In 1757, in the middle of the French and Indian War, Maj. Robert Rogers composed a list of 28 rules intended to serve as operational guidelines for his legendary and groundbreaking light infantry force, the original special operations unit known as “Rogers’ Rangers.”
These “Rules of Ranging” were a hybrid combination of Native American combat techniques and his own blend of guerrilla warfare, revolutionary in their own time and still a foundational element in special operations units such as the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment.
Rule 7: ‘When attacked, fall or squat down to receive fire and rise to deliver. Keep your flanks as strong as the enemy’s flanking force, and if retreat is necessary, maintain the retreat fire drill.’
“Don’t just stand there, do something!” is a common phrase heard when things go sideways and the forces of chaos are rising all around you.Most people have at least heard of the concept of a “fight or flight” response to stress; many experts also speak of a third reaction, “freeze.” I’ve seen this theory play out multiple times in a wide range of scenarios and situations: Gunfire erupts and people either scatter or remain frozen in shock. Thankfully, there are those heroes who don’t do either, but rather spring into action.
In the military, we refer to this as “Battle Drill 2, Reacting to Contact.” Your first step is to immediately seek cover and return fire. It’s important to note that it isn’t return fire and seek cover. This differentiation matters; it’s the space that stands between the quick and the dead.
When a crisis (or crises) break out, you have to be ready to take initial actions without having to go through the complete decision-making process. This really is the main skill that makes combat soldiers effective—rehearsal of battle drills until they can execute them as easily as any other natural reflex.
Reacting to survive in a crisis situation has no time for democracy, whether it’s in combat or in the office. You have to prepare yourself and your team to respond to the worst-case scenario while things are calm and ordered, so they know what to do when “it” hits the fan.
Rule 8: ‘When chasing an enemy, keep your flanks strong, and prevent them from gaining high ground where they could turn and fight.’
In Part 2 of this series, we talked about why it’s never wise to allow your competition or opposition the time and space required to collaborate against you. It really is true that the best defense is a strong offense. Always be prepared for your competitors or opposition to successfully execute the most dangerous course of action. Being complacent in your superiority or historical performance is the surest way to find yourself discarded and confused in the ash heap of history.It’s also not enough to prepare for these types of scenarios from a purely intellectual or academic perspective. The mind-body connection is a very real thing. If you want to be ready to deal with stressful situations in a high-intensity environment, you need to be at your peak in both mind and body.
Rule 9: ‘When retreating, the rank facing the enemy must fire and retreat through the second rank, thus causing the enemy to advance into constant fire.
In the U.S. Army, a phrase so overused that it’s basically become a meme is, “We don’t ever retreat; we tactically advance away from the enemy.”While this is a mildly amusing form of double-speak, it’s an important distinction to make. If you find yourself in the situation that your team needs to tactically withdraw from a situation, the best course of action is never to “tuck tail and run.” You must figure out the best way to withdraw and maneuver to a more advantageous and secure position.
Make your opponent’s conquest cost them dearly in both time and money as you ensure that your organization is able to cut its losses and “post up” in a position that’s actually stronger for the future.
In other words, make them pay dearly for every inch of ground that you allow them to gain. The only way to truly do this is by making sure you have contingency plans in place, based on the most likely and most dangerous courses of action those who have a vested interest in seeing you fail might take.
You want your tactical withdrawals to be carefully planned and calmly executed; if you try to do this while in a panic mindset, it will not work out well.
Don’t let the fear of sunk costs be the final nail in your team’s coffin.
