Teamwork on the mission field: Learning from a Navy SEAL.

Over the last several years, I've found myself thinking  more and more about the Biblical comparison of serving Christ with being a soldier.  

I think the main reason for my interest in the military imagery in the 

Word comes from the emotional strain that can come from the daily drudgery of keeping my focus on the task at hand, especially right now, when my family is just finishing up a Stateside assignment of several months, having experienced the love and warmth of being with family and friends over the holiday season.  

There are numerous inconveniences experienced by cross-cultural workers that, over time, you just get use to.  They come with the territory. But during this season of my life, the strain I feel comes more from the pull  to be settled in one place, to have roots somewhere, to be near extended family, to have a 9 to 5 job and be settled into a community of people who speak my language and understand my home culture.

"Fight the good fight"

"Share in the suffering as a good soldier of Christ"

 "Don't get caught up in civilian affairs, but please the one who enlisted you" 

These are just a few of the commands from the Word that keep me pushing past my tendency to  rely on emotions.  They help me rely on His Spirit, grit my teeth, and take my next step, even when I feel like standing still or going backwards.

Over Christmas break, I read an account by a member of SEAL Team 6, who were responsible for taking down Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, in May of  2011.  Something about a soldier's story, something about this soldier's experience, in particular, really encouraged me, personally, and confirmed for me that I'm on the right track.

Besides individual application there were also some helpful applications from his autobiography for  working on a team, especially a cross-cultural team working together in spiritually unfriendly territory.

KEEP IT SIMPLE  

".... like pickup basketball. We knew what needed to happen and all we needed was the basic plan.  If you know how to 'shoot, move, and communicate,' the rest will fall into place. When operations get too complicated, it tends to slow things down..."

Especially when it comes to special projects, breaking new ground, forming a new team,  and making goals/setting strategy, if a team "over plans", then the resulting complications can be paralyzing.

KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN

"Over the years, most of us learned to keep our heads down and focus on the task in front of us, and leave the speculation to others. It saved energy, if nothing else."

When on periodic Stateside "furloughs", it's easy to get frustrated with the inefficiencies of the larger organization.  Sometimes you feel no one is really in touch with what you and your team is experiencing at the field level.  Let God worry with the larger picture.

ADJUST AND ADAPT

Regarding the initial presentation of the plan to infiltrate Bin Laden's compound, the SEAL member stated, "we tried never to never fall in love with a plan, because that breeds complacency"

It's okay to plan, but there must be a readiness to be re-directed by our Leader.  Also, a formulaic approach to methodologies should be avoided, because what worked in situation A, may not necessarily work in situation B.

VALUE EACH TEAM MEMBER EQUALLY

While carrying Navy SEAL team members into the Bin Laden compound, one of the helicopters actually crash landed, without injuring any team member or jeopardizing the mission.  The  SEAL Team 6 member said this about the pilot:

"I know for a fact he kept the mission on track by ditching the way he did.  Everybody was focused on who pulled the trigger but it was a lot harder to land a crashing helicopter than it was for anyone to pull the trigger."

There is a tendency among mission organizations to place undue emphasis on the role of leaders, or to downplay  (even though unintentionally) the absolute necessity of those gifted in areas such as administration,  IT,  logistics,  hospitality, or support roles.

Someone once said, "there is a big difference between being a team member, and being a team player."  A team player will value and support his or her teammates equally.

LEAD BY EXAMPLE

My impression from reading this soldier's account is that he was not just a Navy SEAL, but part of an elite team of SEALS who were from a larger group of select SEAL commandos chosen to stand ready for special missions like the Bin Laden mission.  They are leaders of leaders, and each one had to qualify and be specially trained for their roles.  They already had had multiple deployments and led teams on numerous missions; they were seasoned and proven in battle.

Learning about his special training, his willingness to serve and be led in the most extreme conditions, as well as the SEAL philosophy of leadership  made me better understand his disdain for Osama Bin Laden.  

Upon  finding unloaded guns in Bin Laden's  bedroom, even though Bin Laden had to have known that the SEALS were approaching to kill him, this SEAL wondered,  "Was he [Bin Laden]  willing to fight the war he asked for?  I don't think so Otherwise, he would have at least gotten his gun and stood for what he believed. There is no honor in sending people to die for something you won't even fight for yourself."

My family has been blessed to have been led by team leaders and direct supervisors who have all been experienced in living and working under culture stress over long periods of time.  Some others have found it difficult to work under the leadership of people who have limited field experience.  An especially frustrating and stressful situation is one in which a supervisor/leader is making calls that are out of touch with field realities and on-field team dynamics.

The worst situation is to have a team being led by an individual who, like Bin Laden, calls others to act sacrificially,  when he  has never been willing - and is not willing - to do that himself.  The result is a lack of respect for and trust in those who are supposed to be Christ-like, servant leaders.



[SEAL quotes from No Easy Day, by Mark Owen]