A few years later, as a young American officer, Powell, like many others, came to the battlefield in Vietnam. That day, just after getting off the helicopter, he looked around at all the strange things around him, and there was a trace of doubt in his heart: What am I doing here? He can't bear to think about it. A South Vietnamese officer has stood at attention and saluted him. He said in proper English, "The 2nd Battalion is under the command of Captain Wu Gongxiao."

Just behind this outpost stands a mountain. Powell held out his hand and pointed there. Wu Gong smiled and said, "Laos." From this mountain, enemy stones can almost fall on their heads. Powell wants to know why the base should be built in such a fragile place. Wu Hong Xiao Fei is very clever. He immediately guessed Powell's idea and explained, "The base is located here to protect the airport." "What is the function of the airport here?" Powell asked. "Supply the base." Powell knows their official mission here: they want to create an "existence" here. Specifically, it is to contain the North Vietnamese army and prevent them from engaging in activities in densely populated coastal provinces through Ashau village.

On a March, they walked down a steep hillside. According to the practice of military advisers, Powell walked at the back of the team. They are single, which means that the enemy can stop the whole team as long as he knocks down the first person. Powell asked Wu Gongxiao to change the ranks into three or four columns, but because the Woods were too dense and the roads were too narrow, Wu Gongxiao had to euphemistically ignore the wisdom of Americans. Hardly had they arrived at a small river beach when they heard several explosions. This is the enemy's bullet. Powell estimated that he had rifles and submachine guns. This is his first time on the battlefield. He heard a harsh voice overhead, and people began to shout loudly, which was a mess. Powell tried to calm down and stepped forward to ask what had happened. Walking to the front of the team, I realized that it was an ambush, and several South Vietnamese soldiers and an American soldier were killed.

As night fell and the troops camped in the highlands, Powell felt exhausted. The excitement of a 25-year-old cocky American disappeared at once with a gunshot. Some people were killed today, some people may die tomorrow, and it may be the day after tomorrow. This is not the war movie I saw on Saturday afternoon, but a reality, an ugly reality. They are ambushed almost every day. Seeing soldiers dying at the hands of ghostly enemies, Powell felt that he was going crazy, and he was at a loss. In his diary that day, he wrote: "At 8: 05, * * *, three people were killed." One day, they patrolled along a canyon. This time, the advanced team finally found each other before the enemy found them, so they shot and killed several people and the rest fled. For the first time, North Vietnamese soldiers must have been killed, which improved the morale of South Vietnamese soldiers.

The number game-later called "counting bodies"-has not yet started, but South Vietnamese have guessed what American officers want to hear. They kept "proving" to Powell that they killed Vietnamese soldiers with a pool of blood or other irrelevant evidence. Powell told them that this was not enough. He felt that he was the referee of a hateful game. Soldiers who killed Yue * * * must have their bodies to testify. It is not enough to have no body. Soon, a South Vietnamese lieutenant excitedly reported to Powell that a North Vietnamese soldier had been killed. "Take me to see it." Powell said. "It's too far and too dangerous." The lieutenant replied that Powell reiterated the above provisions. Half an hour later, the South Vietnamese Lieutenant came back and handed Powell a handkerchief wrapped inside. Powell opened it and found a pair of newly cut ears. That night, Powell called a meeting between the company commander and the officers. The above provisions need to be more clear. To kill a person, you need to look at the whole body, not the limbs or ears.

When Powell left Ashau village, his views on the war had changed. The new ideas made him uncomfortable. One of his tasks is to provide data to the division intelligence officer, who tries to predict the most likely time of mortar attack. Intelligence officials are doing "regression analysis" behind a green door that says "No Entry". Powell's data can enter this door, but he can't. One day, the police officer finally appeared. He reported that it is quite certain that the enemy may strengthen mortar fire for some time. What time? When there is no moon. It's like Powell doesn't know what to say. This guy learned after weeks of data analysis that any Vietnamese soldier can make it clear in five seconds: it's more dangerous in the dark.

During Powell's stay in Beliang base, robert mcnamara's defense minister visited South Vietnam. After a 48-hour interview, he asserted: "Every quantitative indicator shows that we will win this war." However, everything Powell experienced in Ashau village did not show that they were suppressing Vietnam. He doesn't even know where North Vietnam is. This war has its historical roots of nationalism, anti-colonialism and domestic struggle beyond the conflict between East and West. Knowing that the war was badly fought, senior American officers succumbed to the pressure of small groups, continued to maintain a set of fakes, falsely reported the number of bodies, held the illusion of comforting themselves to safe villages, and exaggerated their achievements. As a coordinated whole, the military did not tell the truth to its political director. The military leadership never said to the Secretary of Defense and the President, "This war cannot be won in this way."

Powell remembers 1968- 1969. When he served in Vietnam for the second time, a soldier stepped on a mine. He hung rags on one leg and flowers on his chest. Everyone put him on a helicopter and sent him to a hospital in Depp. As a child, Powell will never forget the expression on his face, which is a mixture of various expressions: fear, curiosity, surprise, and the most obvious confusion. He wanted to speak, but he couldn't. His eyes were full of doubts. Powell didn't have an answer then or later. The young soldier died in Powell's arms before he reached Depp.

Colin Powell won 1 1 medals in Vietnam. After returning home, Powell was lucky and his military career was smooth sailing. However, the experience in Vietnam firmly taught him a lesson: first, the use of military power should obey the correct choice of political goals and not make or make fewer mistakes; Secondly, there must be a correct choice strategically to ensure the safety of American soldiers as little as possible. This is not only morality and responsibility, but also the cornerstone of maintaining morale and domestic public opinion support.

Colin Powell, as a senior general in the army, acts like a diplomat who haggles over every ounce, and sometimes even simply cuts out the exercise chart and modifies it. His rigorous work attitude has won unanimous praise from his colleagues.

He took a tough attitude and stand against the "threat" of the Soviet Union, which made him stand out among Reagan's cronies. As a result, the colored immigrant entered the White House and skillfully mediated Reagan's transition to Bush. After being appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a four-star general, he said a challenging sentence in Mandarin: "I don't play bridge, golf or tennis, but I was promoted to the first level in the army."