WE HAVE SEEN the enemy . . . and it is us. It is incredibly challenging to win consistently on any battlefield. Our competitors, and a host of other factors outside of our control, make it so. It is even more challenging when we do things to sabotage our own success.

During Operation Ricochet, once the decision to switch the teams responsible for the main effort occurred, a proper turnover of Teams 1 and 3’s previous “actions on the objective” should have been communicated and then overcommunicated to Teams 2, 4, and 6. It was the standard. However, this standard was not met and no one said or, more importantly, did anything about it. The primary breachers from Teams 1 and 3 should have checked the oncoming breachers’ explosive charges and verified that they had followed standard operating procedures. Rather than waiting for something bad to occur, before the mission ever commenced, the more experienced breachers from Teams 1 and 3 should have held their teammates accountable to the standards that were already in place. They did not.

Teammates must hold one another accountable in order to help ensure mission accomplishment. Det 1 didn’t and members of their team would suffer dire consequences because of it. Although the consequences for our not doing so may be considerably different, we will suffer them just the same. Maybe not today, or next week, or even next month, but a teammate and our team will eventually pay the price.

Det 1 arrived at their objective at 0300. It was completely dark, and the buildings were quiet. Two teams moved in under the cover of darkness to set up perimeter security and ensure that no enemy was able to enter or leave the objective area. Snipers found overwatch positions and scanned the objective, searching for targets and any information about its layout that they could report back to the command element to assist the assault team. Overhead, an AC-130 Spectre gunship made lazy circles in the dark sky, ready to use its deadly arsenal of 25 mm Gatling guns, and 40 mm and 105 mm cannons.

Quickly and silently, the assault team crept in and lined up against the wall near the front door. This line of warriors is known as a “stack.” Everyone in the stack has a specific role and will enter the house in a predesignated manner. It is like running an in-bounds play in basketball, a point-corner in field hockey, or any number of surgeries that occur in a hospital’s emergency room. If any member of the stack makes a mistake or misses his assignment, the results can be disastrous.

With enough talent, we can all have “a good day,” regardless of our preparation, or our behaviors, but over the long run, our behaviors drive our performance. Behave at a world-class level consistently and we will perform at one just as consistently. It doesn’t guarantee “winning a championship,” but consistently meeting the standards, and then holding our teammates accountable to them, ensures that we will consistently compete for them on whatever our chosen battlefield. The same is true if we do not.