I normally don't write about historical figures, especially those whose only prominence is a negative, however, in this case, I believe this write up is warranted.
Herbert Maxwell Sobel became infamous when a book, "Band of Brothers" was written by Stephen E. Ambrose, then later turned into an HBO mini-series. I enjoy the televised series so much that since it's airing in 2001, I watch it at least twice a year, sometimes more often.
I served in the US Army, and depending what year, I held a few jobs or military occupational specialties. For some strange reason my jobs always centered around intelligence. Meaning I ran into some weird ass people. Many of the weirdos were officers. A few were, in army parlance, "Outstanding!". However, some few were terrible leaders, and just plain horrible people. There was one particular officer, a captain (I won't mention names), who reminds me of Sobel, only - in my opinion, he was worse than Sobel.
Thus, I've had my share of bad officers to deal with, and as an NCO there isn't much one can do about bad officers, unless they step over the line. So, I think I'm qualified to at least give my opinion of Sobel.
In the miniseries, Sobel is played by the fine actor David Schwimmer, which I'm sure wasn't an easy role to play. By that I mean Sobel was fairly hated by most of Easy company. I assume, leaving very little room for an actor to stretch his acting legs. I'm writing as if everyone reading this has seen the miniseries, "Band of Brother". If you haven't, please do. It really is a good miniseries. So yes, Schwimmer did a fine job portraying Sobel, and I think it must have been one of his most challenging roles. Anyway...
Sobel, as a training officer, although hated, was given credit for saving the lives the men of E Company through his training, despite being cold and harsh. But Sobel had a real problem as a combat officer. His deficiencies were enough that many NCOs of E Company simply refused to go into combat if he led the company. For example, being that Sobel was not well liked, he simply did not have the trust and confidence of the men he led. You can't lead men that won't follow you, or that question every order. More importantly, Sobel's inability to adjust his leadership style to the needs of his men or the demands of combat situations reflects challenges with adaptability, a critical skill for military leaders. Furthermore, the style of leadership that Sobel displayed didn't promote any connection between him and the men of E Company; there was no mutual respect and a definite lack of loyalty.
The worst thing is, that Sobel indicated no desire to change his style. Even after being "demoted" as commander of Easy Company and shuffled off to Chilton Foliat, England to train non-combat personnel.
I truly believe that Herbert Sobel lacked self-confidence and took out his insecurity on the men he trained. Fear to anger, that sort of thing.
Well, there you have it, my take on Sobel.
And yes, Sobel, as he's portrayed, reminds me of this one mean bastard of a person, who I served under, and who's only real usefulness was as fertilizer.