This book will pursue an honest and frank discussion of leadership and training that is applicable to the military, law enforcement and the business world.  It provides accounts of leadership successes and failures under the most severe conditions.

They may decide that hauling ass away from the engagement is their best chance of survival.  “Technically” a soldier cannot shoot them when they depart, unless they are carrying a weapon.  These combatants could be running to get another weapon, but you have to ensure that you have a supportive chain of command in this matter.  Should the soldier be uncertain of the ROE and the bad guy spots our soldier first, he may elect to do the same thing and run from the area.  The private with his big gun needs to understand when he can shoot and when he cannot and make best use of his weapon system.  A team leader may not be present when someone comes into your field of view and it may be solely up to you whether you shoot or not.  A team leader may be five feet from you and he does not have your visual angle and may fail to see the threat.  Consequently, an individual needs to know when they can pull the trigger and when they cannot. 

How do we simplify this process at the individual level?   Easy.  We take the same basic concept that we use for self-defense in the United States and we transfer it overseas.  If you feel your life or the life of another is in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm, you can use deadly force to protect yourself or others.  It is true that  team leaders and sergeants may have to use examples to illustrate this concept to their young men or women.  In the end, the decision making process should be simple.  It should take longer to switch a weapon safety to fire and pull a trigger, than to make a decision whether to shoot or not to shoot.

These decisions can be complicated today by the enemy’s attempt to confuse us by wearing civilian clothes in combat.  Of course I prefer it as the bright colors provide a better background to your front sight.  Joking aside, in combat a threat is a threat, whether in civilian clothes or not. A rocket propelled grenade and launcher is not some new fashion statement, but rather a deadly threat. The same thought process can be said for non combatants rushing to a gunfight.  They are not coming for some social purpose, but rather to aid the enemy and they should be considered a threat.  I have witnessed them bringing ammunition to enemy positions, spot and direct fire for enemy gunners and haul enemy wounded away.  In all these cases, under proper ROE, they have lost their “civilian” status and are actively aiding the enemy.  Further, if they are not running away from the battle, they are keeping bad company.  Once again, these individuals have forsaken their civilian status and should be considered a combatant.  If you catch someone looking around a corner without a weapon and they see you, they should run in the opposite direction.  If they fail to run and look again, they are spotting for an enemy soldier and they are plotting against you.  The next time they look, they should see your front sight post and your right eye staring at them, then a flash from the end of your barrel. 

The goal now should be to condition our soldiers to think the same way and break them out of the “uniformed military” thought process.  We have grown up preaching that our enemies will be in uniforms and when we don’t see these uniforms, our forces hesitate in firing.  Or once they do fire, they have remorse and second thoughts that they have done something bad.  This needs to be addressed before the battle and the leadership needs to praise and reinforce their belief that the individuals did the right thing. 

Paul Howe served in the U.S. Army for over 20 years, ten of which was in Special Operations.  While assigned to Special Operations, he saw combat in multiple operational areas. He has traveled and lived in multiple high-risk countries during his time in the Army.  Currently he is the owner of CSAT-Combat Shooting and Tactics, a business he founded in 2000 which serves the Law Enforcement, Military, Government Security and Civilian community.