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

of fire, beating back the enemy assault.
Within minutes, Team Bulldog’s tanks and M113 arrived at building
J51. At the sight of the tanks, most of the enemy fighters quickly
disappeared into the urban landscape, hiding their weapons to blend in
among the civilian populace. The two casualties were Iraqi soldiers.
Both had been shot; one while crossing the street had been abandoned by
his fellow Iraqi soldiers who fled to cover. Luckily for him, two SEALs
risked their lives to run out into the street through a hail of enemy
gunfire and drag him to safety. Both casualties were evacuated. One
Iraqi soldier survived, the other unfortunately died from his wounds.
Under the cover of the tanks firepower, the rest of the patrol exited
building J51 and fell into a column formation, bracketed by the two
Abrams tanks, one fore and one aft, like a scene from World War II.
Together, they moved back toward COP Falcon. As Team Bulldog’s tank
covered the rear, an insurgent fighter with an RPG-7 rocket rounded a
corner to take a shot at the patrol. But before he could fire the rocket,
Team Bulldog’s company commander, sitting in the turret of his tank,
plugged him in the chest with a .50-caliber machine gun.
When the patrol made it back to COP Falcon, I met them as they
entered the compound. Making eye contact with the young SEAL leader
in the patrol, I gave him an approving nod that, without words, said: Well
done; you kept your composure and you made clear calls. You got the
help you needed and kept the rest of your team alive. The SEAL leader
nodded back: he understood.
The MiTT leader was clearly shaken up. It had been his first serious
firefight—his first real test as a leader. Luckily, he had our SEAL
element with him, which helped ensure his patrol’s survival. Fortunately,
he had agreed to keep his mission simple, to minimize complexity for