My feelings on Mal are mixed, at times I hate him and on other occasions I like him. He is a survivor, a bully and a patriot. He loves his ship and his freedom, and I believe on a certain level he loves Zoe too. He is concerned first for himself, and then second for those who have proven themselves worthy of his loyalty.
He works best under pressure and even better when he has something to believe in, something to drive him. This was shown during the war, and again when he learned the deep dark secret of Miranda. As for the question of him being a leader… Hell no!
If you want an example of what a true leader is refer to the Honor Harrington books which have been brought up by the crue on previous podcasts. A leader inspires their crew, motivates them and makes them realize they are capable of doing more than they ever believed possible. They rule not through fear but by the power of their personality and through a earned respect of their experience and strength of character.
And as for cavalry:
The 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army currently stationed at Fort Hood, TX.
The Regiment has a history in the United States Army that dates back to 19 May 1846, when it was Constituted in the Regular Army as the Regiment of Mounted Riflemen at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. This unit was reorganized at the start of the American Civil War as the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Regiment on 3 August 1861. Today, “3rd” has been replaced by the designator “3d” in the regiment’s title, and the word “armored” has been added to recognize it as a heavy cavalry regiment (equipped with M1 Abrams tanks and M3 Bradley cavalry fighting vehicles)
Under various names it has seen action during ten major conflicts: the Indian Wars, the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, World War I, World War II, the Persian Gulf War, SFOR in Bosnia, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Twenty-three of the Regiment’s troopers received the Medal of Honor, all awarded for gallantry in action between 1871 and 1898. The list includes William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, whose award was rescinded in 1916 for not being a member of the military. Cody’s medal was reinstated in 1989.
At present, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment is the only heavy armored cavalry regiment in the U.S. Army. The other two remaining armored cavalry regiments, the 2nd and 11th, are organized as brigade combat teams.
Patton was the first US officer to experiment with the use of armor in rapid cavalry style combat maneuvers on the battle field, they used old Renault tanks in their war-games.
