[A. Pole]

"Everybody smile!" shouted the platoon commander as he told his baffled men to kneel down and point their weapons at the ground, in a surreal act of submission.

?!

[XJarhead]

That was incredibly sharp thinking from a guy who is going to get a lot of positive recognition. Had he been one of my Lts., I'd write him up for a Navy Comm.

You seem to have some ideological or religious axe to grind. But the troops have a mission. That mission is to take down the regime, with as little destruction as is militarily practical, and to develop positive relations with civilians.

This took incredibly sharp, on the spot thinking. He made an accurate assessment of the mood of the crowd, the mood of his troops, and the tactical situation. The result is what matters, and the result was perfect. What he did advanced the mission.