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

position in a large four-story apartment building some three hundred
meters to the east of COP Falcon to protect the northern flank of the
cordon and search teams. I would lead a second SEAL sniper overwatch
position, OP2, of eight SEALs and seven Iraqi soldiers. We planned to
take position about one kilometer southeast of COP Falcon along the
southern flank of the cordon and search teams. The area was heavily
IED’ed.
At 0200 local time (or two o’clock in the morning), those of us in
OP2 stepped off via foot patrol from COP Falcon into the dark and
dangerous Ramadi streets. Empty at this hour, all appeared quiet. But in
this neighborhood, enemy fighters could be waiting around every corner.
The other SEAL overwatch team, OP1, would depart an hour later, since
their position was very near the friendly combat outpost and it was one
they knew well, having utilized this position before. My team, OP2, had
much farther to travel, and not having been in any of the buildings in the
immediate area, we would need more time to establish a good position.
On the patrol in, I served as patrol leader positioned second from the
front, just behind the point man. We moved as quietly as possible
through the streets, weapons trained at every angle, watching for enemy,
ready for contact at all times. We took great care to avoid debris, such as
trash piles on the street or other suspicious items, being deliberate in
where we stepped, as the threat from IEDs was substantial. Each man
carried a heavy load of weapons, ammunition, and water, in anticipation
of what we knew could likely be a big and lengthy fight come daylight.
This urban war zone was straight out of a Hollywood set for a World
War II movie, like the ones we watched growing up: walls riddled with
bullet holes, burnt-out cars in the streets, rubbled buildings, and bomb
craters. It was surreal to be in a place filled with such violence and