Experience...

[yoyoyoyo15]

Remember in the very beginning when Michael is kinda of taking control because he feels he has "way more experience than angel had because he was just out of school." well skip forward a while to when they come back with Burt and secure the tower (the scene with the claymore). Burt tries telling Michael what to do because HE feels he has more experience than michael does. However, instead of taking advice, he cant push aside his pride and accept anyone elses opinion... Sounds somewhat hypocritical to me... What is your opinion?

[Wicked Sid]

Michael doesn't take control, control was forced upon him. If the others (civies) had felt the need to find the highest rank they would've followed Angel's lead. Michael seemed the most level-headed and with an air of confidence that Angel did not exude.

Burt, on the other hand, has experience but that experience is with a military squadron in whatever war he was in. It is quite obvious that Burt is not necessarily a people person, he needs absolute control and without it he becomes frustrated which in turn causes him to lash out as an attempt to maintain dominance.

Michael was just in the right place at the wrong time and that thrust him into the leader's role.

[looney]

I disagree. Michael is an NCO. He saw an officer (Angel) that really had no leadership experience to speak of outside of leading other officers. I know from experience that an NCO without leadership will take the lead in a heartbeat. Once Burt showed up, he remembered how to be a leader, but didn't have all the skills to lead anymore. I've seen leaders that leave a regular unit to do things away from soldiers, and they're very rusty when they come back. Leading is more about knowing how to get people to do things they don't want to do and making them think it's their idea. Burt didn't have that skill set anymore.

Honestly, if I showed up at the beginning with Saul, Mikey, and Angel, all of them would have been following me. I outrank Michael, I'm combat arms and he's not, I've got more deployments than all of them combined, and I know how to lead. Burt would have been harder for me to deal with than Michael because he's a lot less hard headed than I am. I would have put him on shit burning detail until he broke, then used his skills.