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

“Simplify?” asked the MiTT leader incredulously. “It is just a patrol.
How complex can it get?”
I nodded my head respectfully. “I know it’s just a patrol,” I said.
“But there are some risks that can compound when working in an
environment like this.”
“It’s nothing I haven’t trained these Iraqis on,” he responded
confidently.
While I appreciated his confidence, I knew it was hard for the
lieutenant to fully grasp the complexities of the mission he was planning
when he had not executed missions in such a hostile environment.
“I know you have trained them well, and I’m sure your Iraqi soldiers
are a good group,” I said, knowing it was likely they had never been in a
serious firefight together. “But let’s look at what you have here: this
route will take you through three separate battlespace owners—two
Army and one Marine Corps. It will take you into areas that are known to
be heavily IED’ed, which will make any type of support, like
CASEVAC^1 or fire support from tanks, extremely risky. They may not
even be able to get to you at all. Even though you have worked
extensively with these Iraqi soldiers, my SEALs haven’t worked with
them at all. So, do you think—at least for this first patrol—we can
simplify this a little by cutting down the distance and keeping the entire
patrol inside battlespace owned by this company, Team Bulldog?”
“That will only be a few hundred meters out,” the MiTT leader
objected.
“I know,” I replied. “I know it seems short, but let’s just keep it
simple to start, and we can expand as we get more experience.” I knew
that one real operation in this environment for the MiTT leader would
convince him that simplicity was key. After some further discussion, the