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

With that in mind, I held my ground. “We cannot engage.” I told the
company commander over the radio. “I recommend you clear that
building.”
The radio was quiet for a few moments. I’m sure the company
commander bit his tongue in frustration. Then, reluctantly, he directed
his platoon commander to reclear the building. From his voice over the
radio, I could tell the platoon commander was furious. But he knew he
had to address the threat. He directed a squad of his Soldiers to break out
of the building they were in, reclear building 127, and search for the
mysterious “guy with the scoped weapon.”
“We will cover your movement,” I told the company commander.
“If he so much as moves while our guys are in the open,” he replied,
“shoot that son of a bitch.”
“Roger,” I responded. If the individual gave us even an inkling that
he was hostile, Chris would take the shot.
Standing next to Chris with his sniper rifle trained on the window, I
had my radio headset on, ready to coordinate with Warrior’s Soldiers.
Suddenly, ten Soldiers from Warrior Company burst out of the door
of a building and dashed across the street.
Immediately, all became clear!
“Halt the clearance team and return to COP,” I directed Warrior’s
company commander over the net.
Instantly, I recognized our error. Chris and I had been looking one
block farther than we had realized. Instead of looking at the building we
thought was building 127 on our battle map, we were looking at one of
the buildings where U.S. Soldiers from Warrior were gathered. Though it
was a mistake easily made in this urban environment (and one that
happened more often than any U.S. commanders wished to admit), it