Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

For our relatively small group of about thirty-six SEALs, the number of
enemy fighters killed on a daily basis drew attention from the upper
echelons of our chain of command. As Task Unit Bruiser continued to
operate with awesome lethality, some other units across Iraq wanted in
on the action in Ramadi.
One particular group of advisors from another part of Iraq had
similar capability to our SEALs in Ramadi and worked alongside a well-
trained Iraqi Army unit. Unlike most Iraqi soldiers, these troops were
equipped with good gear including some of the best rifles, scopes, lasers,
night-vision goggles, and body armor in Iraq. With the right training and
the right equipment, these Iraqi soldiers’ skill level and operational
capabilities far exceeded any of the other Iraqi Army units we worked
with in Ramadi. Because of their superior training and high level of
visibility with U.S. top military brass, this Iraqi unit and their U.S.
advisors had a great deal of leeway to operate wherever and however
they wanted. When they got wind of the action in Ramadi, they quickly
gained approval to move there and get to work.
When the new unit arrived, they were sent to Camp Corregidor
Forward Operating Base on the eastern side of the city. Camp Corregidor
was owned and operated by the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division’s
First Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment—the legendary
“Five-O-Sixth” made famous by Stephen Ambrose’s book Band of
Brothers (which became an HBO miniseries). The book followed a
single company’s heroic efforts in the European campaign against Nazi
Germany in World War II. Those brave men had set a high standard, and
the modern-day Soldiers of the 1/506th carried on that tradition with
pride and added to their historic legacy.
The 1/506th Battalion was commanded by a U.S. Army lieutenant