The COIN of the Realm
We all have to walk point on our own patrol, but it’s easier when you have a tribe behind you. Thanks for being a part of our tribe! -JAD
Last week we talked about how most of the self-improvement battles we fight are less of a D-Day beach landing and more of a slow patrol getting sniped at and attrited by IEDs.
The way to fight an insurgency is through Counter-insurgency or COIN.
As Henry Kissinger said, The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla (insurgent) wins if he does not lose.
The myriad life choices and circumstances that prevent you from reaching your goals don’t have to win to keep you from winning.
They just have to keep sniping at you and forcing you off of your patrol route long enough that you lose sight of your objective.
The best way to beat them is to have a very clear objective and keep your eyes on it.
To keep your objective clear, make sure you can answer these questions:
What (exactly) do I want?
What do I need to do to get it?
How will I deal with anything that tries to divert me from my route?
With these questions answered it is simply a matter of reviewing them each morning and recommitting to achieving # 1, executing #2, and responding to insurgent attacks with #3.
More on this next week.
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Being the guy on the ground in Iraq during the Surge, the levels of command involved in a platoon Leaders business was staggering. Operating away from friendly forces, support being more than 30 minutes away, and 10 page commanders intent on the battalion op order bread confusion and second guessing. My soldiers were absolute killers in a two way gun fight. The IEDs gave me nightmares. Working in Baghdad, we knew if we detained a high level operative, we could expect retaliation in EFPs, ieds, or complex ambushes. A constant fear was to be effective, I had to accept the real possibility of losing multiple soldiers in my platoon. I still have nightmares.
I've been thinking a lot about patrols lately as I'm re-reading Helmet For My Pillow. I'm always amazed at how different the outcomes were from each patrol. Sometimes you encounter nothing and it's just a walk in the jungle. Other days, it's a fight for your life just to get back to home base. Thanks for another great analogy to help me win each day, John.