*
On the battlefield, I expected my subordinate leaders to do just that:
lead. I had groomed and trained them—Leif and his fellow SEAL
officers, their platoon chiefs, and senior petty officers—to make
decisions. I trusted that their assessment of the situations they were in
and their decisions would be aggressive in pursuit of mission
accomplishment, well thought out, tactically sound, and would
ultimately further our strategic mission. They confirmed that trust over
and over again throughout our months in Ramadi. Leif and my other
leaders were put in some of the worst situations imaginable: enemy fire,
confusion and chaos, friendly fire, and worst of all, the pain and emotion
of our brother SEALs wounded or killed. In each of those situations, they
led with authority and courage, making rapid, sequential, life and death
decisions in harrowing situations with limited information. I trusted
them.
They had earned that trust through many months of training, of
getting it wrong and learning from their mistakes as I watched them
closely and coached them in the leadership principles I had learned
through fifteen years in the SEAL Teams. Both of my platoon
commanders were relatively new to the Teams, but luckily, they were
both eager to learn, eager to lead, and most important, humble yet
confident to command.
But once we were in Ramadi, I could no longer be with them to look
over their shoulders and guide them. I had to empower them to lead.
After seeing them evolve during our training cycle into bold, confident
leaders, I knew Leif in Charlie Platoon and his fellow platoon
commander in Delta Platoon would make the right decisions. And I knew
they would ensure that their subordinate leaders within each of their