As a young platoon leader in Iraq during the 2003 invasion, John Faunce experienced the chaos of combat, including shifting missions, limited intelligence, and the need to rely on soldiers’ input to make decisions in uncertain conditions. His later experiences as a Special Forces officer, particularly working with Afghan commandos, emphasized leadership through trust, autonomy, and partnership, while navigating complex coalition dynamics. In this episode, he shares what he learned in those combat zones about leadership and recounts a career defined by embracing difficulty, learning from failure, and adapting under pressure.
Infantry battalions operating tactically rarely have the possibility to directly impact alliance constructs, foreign policy objectives, and national security strategy. But Dan Leard’s 1-38...
In 2008, Maj. Emily Spencer was an EOD platoon leader in Iraq. In April, she and one of her teams accompanied a route clearance...
In 2012, Rich Kent was a platoon leader deployed to Panjwai in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Tasked with locating an IED cell in a small...