This is Jockel Podcast number 302 with Equatrolls and me, Jockel Willink. Good evening,

good evening. Good evening. Sir, we have a tick. As I quickly walked across our

tactical operation center to the radio operator, I'm sure my heart rate spiked.

A tick pronounced tick stands for troops in contact. It is something arresting

everyone's attention because it meant one of our patrols was taking enemy

fire on the main streets of Ramadi. As I pressed the handset of the radio to my

ear, I could hear a sense of urgency in the voice the patrol leader on the

ground. He was leading a group of soldiers on a dismounted patrol on Ramadi's

southwestern side of town. Things could get kind of sporty there. The young

sergeant leading the patrol was requesting I direct supercobra gunship

helicopters to fire at insurgents on top of a building. They were engaged by

insurgents with small arms from behind a building, but now he could see guns and

other weapons on the roof. The insurgent had ceased for the moment, but the

patrol leader was concerned about what might come next. Something did not feel

right. People need to pay attention to gut feelings and instinct. I have found

the more experienced one gains, the more gut feeling factors into decision-making.

If something does not feel right, it probably requires a little more attention. I

used a steady voice to calm the patrol leader down. I let him know I would call

in the cobras, but first I needed him to provide positive identification of

exactly who was on top of that building. My intuition was telling me to let the

situation develop before calling in heavy firepower. After a few minutes, the

patrol leader made a positive identification of the force on the rooftop. I was

...