Mel Gibson ("Col. Moore") takes charge of training for, and then execution of, a perilous operation in the Vietnamese highlands in 1965. We know from the start of the film how difficult that task is going to be - the previous French troops met with ruthless treatment at the hands of the N.V.A. and so "Moore" and his motivational deputy "Crandall" (Greg Kinnear) know that they are going to have their work cut out for them. Their mission is to combat an enemy with overwhelming superiority of numbers and try to capture and hold a mountain. Needless to say, their hosts are none too keen on that…