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

MiTT leader agreed to a much shorter, simpler route.
Soon after, the MiTT leader, his Iraqi soldiers, and a small
contingent of SEALs gathered around to go through an OPORD
(operations order, the pre-mission brief that explains the details of the
operation to the members of the team). It was this Iraqi element’s first
patrol in Ramadi, and despite the mortars that had hit and wounded
several U.S. Soldiers, and the constant sound of gunfire in the
background, they didn’t seem too concerned. Neither did the MiTT
leader. Neither, for that matter, did my SEAL element leader. Everyone
seemed pretty nonchalant about the patrol. I knew that contact with the
enemy was highly likely—if not imminent.
After the brief they split up to do some final preparations: grab
water, check ammo and weapons, and go over individual instructions. I
went in and covered the route again with the SEAL element leader,
noting landmarks such as easily recognizable buildings, unique
intersections, water towers, and mosque minarets, which could be used
as reference points. We also looked at the battle map, with an overlay of
numbers assigned to every building in this sector of the city. The young
SEAL officer and I reviewed the building numbers of prominent
buildings in the area so we could better communicate both the patrol’s
position and the position of the enemy, should we need to do so.
The combined element then mustered to form up and begin the
patrol. I had already coordinated with Leif to have his element of
SEALs, in their sniper overwatch position in the four-story building
three hundred meters outside the perimeter of COP Falcon, cover the
movement of the presence patrol. With precision sniper fire, machine
guns, rockets, and an elevated fighting position, Leif’s element could
effectively protect the movement of the patrol through the streets. That