NOTES

Preface
1 . Based on our leadership lessons learned from the front echelon on the battlefield, we named
our company Echelon Front, LLC.
2 . In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the term “Soldier” will be
capitalized for “U.S. Soldier” throughout this book, as will “Marine” for “U.S. Marine.”

Introduction
1 . High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV, spoken as “Humvee.”
2 . RPG-7, Russian designed shoulder-fired rocket, widely distributed and highly popular
among America’s enemies for its deadly effectiveness. Contrary to popular belief, “RPG”
does not stand for “Rocket Propelled Grenade” but is an acronym for the Russian “Ruchnoy
Protivotankovy Granatamyot,” which roughly translates: “handheld antitank grenade
launcher.”
3 . “Simple, not easy” is a phrase used often by former UFC fighter and World Champion
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Dean Lister, a three-time Submission Grappling World
Champion.

Chapter 1: Extreme Ownership
1 . “War is the realm of uncertainty,” On War by Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), Prussian
general and military theorist. Clausewitz never actually used the term “Fog of War.”
2 . PK for Pulemet Kalashnikova, a Russian-designed belt-fed medium machine gun that fires a
deadly 7.62x54R (7.62mm x 54mm rimmed) cartridge, generally in hundred-round (or
more) belts. The PKM/PKS are common variants. The U.S. military in Iraq frequently used
the designation “PKC,” with the Cyrillic spelling for “PKS.”
3 . M113 armored personnel carrier, a tank-tracked vehicle first used by U.S. forces in
Vietnam, employed in Iraq for troop transport and casualty evacuation. With a crew of two
or three, it can carry up to ten personnel.
4 . killed in action