| This widely circulated after-action report prepared by | | | | - Plan for medevacs. On foot, vehicles and air. Don't |
| a 1stSgt Paul Berry, USMC following Operation Iraqi | | | | count on the air. Look for LZs [landing zones] at all |
| Freedom in 2003 offers priceless leadership advice for | | | | times. |
| business owners and managers. While much of this | | | | - Plan for a react force for any major event. Have |
| may seem obscure or even irrelevant for people not | | | | that reserve ready. We used it several times. CAAT, |
| making a career in the Marine Corps, looking after your | | | | LAR, JAV [anti-tank missiles], even five trucks of |
| people, coaching top performance, cutting through red | | | | HQ-type guys with SAWS [Squad Automatic |
| tape, and letting savvy middle managers make the | | | | Weapons] is better than nothing. |
| calls, are sound business leadership practices and | | | | - Plan for where you put your heads. It's a big deal |
| managerial common sense in anyones book. | | | | with over 200 Marines in a matter of hours. |
| After almost a month of successfully conducting raids, | | | | - PM [preventive maintenance] everything as time |
| convoys, civil affairs and other missions as part of | | | | permits. Our vehicles never ran better because the |
| Operation Iraqi Freedom, members of Battalion Landing | | | | Marines did not want to get stuck on the side of the |
| Team 2/2 ("The Warlords"), attached to the 24th | | | | road. |
| Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), boarded ships and | | | | - Spread your MT Mechs [Motor Transport |
| began the long journey home. On their first night at | | | | mechanics] all over the BLT [Battalion Landing Team]. |
| sea, 1stSgt Paul Berry, 34, of the battalion's Weapons | | | | These guys saved us everyday. |
| Company, received an e-mail from his former battalion | | | | Take Care of Your People and Theyll Take Care of |
| commander, who asked him to record his | | | | You! |
| observations about the experience. From the | | | | - Start a sleep plan before you go ashore and ensure |
| Warlords, details Berrys concerns as a Marine Corps | | | | your Marines sleepLook at your Marines daily if you |
| Staff NCO: caring for his Marines and ensuring the | | | | can. Ask questions. Marines will not tell you they are |
| appropriate use of force. | | | | sick until they go down hard. They are a proud bunch. |
| In those details, a sense of what it means to be a | | | | - Know first aid. Make it a top training event. Get |
| combat Marine with small-unit leadership responsibilities | | | | medical supplies and put them in each vehicle. We |
| comes through loud and clear. But this remarkable | | | | used an ammo can with pressure dressings and IVs. |
| document can also teach business owners and | | | | Teach your Marines how to give IVs. |
| managers priceless lessons about coaching, mentoring, | | | | - Ensure your Marines write letters on anything they |
| leadership, and managerial common sense. Read on | | | | can get their hands on. MRE [Meals Ready-to-Eat, field |
| From the Warlords -- Real-Life Applications of | | | | rations] boxes work great. I put an ammo can on my |
| Management Principles | | | | vehicle for outgoing mail. Get the mail out. There is |
| At first blush, much of the information in 1stSgt Berrys | | | | always a way. Pass if off to other units if you have to. |
| after-action report may seem obscure or even | | | | Find a helo and give him your mail. Give him a can of |
| irrelevant for anyone not making a career in the Marine | | | | dip to do it for you. |
| Corps. But think about it. Arent the hard-earned | | | | - Training in combat? You bet. Talk through it; walk |
| lessons Berry describes actually real-world applications | | | | through it. Use sticks and rocks. Get the Cpl [Corporal] |
| of standard business practices and management | | | | up there to brief what is going on; he knows more than |
| principles and philosophies? | | | | most. Immediate action drills for everything. |
| Sir, without making a big formal list at this time: | | | | Planning for the unexpectedpreparing for the |
| - Logistics drove operationsWe made some long | | | | worsttaking care of details! Thats the kind of |
| moves, as long as 15 hours on the road at a time. Plan | | | | managerial common sense (or parental advice!) |
| your supplies. Fuel was the key more than water. | | | | business owners can go to school on and readily |
| There is always room for some chow. | | | | apply. And Berry, a native of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, a |
| - NVGs [night-vision goggles] work. Use them. All night | | | | Marine since 1986, has probably never been anywhere |
| devices worked great. Batteries can be an issue. Plan! | | | | near the Harvard Business School! |
| - A combat load is heavy on the Marines and the | | | | Want More? Send questions and comments to w.. |
| vehicles. Take only what you need. | | | | Sources: |
| - A clean weapon is a happy weapon. Plan for it. | | | | - From the Warlords, 1stSgt. Paul Berry, USMC, |
| Inspect them. | | | | - A First Sergeant's Timeless Advice To Fellow |
| - Always plan fire support. We held a major road | | | | Marines, By David Wood, Newhouse News Service, |
| intersection in the middle of nowhere. We used | | | | 2003 |
| Mortars as security and, out of the blue, we needed | | | | - Corps Values, David H. Freeman, Inc. Magazine, April |
| mortar fire: Plan for it. Lay guns in all four directions for | | | | 2001 |
| 360 coverage. Plan on call targets. Plan for and use | | | | - Assistance with acronyms provided by 1st Lt. William |
| illum. | | | | L. Willard, Jr. |