Karl Weick's take on the Mann Gulch disaster is that at it's core, a mutiny occurred. Between the loss of the only radio, misjudging the severity of the blaze and a lack of trust in leadership due to unfamiliarity 13 smokejumpers lost their lives. Had the men listened to their leader they may very well have survived the ordeal. I can see why many of them chose not to though. Communication had been lacking, they had been ordered to drop their tools (they possibly viewed this as an early retreat order) and the method in which Wag Dodge chose to combat the blaze was not an accepted procedure. Considering the dire circumstances the men face I believe that many of them were not in a position to use logic and reason to see the wisdom of Dodge's plan. With hindsight, I agree that this is an example of mutiny. Had the men followed the order and died however, it would have been a lack of leadership. Another great example of history being written by the winner (Darwin).
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