Experiences shape people and training is a form of experience. It prepares us for the rigors of war. But we can’t fully comprehend the hardships that combat brings until we are in it. War is an experience unlike any other. Thankfully, we aren’t bound to our own experiences. Leaders can, and should, learn from the experiences of others. Former Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis once said that, “[people] have been fighting on this planet for 5000 years and we should take advantage of their experience.” Col. Retired Jimmy Blackmon once again contributes to that grand tradition of storytelling and gifts us his experiences. His new book, Cowboys Over Iraq, is gritty, honest, and high-energy.
Have you ever joined a well-established team and felt the initial pressures of being the new guy? Was it in combat, meeting the rest of the unit down-range? Col. Blackmon starts his story with his arrival to 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment “Saber.” He recounts his integration onto the team and continues through the rest of their invasion into Iraq.
In his own words, “the vast majority of war stories are recounted as graphic depictions of battles won and lost. Rarely does the reader get to step into the space between the fights.” Jimmy brings these stories to life and vividly puts the reader in the moment. From the Battle of Karbala to the air mission that killed Saddam Hussein’s sons (#2 and #3 on the famous Iraqi deck of cards), Jimmy recounts the experiences of heroes. From inside an OH-58 Kiowa to sitting on a campstool, he lets us inside those memories made in between the chaos.
The author, Col. (Ret.) Jimmy Blackmon, and I caught up to discuss his new book, his last one (Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne).
Q: Col. Blackmon, why another book? What led you to writing Cowboys after Pale Horse?
A: I always knew I wanted to write Cowboys, but the emotion of the moment carried the day with Pale Horse. When I came back from Afghanistan in 2009, I was emotionally charged. It was an indescribable year, so I immediately began writing. As soon as I turned that book in to the publisher, I began on Cowboys.
Q: What do you see as the primary difference between your message in the two books?
A: After writing Pale Horse, Bob Woodward had me over to his house for lunch. He wrote a wonderful endorsement of the book, but that afternoon at his house, he said, “Jimmy, I didn’t write this in the blurb because I didn’t know how people would interpret it, but Pale Horse broke my heart.”
Pale Horse is a powerful book, because it graphically describes the emotional rollercoaster of combat. That was important to describe for the nonmilitary reader. I wanted to humanize the war. The most common feedback was, “Thanks for taking the time to describe your soldiers and tell their backgrounds. Thanks for introducing us to them.”
Q: In the foreword, General (Ret.) Petraeus highlights the talent, and subsequent successes, of the three Infantry Brigade commanders from that time in the Division. What did it mean to have that kind of leadership in the same unit? And what does it mean to you that Gen. Petraeus still supports your endeavors today?
A: I have kept in touch with General Petraeus for years. He blurbed Pale Horse and General Stan McChrystal wrote the foreword for that book. It only made sense for General Petraeus to write the foreword to this book. He was commanding the 101st at the time, and he was the driving force behind letting Steve Schiller be Steve Schiller. Gen. Petraeus truly trusted 2-17 CAV and was willing to empower Steve on the battlefield. He plays a prominent role in the book. Frankly, he’s one of the most intellectually gifted leaders of our generation – truly a strategic thinker who understands the complexities of foreign affairs as well as Washington.
But, you are right, we had superb leadership throughout the Division. There were many, many leaders who would go on to become general officers. Also, in 2-17 CAV – In that little squadron alone, six straight majors who served as operations officer and or executive officer went on to become brigade commanders.
Q: Right from the preface, your rhetorical imagery is fantastic, “To the rhythm of the rain falling on the tin roof of my mother’s little country store, I plotted the downfall of the Soviet Union well before the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.” What would your advice be to aspiring military authors, looking to write and relate their experiences in training and combat?
A: If I am blessed with any gift, it’s the ability to tell a colorful story. I grew up around old men and women who told colorful stories on our back porch on Friday and Saturday nights. That was before cable television in northern Georgia; a time before video games and the internet, so we told stories. Those experiences profoundly influenced me. For me, it was just a matter of learning how to transfer the smell, taste, and emotion from spoken word to written word.
Advice? Pay attention. I have an eye for detail. For example, I noticed how meticulous Tim Slifko was with his gear and equipment. I can still see Doug Ford’s expressions, and remember how those experiences made me feel. I remember not only the things Steve Schiller said, but how he made me feel. You’ll never write if you don’t pay attention and think about how you might express the details of those moments.
Q: You mention other combat experiences from before your time in Iraq – specifically the Balkans. What did these non-combat deployments teach you that you were able to apply later in 2003 and after? And how do you think this can be applied to leaders conducting allied exercises in the Indo-Pacific and across Europe today?
A: The Balkans (Bosnia and later Kosovo) was the first time I truly experienced both the Joint and Combined world. I got to experience different cultures and tried to understand how to successfully navigate that environment. I’ll never forget being in Tuzla and realizing that our foreign partners thought we were workaholics. We were preparing for the elections and I was the US lead in our sector. I was struggling to create alignment. I reread Carnegie’s classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People, because I thought it would be helpful. It was. I think those events better prepared me to deal with people from all walks of life. Those experiences improved my ability to gain the trust and support of people who did not work for me, but were willing to work with me.
Q: As a Field Grade Officer, you arrived at your unit after they had already been deployed. In the book, you outline your initial counseling of sorts and the narrative history your Squadron Commander told you. How did this narrative aide you in quickly acclimating? And how can leaders use this as a tool to on-board new leaders?
A: Let me be clear, I was really concerned about being accepted. Those men and women had bonded through shared experiences in combat. I was the new guy and the operations officer, and feared that they would not quickly accept me into the fold. I remember thinking about a few things that I had to do to try and earn their respect.
- Physical Fitness. I knew I would be the fittest soldier in the squadron, so I could demonstrate my fitness to them. I had run on the U.S. Armed Forces and All Army teams for years so I could score 350+ on the extended scale of the physical fitness test. It seems like a small thing, but it’s not. We are primal creatures, particularly in combat.
- Tactics. Doctrinally, I was very sound. I knew air cavalry operations and could plan combat operations as well as anyone, so I was eager for an opportunity to earn their respect in that area as quickly as possible.
- Relationships. Finally, I had to begin building relationships as quickly as I could. I could not wait for an opportunity at a combat event. Again, shared hardship builds trust and credibility quicker than anything. Fortunately, they were generous enough to accept me into the fold.
Q: In this book, you discuss some pretty prolific battles (e.g., Karbala, Al Hillah, etc.). You truly articulate the experiences in terms that the reader can both experience it, while also learning from the events–rather than just retelling of war stories. What are the key takes-away you hope tactical leaders pull from these chapters?
A: Never accept the status quo. We are creatures of comfort. We like predictability, and gravitate to what we know and are comfortable with. Combat, as well as the 21st Century business environment, demands that we think innovatively. We saw the environment with no floors and no ceilings. The important lesson in Cowboys is “how we thought.” Steve Schiller did not let us brainstorm inside the box. Everything and anything was on the table. That way of thinking is what I took to Pale Horse and later my brigade in the 101st.
The specific thing to pay attention to for tactical leaders during those battles is Steve’s willingness to empower his subordinate leaders. He was there setting the example in combat, but he also allowed his troop commanders to lead. He was anything but a micromanager.
As you will see in Cowboys, he also trusted his liaison officers. John Rowell was our Australian exchange officer. He gave John clear guidance and intent then sent him off with the authority to commit our forces to the infantry brigade, even if we were not directly ordered to do so. Steve was very good at giving clear intent then empowering his subordinates to make decisions.
Q: You also discuss, in chapters like “Ramadan” and “Locals,” the equally critical cultural, civilian, and non-combatant facets of war. As we focus our training toward near-peer competitors, how important is it for us to maintain the organizational lessons learned from our operation in Iraq and Afghanistan?
A: That’s a great question. The Cold War period was very simple compared to the 21st Century. It was a bi-polar world – Western allies and the Soviet Union. When the wall came down in 1989, the world began to rapidly change. We went through a period of Military Operations Other than War (Bosnia, Kosovo). During the 1990s we had no near-peer competitors and Desert Storm became a catastrophic success. We validated all of our Cold War assumptions. We had the most powerful military on the planet and no one would dare face us. That was true at that time, but the landscape was rapidly changing and we did not recognize it. Khobar Towers bombed, embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, the USS Cole and we didn’t truly understand the evolution to asymmetric warfare. Then 9/11 happens. The unthinkable.
So, we go into a prolonged period of counterterrorism and counterinsurgency, but the world was getting more and more complex. In Iraq alone, we invaded with the goal of deposing Saddam. Iraq would welcome democracy with open arms. We’d build a Walmart and McDonalds in every city and we’d fundamentally change the Middle East.
It seemed simple, but in short order Muqtada al-Sadr stood up The Mahdi Army, Iran shows up and begins influencing, Zarqawi stands up AQI, then a Shia – Sunni Civil War and the environment very rapidly transformed from complicated to complex. Our Cold War institutions and order of battle were not appropriate to handle that complexity and I don’t mean physical equipment.
It was our culture that was not prepared. We had to transform how we thought as an institution. We had to build organizations that could mitigate risk while powering down. Still, I stood in Afghanistan in 2014 and saw risk levels elevated to the Division level. We have to resist the urge to reform bureaucratic, hierarchical formations going forward.
Today, we have near-peer competitors like Russia and China, and we also have Violent Extremist Organizations. In 1989, there were three dimensions to war: land, sea, and air. Today, there are five: land, sea, air, space, and cyber. Our forces could be asked to fight in five dimensions across multiple environmental complexities. The environment demands fast, agile, innovative formations led by transformational leaders. We can’t let a season of relative peace rob us of the advancements we’ve made.
Q: Why should The Company Leader community, primarily tactical leaders, read this book?
A: I think my answer to the last question sums it up. We now define the world as unknown, unknowable, and constantly changing. It’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Steve Schiller was ahead of his time in terms of how he addressed the environment. He approached a helicopter like an infantryman approaches his rifle. It’s a tool. If he needs light at night he tapes a flashlight to the barrel. Aviation has always been highly regulated. As a branch our culture shaped people who knew how to color inside the lines. No one ever told Steve Schiller that the lines were there. One of Steve’s favorite sayings was, and still is, it’s the swordsman, not the sword. We must focus on developing leaders that can operate in complexity. Invest in the swordsman, give him/her a “good enough” tool and empower them.
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We can and should learn from the experiences of others. Former Secretary of Defense and retired General, Jim Mattis often recounts the power of reading on his career and preparation, saying that thanks to it he has “never been caught flat-footed.” On top of being a first-class storyteller, Jimmy Blackmon is an effective communicator. As leaders in the profession of arms, it is our responsibility to learn from the experiences of others.
Pick up your print, kindle, or Audible copy of Cowboys Over Iraq: Why America Wins the War but Loses the Peace HERE.
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