Essay on Book Report for Rifleman Dodd - 956 Words

1 BOOK REPORT Name: Smith, Stephen Grade: LCpl Date: Section: . Book Title: Rifleman Dodd Author: C.S. Forester Why I chose this book: Originally this book was given to me by on of my combat instructors in Marine Combat Training(MCT). I wanted to read it but soon found it impossible due to certain time constraints. I lost the book during the transition from M.O.S. school to my current residence. Just recently, I obtained another copy of this book from a fellow Marine who currently works in the same shop. Give a brief description about this book: â€Å"Rifleman Dodd† is a novel written on the account of a certain British foot soldier of the â€Å"Ninety-Fifth Foot† named Matthew Dodd who encounters†¦show more content†¦While sabotaging the city he was able to sneak through its gates undetected and set fire to the bridges ropes. Tactical lessons learned from this book: A few of the tactical lessons I learned from rifleman Matthew Dodd include proper concealment, guerrilla warfare-like maneuvers, keeping a safe distance from enemy forces, absolute military bearing, and choosing your targets wisely, as well as, knowing when to fire at those targets. Furthermore, Dodd was very successful with remaining undetected at opportune moments, as well as, knowing exactly when to increase the distance from the enemy. What impressed me most was his ability to successfully communicate with allied forces who didnt necessarily speak his language. He used hand and arm signals to pantomime and gesture what it was he was trying to get across to his comrades. This trait would definitely fall under adaptability. Leadership lessons learned from this book: Dodd, as well as the French, possessed some good leadership skills which could easily be learned from. First of all, Dodd was capable of leading the Portuguese rebels when he was English-speaking and they knew only Portuguese. He used the correct body signals to instruct his fellow comrades besides the fact that they had such a huge language barrier. He was meticulous in his planning making, even when there was only a split second to decide. Dodd posted sentries even when his troops were in no