The Mission
Following September 11, my boss in my new civilian job asked if there was any chance that I would be called back into the Navy. I said, “Not a chance.” I considered myself too old and with too many miles. A couple of weeks later, I received a phone call, walked into my boss’s office, and said, “Tomorrow’s my last day of work. I might not be back for a year.”
I drove to San Diego, planning to run training or logistics from a stateside base for the next 6 months. The next day, I was told I would soon be moving forward to a cold?weather climate. A few days later, everything changed and I was flown out to the aircraft carrier USS Stennis for emergency transit to the Middle East. Upon arriving at the Gulf of Oman, I went ashore for a brief site survey. “I’ll be back in 3 days,”
I told the carrier battle group commander. Another commando met me on shore and told me that I would not be returning to the ship but would instead be taking command of a small forward?based unit. A 4?month mission followed, followed suddenly by a 3?month mission somewhere else far away. The SEAL organization cannot predict what specific battles will be fought in the future, but it does prepare so that SEALs will continue to have the edge no matter what those battles are. To do so, the SEAL organization goes beyond training its corpsmen to treat future gunshot wounds and training its divers to sink terrorist ships that haven’t yet been identified.
It continually positions itself so that it can quickly react to future situations. To accomplish this, the SEAL organization embraces several principles of change that are likely to define the future battlefield.
They include: The anticipation of continued chaos. The SEAL organization assumes that the geopolitical trends of the last few decades will continue, resulting in fewer defined wars and more shadowy conflicts. Instead of going up against major powers on the battlefield, SEALs will be more likely to confront asymmetric enemies who hide in the bushes, dark city alleys, and upscale suburban neighborhoods. Unable to fight head on against the United States, such enemies will increasingly take advantage of mobile phones for communications, credit cards and money machines for finance, and dorm rooms and the homes of friends for safe havens. Accordingly, the SEAL organization continues to emphasize indirect, unconventional, and clandestine warfare.
The anticipation of continued technological advancement. Technological advancement will continue to change the definition of the battlefield. Enemies will continue to obtain cutting?edge?communications, logistics, and intelligence capabilities, as well as new and increasingly lethal weapons, including weapons of mass destruction. They will acquire techniques for corrupting information and computer networks. They will become more proficient at sabotaging commercial production and causing environmental disasters. As a result, the SEAL organization maintains advanced technological capabilities at the platoon level, in terms of both equipment and training. Furthermore, the SEAL organization maintains an aggressive equipment and tactics development process that continually updates standard operating procedures, produces major new SEAL platforms, and extends training into new and diverse areas.
The anticipation that something totally unforeseen will occur. Something unpredicted is going to happen. As a result, command structures continue to be mobile, flexible, and versatile. Individual SEALs continue to be masters of niche specialties as well as jacks?of?all?trades. The SEAL organization promotes a culture that emphasizes the need to aggressively search for and test new solutions, and to adapt to and overcome new environments.
The result of these principles is that SEALs can quickly adjust from desert warfare to jungle warfare, from urban environments to maritime environments, and from 35?man task units to 2?man sniper elements. The Take?Away Get ready. Something is going to be significantly different next year. Consumers are going to wake up and decide that your characteristic red product color is awful. Your assistant is going to quit and take your client Rolodex with him. The client who provides 40 percent of your cash flow is going to go under. An earthquake is going to hit your office. Companies with legs prepare for the future in different ways, but they share two major characteristics: They forecast future problems, and they position themselves as best they can to be able to produce future solutions.
Microsoft maintains an enormous war chest to acquire new technology and potential competitors. Sony maintains extensive research facilities to remain in front of what consumers value. Neither company knows with certainty what new company, technology, or social trend is coming down the road. But both stock large reserves to quickly deal with whatever situation arrives.