Part 3 (Sustaining Victory) Chapter 10: Leading up and down the chain of command

Question 1

It is important for leaders to lead ____ and ____ the chain of command

Answer 1

up and down

Question 2

________ up the chain of command teaches us that the lower level leaders must learn to convey the critical info they have in the front lines, in order to help the senior leaders in making strategic decisions. Otherwise stated, junior leaders must push situational awareness up the ladder

Answer 2

leading

Question 3

Leading up the chain requires that the ____ leader must possess and use his influence, experience, knowledge, and communication in order to relay the info while maintaining the highest level of _______. It encourages junior leaders to be courageous enough to air their sentiments to their boss and make them aware of the problems on the front lines. Junior bosses must maintain a respectful attitude and not be too demanding

Answer 3

subordinate, professionalism

Question 4

Junior leaders must be _____ enough to see the bigger picture that his boss is dealing with

Answer 4

humble

Question 5

The junior leaders most important job is to _____ his senior’s decision

Answer 5

support

Question 6

_____ is critical to any team activity

Answer 6

unity

Question 7

Leading _____ the chain of command means that an effective senior leader must routinely communicate with his team members through face-to-face meetings, direct reports, & observing front line troops in action. It also helps the senior level see what is going on at the tactical level

Answer 7

down

Question 8

3 Major factors when leading up or down the chain of command are

Answer 8

1) take responsibility for leading everyone
2) if a team member is not doing what is planned, the leader should determine what he can do to make the other do so
3) one must not ask his leader what he should do; but instead, tell his leader what he is going to do

Question 9

Chapter 10 is all about developing the teams internal _______ system

Answer 9

communication

Question 10

Chapter 10 is called _____________ by Leif Babin. Chapter 10 has ___ war stories based out of Camp Marc Lee, Iraq: Leading down the chain of command and Leading up the chain of command

Answer 10

Leading up and down the chain of command

Question 11

US Army company/company commander? from Charlie company 1/506th 101st Airborne’s call sign was

Answer 11

Gunfighter

Question 12

These rounds called ____ are generally placed every 5th round in belt fed machine guns

Answer 12

Tracer rounds

Question 13

The unseen aircraft in Chapter 10 with flaming streaks from the engine was likely a

Answer 13

Marine F/A-18 Hornet

Question 14

The SEALS base that had been there home was Camp Marc Lee and was a _____ story concrete building.

Answer 14

3

Question 15

TUB had been in Ramadi for nearly _____ months

Answer 15

6

Question 16

Mike Monsoor was part of ______ platoon on what would have likely been his last mission when he jumped on a grenade to save his fellow SEALS and was KIA

Answer 16

Delta

Question 17

The months of firefights, US forces and Iraqi Army partner forces and the foresight of the “Ready 1st Brigades” leadership, set the conditions for tribal sheiks to rise up against al Qaeda in Iraq and unite with US forces in what would become the _____ _____

Answer 17

Anbar Awakening

Question 18

TUB boarded a US Air Force _____ ____ aircraft for the flight home

Answer 18

C-17 Cargo Aircraft

Question 19

Leif felt directly responsible for Ryan and Marc’s death because they were doing exactly what

Answer 19

Leif had asked them to do

Question 20

Leif reacted with fury to hearing American pundits in the media talking about all the _____ and ______. To the media, casualty figures were just statistics

Answer 20

blood and treasure

Question 21

Some of the politicians and the most senior military brass in Washington felt that killing bad guys only

Answer 21

created more enemies

Question 22

TUB returned to the US in late October of

Answer 22

2006

Question 23

Jocko was asked to build a presentation for the ____ of _____ - the most senior admiral in the Navy, a member of the US joint chiefs of staff, and a direct advisor to the president

Answer 23

Chief of Naval Operations

Question 24

Jocko’s slide took a map of Ramadi and built an overlay that depicted the geographic areas that had been completely under the enemy control of Al Qaeda. From this map, Jocko built a powerpoint slide that depicted how the Ready First Combat Teams Seize, Clear, hold, and build strategy established a permanent presence in enemy held neighborhoods and pushed out ____ ____. US and Iraqi forces showed that they were the strong side and as a result, the local populace joined forces against the insurgents

Answer 24

enemy fighters

Question 25

The slide depicted how TUB lead the element for virtually every major operation to build a ____ ___ and take those neighborhoods back

Answer 25

combat outpost

Question 26

When TUB arrived in Ramadi, the SEAL commander they were relieving said to Leif

Answer 26

Don’t go in there, you will all get killed and no one will be able to get you out.

Question 27

When Leif saw the slides that Jocko made, he realized that even though he was directly involved, he never saw the real picture or the strategic picture stabilizing and securing Ramadi. Because of this, Leif realized that her

Answer 27

failed to explain the overall objectives better to the SEAL operators he was leading which left them in the dark about why they were doing what they were doing

Question 28

One of the greatest lessons for Leif was that he could have done a better job leading down the chain of command. He should have given greater ownership of the plans to the troops - especially those who were

Answer 28

negative and weren’t fully committed to the mission

Question 29

Chapter 10 references the heat in Ramadi reaching ______ degrees Fahrenheit vs the other chapters that reference it getting to 115

Answer 29

117

Question 30

It is paramount the senior leaders explain to their junior leaders and troops executing the mission how their role contributes to the big picture success

Answer 30

true

Question 31

Leading down the chain of command requires regularly stepping out of the office to have face-to-face conversations with direct reposts and observing front line troops in action to understand their challenges and read them into the commanders intent. This enables the team to understand the “why” of what they’re doing and facilitates ____

Answer 31

decentralized command

Question 32

As a leader employing extreme ownership, if your team isnt doing what you need them to do, you first have to look at _______ rather than place blame on them for not seeing the strategic picture

Answer 32

yourself

Question 33

Leaders must figure out a way to communicate with their teams in clear, simple, and concise terms so they understand. That is what leading ____ ____ ___ is all about

Answer 33

leading down the chain

Question 34

The TOC at Camp Marc Lee was located in a 3 story building on the bank of the Euphrates River, which previously housed some of _____ ______ senior military brass before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq

Answer 34

Saddam Hussein

Question 35

Invading armies had camped along the same Riverbank for millennia: Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, British, and now American troops

Answer 35

true

Question 36

In leading up the chains story, Leif was upset and venting over what he thought were ludicrous questions in emails from the ____ and staff. He felt it wasted their time answering and took effort away from planning and preparation from the actual op. He felt it was dangerous

Answer 36

CO

Question 37

The CO (Commanding Officer) and his staff were 30 miles to the east in ______, a city that had been cleaned up by the massive US Marine offensive in 2004. This city has remained fairly stable since then

Answer 37

Fallujah

Question 38

The oft blamed “they” in this case was anyone outside the immediate group of _______ and ______

Answer 38

Charlie Platoon and TUB

Question 39

These weapons with up to twenty pounds of high explosive cased in half inch steel that fell from the sky and exploded sending shrapnel in all directions were

Answer 39

Mortars

Question 40

Jocko came to the realization that himself and Leif had with their superiors were ____. He realized that they needed to lead up the chain. If the CO and staff didnt know what was going on, then it was Jocko and Leifs fault for not explaining it and being more open. They need to inform them better so that they did have a better picture of what was going on in the front lines since the CO wasnt there.

Answer 40

misguided

Question 41

Jocko and Leif invited the CO, command master chief, and other staff to Ramadi and offered to take them along on missions. This helped the staff understand better was TUB was trying to accomplish and the result was the CO grew more comfortable with the missions. The end was that all ___ _____ that were submitted received approval allowing TUB to deliver a huge impact on the battlefield

Answer 41

Combat Missions

Question 42

If your boss isnt making a decision in a timely manner or providing the necessary support for you and your team, dont blame the boss. Blame ______. Examine what you can do better.

Answer 42

yourself

Question 43

Leading up the chain takes more savvy and skill than leading down the chain. Leading up, the leader cannot ____ ____on his positional authority. Instead the leader must use influence, experience knowledge, communication, and maintain the highest professionalism

Answer 43

fall back

Question 44

Leading up the chain requires tactful engagement with the immediate boos to obtain decisions and support necessary to accomplish its mission and win. To do this, a leader must push _____ ____ up the chain

Answer 44

situational awareness

Question 45

While pushing up the chain for support, it is important to remember that your boss has to make decisions based off the larger picture and you/your team may not be the priority at the moment or perhaps senior leadership chose a different direction. Have the ______ to understand and accept this.

Answer 45

Humility

Question 46

One of the most important jobs of any leader is to support _____ ____ ____ - your immediate leadership

Answer 46

your own boss

Question 47

In any chain of command, the leadership must always present a united front to the troops. A public display of discontent with the chain of command undermines the authority of leaders at all levels. This is catastrophic to the performance of any organization

Answer 47

true

Question 48

Leaders in the chain of command will not ____. But at the end of the day, once the boss has made a decision - even if it one you argued against- you must execute the plan if it were your own.

Answer 48

always agree

Question 49

When leading up the chain, use ___ and ___

Answer 49

caution and respect

Question 50

The major factors to be aware of when leading up and down the chain of command are

Answer 50

• Take responsibility for leading everyone in your world, subordinates and superiors alike.
• If someone isn’t doing what you want or need them to do, look in the mirror 1st and determine what you can do to better enable this
• Dont ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do

Question 51

They “ _____ vs ____” mentality was common to just about every level of the chain of command whether it be military or civilian. Breaking that mentality was the key to properly lead up the chain and radically improve the teams performance

Answer 51

us vs them