MovieChat Forums > Platoon (1987) Discussion > Why didnt Lt. Wolfe control Sgt Barnes ...

Why didnt Lt. Wolfe control Sgt Barnes and stand up to him?

posted 9 years ago by Matthew7819
16 replies | jump to latest

Always wondered about this because officers like Lt's are supposed to be Officers and higher up in the chain of command than Sgt's like Sgt Barnes was, yet Lt. Wolfe allows Barnes to give people orders and be sarcastic and control the men instead of controlling Barnes and disciplining him openly, could have demoted him in rank and maybe placed O'Niell in charge of Barnes and the men after Elias was killed too.

[–] Kojiro_Vance 8 years ago

All of the above +

Barnes was scary as sh!t . I mean, just look at his face.

I'm just on my way up to Clavius.

[–] sonofbeach-sheet 8 years ago

If Wolfe had stood up to Barnes and had balls, he'd still be damned! He didn't need to be out in the field, period!

[–] degree7 (821) 5 years ago

Lt Wolfe is shown to military cadets as an example of how not to lead. He is cowardly, indecisive, incompetent, and refuses to accept responsibility for his actions. His poor management ultimately dooms the platoon to infighting and their demise. From the very beginning you can hear he has “compass trouble” in the field, and inappropriately fraternizes with the men in their barracks.