History Recap / BandOfBrothersS1E1Currahee

** Discussed when Lipton points out the [=NCOs=] resigning ''en masse'' over what's basically an incompetent superior could see them all tried and executed, because it's an act of mutiny and is a martial offence in the military. Had it been under other circumstances, Colonel Sink makes it clear that this is exactly what would have happened. [[note]]Real Life Col. Sink was famously vocal about a firing squad as a solution to discipline issues[[/note]]

** Discussed when Lipton points out the [=NCOs=] resigning ''en masse'' over what's basically an incompetent superior could see them all tried and executed, because it's an act of mutiny and is a martial offence in the military. Had it been under other circumstances, Colonel Sink makes it clear that this is exactly what would have happened.

* KickedUpstairs: Sobel's fate. Once his incompetence is exposed, he's put in charge of a training school for doctors and chaplains jumping with the soldiers. The Army considers this a blessing for everyone: Sobel is ''obviously'' a qualified trainer, since Easy is the best company in the whole division, but since he sucks at leadership, it emphasizes his skills and diminishes his weaknesses. Sobel...[[EntitledBastard feels differently.]]

* BootCampEpisode: The episode covers East Company's jump training at Camp Toccoa

* HonorBeforeReason: A variation. Winters requests a court-martial rather than taking Sobel's punishment -– because taking the punishment would mean admitting that he had disobeyed a direct order from his commanding officer, something Winters would never do.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: On the ship ride to Britain, Guarnere makes a comment about Sobel being Jewish, clearly showing his disdain for Jews by calling him "A son of Abraham". Liegbott angrily says that he's Jewish too. and Guarnere responds, "Congratulations, get your nose out of my face", which results in a fight breaking out. This was a period where anti-Semitism was still fairly common in both America and Europe. Just before that, he also makes a comment about Winters being a Quaker and how he doesn't trust him to pull his weight in combat. This stems from Guarnere being Catholic, like most Italian Americans, and the long-standing divide between Catholics and Protestants dating back centuries.

* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: Averted. Guarnere makes a comment about Sobel being Jewish, Liegbott angrily says that he's Jewish too and Guarnere says "get your nose out of my face". This was a period where anti-Semitism was still fairly common among average Americans (until Episode 9, that is).

** One soldier has over 200 prophylactics[[labelnote:i.e.]]condoms[[/labelnote]]in his gear. While prophylactics can also serve a secondary purpose of protecting gun barrels from the elements and inclement weather (besides using them for sex), this would be less necessary at boot camp. The man has no reasonable excuse for having that many.

* SitcomArchNemesis: Invoked and played for laughs. When Randleman asks Winters during their routine 12-mile hike on a Friday night imposed on them once more by Sobel, why Sobel hates Easy Company. Winters assures them all Sobel doesn't hate Easy Company, he just hates Heffron. This adds some much needed levity to the moment and the men laugh noting they hate some of their comrades too.

* BrokenAce: Sobel is a tough drill sergeant who produces the best the army can offer – but he's also incompetent in the field.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Sobel punishes Winters for a minor but significant infraction, claiming that he sent Winters amended orders that Winters subsequently failed to obey (whether or not Sobel did is ambiguous, but he claims to have telephoned Winters at his lodgings -- which had no phone -- and sent a runner to inform Winters, who supposedly never found him, hinting that he's actually framing Winters). He expects that Winters will suck it up and accept the punishment of being confined to base, since Winters spends his leave days there anyway. He is therefore thrown when Winters demands a trial by court-martial instead -- since in a trial by court-martial, Sobel will have to actually ''prove'' that he contacted Winters with amended orders in such a way that Winters demonstrably received them (and if he didn't, then manufacturing evidence is legally perjury), the whole thing will suck up energy and resources when everyone's preparing to invade Europe, and will further undermine him with both his superiors and the men.

* DisproportionateRetribution:

** One soldier has over 200 prophylactics in his gear. While beyond their use in sexual acts, prophylactics can also serve a secondary purpose of protecting gun barrels from the elements and inclement weather, this would be less necessary at boot camp. So the man's reason for having that many at this moment is not a reasonable one.
---> '''Sobel:''' "This man had ''200'' prophylactic kits[[labelnote:i.e.]]condoms[[/labelnote]] in his foot locker! [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments How in the name of God was he going to have the strength to fight the war?]]"

** The trumped up charges of disobeying orders are this for Winters; he's clearly aware that Sobel has it in for him but is willing to suck it up and take it for the sake of the war and the unit for most of the episode. But Sobel impugning his honor and professionalism by implying he would actively disobey a direct order from a superior, as opposed to the order simply not reaching him (in the most generous interpretation; it's hinted Sobel is actively framing Winters in order to sabotage him) is where he draws the line.

*** When Winters requests trial by court martial and he will need to prove his trumped up charges are legitimate or face serious consequences himself.

* RageBreakingPoint: The men of Easy Company put up with a lot of petty bullshit from Sobel, despite it becoming increasingly clear that his pettiness is not matched with competence, but their last straw is reached when he manages to get Winters reassigned out of the company into the supplies and catering division; it prompts all the [=NCO=]s to resign ''en mass''.

** Discussed when Lipton points out the [=NCOs=] resigning ''en mass'' over what's basically an incompetent superior could see them all tried and executed, because it's an act of mutiny and is a martial offence in the military. Had it been under other circumstances, Colonel Sink makes it clear that this is exactly what would have happened.

* SitcomArchNemesis: Invoked and played for laughs. When Hefforn asks Winters during their routine 12-mile hike on a Friday night imposed on them once more by Sobel, why Sobel hates Easy Company. Winters assures them all Sobel doesn't hate Easy Company, he just hates Heffron. This adds some much needed levity to the moment and the men laugh noting they hate some of their comrades too.

* TheTriple: Nixon describes Winters as: "No flaws, no vices, no sense of humor."

* BadBoss: While the men of Easy Company would go on to credit Sobel for preparing them for the harsh conditions of war, he is nevertheless generally this. He is petty, authoritarian and overly punitive, latching onto minor infractions and constantly imposing the maximum possible penalty regardless of the nature of the offense (to the point where "your weekend pass is revoked!" might as well be his CatchPhrase); he is impossible to please; he harshly punishes the collective for the minor sins of the few; he clearly places his own dreams of glory over the overall welfare of the company; is disinterested in the men and clearly views them as expendable, failing to build trust, unit cohesion or any kind of rapport with them and causing overall morale to plummet even as they excel on the surface; he is intolerant of advice from others; he is envious, insecure and feels threatened by the abilities of his subordinates, leading him to find ways of lashing out at them; and, most importantly, turns out to be utterly incompetent at his ''actual'' job (it's important to remember that he is not simply a training officer, he is a company commander; he's not there just to get the men into shape for combat, he's there to ''lead'' them into it, which requires more than simply bullying and punishing them).

* {{Foil}}: Sobel and Winters. Sobel is petty, bullying and insecure, Winters is respectful, decent and confident. Sobel bullies and degrades the men to impose his authority, Winters gains his by earning their respect and trust. Sobel is a posturing GloryHound who turns out to be incompetent in the field, Winters is a naturally-talented soldier who is humble and modest.

** A soldier is ordered to run back up Currahee on his own. It cuts to him doing so, but the rest of the men are shown doing it with him out of solidarity.

* JerkassHasAPoint: As disproportionately harsh Sobel's punishments were, the reasons behind some of them were logical. For instance:

** '''Sobel:''' "This man had ''200'' prophylactic kits[[labelnote:i.e.]]condoms[[/labelnote]] in his foot locker! [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments How in the name of God was he going to have the strength to fight the war?]]"
*** Though this one can arguably suggest Sobel's lack of experience and MilesGloriosus tendencies as well, depending on how you look at it; in addition to the obvious use, prophylactics can also serve a secondary purpose of protecting gun barrels from the elements and inclement weather (though this would be less necessary at boot camp, admittedly).
** Even the spaghetti incident, as petty as it was, illustrated a point: a combat soldier should always be ready to drop everything and fight, and just because it's raining doesn't mean a soldier should get complacent and assume everything is postponed. War isn't like a baseball game that gets called off due to weather.

* KickedUpstairs: Sobel's fate. Once his incompetence is exposed, he's put in charge of a training school. The Army considers this a blessing for everyone: Sobel is ''obviously'' a qualified trainer, since Easy is the best company in the whole division, but since he sucks at leadership, it emphasizes his skills and diminishes his weaknesses. Sobel...[[EntitledBastard feels differently.]]

* CallForward: Guarnere comments that while he respects Winters, he has doubts about the man's willingness to fight: "I don't want no Quaker doin' my fighting for me." This will be a source of some tension between the two in the next episode.

* IncomingHam: "Hi-yo Silver!"

** Sobel's expression when he finds out that Major Horton was ''not'' the one who ordered him to cut the fence. And when Winters requests trial by court martial. [[RuleOfThree And one more, albeit more subdued]] when he finds out he's been reassigned away from Easy Company.

** It's subtle, but during Winters' confrontation with Sobel over his charge and the (supposedly) amended orders he failed to obey there are several minor slips in his decorum that reveal [[TranquilFury just how pissed off under his reserve]] he truly is about the matter. (Among them, he has to be reminded to stand before Sobel at attention, snatches Sobel's pen from him without waiting for permission, and leaves without being dismissed.)

* ReassignmentBackfire: Played with; it's hinted that Sobel assigning Winters to cafeteria duty before springing the spaghetti trick on the men was an attempt at sabotaging his popularity with the men, with the expectation that he would be blamed for filling the men up with spaghetti before they had to run up the mountain. If this was the goal, then it backfires when Winters insteads joins the men in the run, and his solidarity with them increases their respect.

The episode's title refers to the mountain near the training camp, featuring a 3-mile run to the top.

** One of the infractions Sobel uses to punish Easy Company at the beginning is Perconte having bloused his trouser legs like a paratrooper despite having not yet completed training, and thus having no right to do so. When the men are grousing afterwards they turn on Perconte, who furiously dares any man present to check his pants and see whether or not they're creased. The suggestion is that Sobel is willing to punish his men on questionable grounds, and use the fact that he's the officer to get away with it without being challenged.

* BadBoss: While the men of Easy Company would go on to credit Sobel for preparing them for the harsh conditions of war, he is nevertheless generally this. He is petty, authoritarian and overly punitive, latching onto minor infractions and constantly imposing the maximum possible penalty regardless of the nature of the offense (to the point where "your weekend pass is revoked!" might as well be his CatchPhrase); he is impossible to please; he harshly punishes the collective for the minor sins of the few; he clearly places his own dreams of glory over the overall welfare of the company; is disinterested in the men and clearly views them as expendable, failing to build trust, unit cohesion or any kind of rapport with them and causing overall morale to plummet even as they excel on the surface; and, most importantly, turns out to be utterly incompetent at his ''actual'' job (it's important to remember that he is not simply a training officer, he is a company commander; he's not there just to get the men into shape for combat, he's there to ''lead'' them into it, which requires more than simply bullying and punishing them).

** Sobel is ordered to promote Winters; he responds by placing him in charge of KP. The irony is that Sobel is told to pin the bars on Winters as a ''compliment'', because his CO thinks Sobel is the kind of officer that Winters should look up to. Sobel misses this point completely.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Sobel punishes Winters for a minor but significant infraction, claiming that he sent Winters amended orders that Winters subsequently failed to obey (whether or not Sobel did is ambiguous, but he claims to have telephoned Winters at his lodgings -- which had no phone -- and sent a runner to inform Winters, who supposedly never found him, hinting that he's actually framing Winters). He expects that Winters will suck it up and accept the punishment of being confined to base, since Winters spends his leave days there anyway. He is therefore thrown when Winters demands a trial by court-martial instead -- since in a trial by court-martial, Sobel will have to actually ''prove'' that he contacted Winters with amended orders and that Winters provably received them (and if he didn't, then manufacturing evidence is legally perjury), the whole thing will suck up energy and resources when everyone's preparing to invade Europe, and will further undermine him with both his superiors and the men.

** It's subtle, but during Winters' confrontation with Sobel over his charge and the (supposedly) amended orders he failed to obey there are several minor slips in his decorum that reveal [[TranquilFury just how pissed off under his reserve]] he truly is about the matter. (Among them, he has to be reminded to stand before Sobel at attention, snatches his pen from him without waiting for permission, and leaves without being dismissed.)