"Trust your NCOs" is common advice given to every new lieutenant. This adage, the overwhelming majority of the time, is valid. But when it’s not, it’s not. When Chris Liggett was a lieutenant, he deployed to Afghanistan as an infantry platoon leader in the 101st Airborne Division. His weapons squad leader was fit, aggressive, capable, and confident—and his hard work earned him Liggett's trust. So when his platoon was given responsibility for gate security at Forward Operating Base Fenty—an unglamorous but vital job—it was a natural decision to place the weapons squad leader in charge of the night shift. It was a mistake, Liggett later learned, with serious consequences.
During a deployment in Afghanistan, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dylan Ferguson was flying an Apache, providing close air support to a special operations ground...
When Chris L’Heureux joined the Army in 1999, it was before the 9/11 attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that would define...
In early 2003, Karl Blanke was a Marine platoon commander during the early stages of the US-led invasion of Iraq, when his battalion was...