Feral Jundi

   Yes, another winner of a book by one of America’s elite.  I guess by now the readers of Feral Jundi are noticing a trend with my book selections.  I look for books written by those that have been there and done that, and are considered to be the best warriors in the world. The members of the Unit are an elite crew, and when these guys talk, I pay attention.

   Also, the amount of these books coming out lately just amazes me, and everyone in the industry should try to take the time to read their stories and listen to their ideas.  The have a hard fought operational wisdom and common sense clarity that is very unique, and reading this stuff is pure brain candy for the security professional–almost Boydian (my new word for authors and their ideas that inspire me).  So let’s get on with my review.

   This book was named after the 3 M principle that Pete Blaber was introduced to early on in his military career.  It is a simple concept where the Mission comes first, your Men come second, and Me comes last in the order of priorities.  These principles have guided Pete through his entire career as a professional soldier and in his civilian life, and this is a major theme of the book.

   The format of the book is great.  For each chapter he discusses a leadership lesson learned, and tries to tie that in with the 3 M’s and what it takes to accomplish the mission.  So definitely do not skim this thing, because you will miss stuff.

   In this book, you will get a glimpse of Pete and his crew going on training treks through the mountains of Montana, to the various combat missions in this war and wars past.  He also talks about the various discussions he had with such individuals like Johnny Walker Lindh (American Taliban) and Ali Mohamed, and then ties in those interviews with the lessons we can learn from these individuals and how they were able to get so close to Usama Bin Laden(UBL).

   I don’t want to give too much of the book away, but I will talk about some of the stuff that jumped out at me.  Pete’s team was actually tasked with coming up with ways of taking out UBL before 9/11 if you can believe that.  For some reason, that mission was scrubbed, but the conclusion of how they were going to take UBL out was interesting. Their method was to just find a way while out in the field to get close, and use a road side ambush to take out UBL.  The inspiration for this ‘make it up as you go’ plan, was the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Pete referred to this as ‘when in doubt, develop the situation’.

   With Lewis and Clark, those guys had no clue what to expect, so they basically had to learn as they go and prepare for anything. They had to collect intelligence to make their decisions to press forward, and develop the situation.   These men used a natural technique that Pete talked about called saturate, incubate, and illuminate to help them make those decisions necessary to survive and explore further west.

   To saturate is to get as much input as possible in your environment about a problem, then when you incubate, you let all of the information stew in your brain.  Then for the illuminate part, you get that eureka moment when you have found the solution.  All of these are the cycle the brain must go through, in order to make sound decisions about complex problems.  That is the kind of stuff that allowed Lewis and Clark to survive, and it certainly helped Pete when confronted with problem solving out in the field.

   Some other fun stories in the book include using your imagination and humor to solve problems–Pete and gang actually used a Gorilla costume on a mission!  I still chuckle when I think about it.  They wanted to capture a guy in Bosnia who had a protective security detail(PSD) guarding him.  Pete’s guys came up with the idea of using a diversion to stop this PSD team and their motorcade, and that diversion was a guy dressed in a  monkey suit!  It sounds funny, but it worked because seeing a gorilla in the middle of a road, was just too shocking for the brain to comprehend.  The PSD team slowed down their motorcade for the guy in the monkey suit, because they did not know how to respond to such a ridiculous thing.  Then the ambush team used some modified stun grenades on the occupants of the vehicle and accomplished the mission of snatching the guy.

    Pete made the point that humor was a necessary factor in creating the idea in the first place, and that everyone’s imagination was fueled by that laughing.  Everyone on the team was throwing out ideas, funny or not, and there was no limitations based on ego or embarrassment.  He makes the point that imagination is essential, and the planning part of a mission should never be limited by someone saying ‘be serious’ or ‘let’s stop joking around guys’.  Instead, that is a moment where you as the leader should be listening and really trying to ‘build that snow mobile’ with all that input. Stay focused on the task, but do not stymie the creative process.

   This book has tons more of these kinds of ideas and lessons, and I highly recommend you read this thing.  It is the thinking man’s book, and if you like ideas,  tactical thought processes, leadership concepts and anything to do with accomplishing the mission, then this is the book for you. –Matt

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The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander

by Pete Blaber (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A book about the complexities of combat that’s just as applicable for dealing with the complexities of business and our personal lives. The guiding principle lessons Pete shares in this book can dramatically alter the way we think, and help make the right decisions to achieve success in every part of our lives.”

—Kevin Sharer, Chairman & CEO, Amgen

Product Description

Pete Blaber knows what it takes to survive…and thrive.

As a commander in Delta Force—the most elite counter-terrorist organization in the world—Pete Blaber has taken part in some of the most dangerous, controversial, and significant military and political events of our time. And he’s learned and experienced more about the real world and how things really work than most people could imagine.

Here, the ex-Delta Force warrior reveals his intimate knowledge of warfare: it’s not the action—the blinding flash of a concussion grenade, or the stealthy approach of the night- vision clad commando—but the interaction, in the form of the way we think, the way we make decisions, and the way we operationalize those decisions, that provides the keys to success, and the truly meaningful lessons.

In this book, you will learn the same lessons he learned, while experiencing what the life of a Delta Force Operator is like—from the extreme physical and psychological training to the darkest of shadow ops all around the world.

With each mission he conducted, Pete Blaber has taken a life lesson back with him. You will learn these enlightening lessons as you gain insights into never-before- revealed missions executed across the globe. And when the smoke clears, you will emerge wiser, more capable, and better prepared to succeed in life than you ever thought possible.

About the Author

Pete Blaber commanded at every level of Delta Force, executing vital missions across the globe including destroying the largest pocket of Al Qaeda forces to date, and helping to hasten the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.

Find the Book Here