That's excellent journalism & writing by, gulp, the New York Times. Also, that ain't the old "Action" [draftee] Army that fought in Viet Nam. Those guys are good, and, yes, Lt. Justin Smith & Sgt Reese might have excellent careers in the Army if they so choose. Let's all give the Army a Bravo Zulu for that one.
Note: This was 1st Infantry Division - not Green Berets, not Rangers, just fairly standard Army ground pounders. That really says something for where our Army has gotten to over the past 2 decades or so.