I did my supply job as best I could, and did great. I did my job.

The point of my story: Sobel is a lesson in failure and humility. We are all good at something, and there are things we want to be good at but just aren't. Perhaps we can become good at them, perhaps not. If you want to succeed, listen to others and recognize your shortcomings. Fix them. Don't be afraid to fail and when you do, own it. Its the only way to move forward.