The Men Who Took Down bin Laden

Quick answer: What does John Fenzel say about the operators who took down bin Laden?

In a 2011 post he reshared in 2019, John honors the special operators who raided the compound outside Islamabad. Many were likely too young to drive on 9/11, yet volunteered. He describes them as the best living definition of a team: rehearsed, adaptive, communicating silently, never leaving a fallen comrade.

John wrote this in 2011 and reposted it on the raid's anniversary in 2019. In the decade after September 11, 2001, he writes, America was a nation at war against an amorphous, enduring enemy, with one elusive icon of terror at its center. The nation lost friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers. Many came home with wounds, some invisible. In a long war, sacrifice spreads across generations. Many of the operators who raided the compound outside Islamabad were likely too young to drive on 9/11, yet they remembered it, and it likely shaped their decision to take the oath. Fueled by adrenaline, a healthy dose of fear, and confidence in their training, they know things can and will go wrong. That's why they rehearse, look after one another, and never leave a fallen comrade behind. They are, John writes, the best living definition of a team: one unit, one objective, adapting as conditions change, closer than family. Mission first.

Why it matters for leaders: Great teams rehearse for what will go wrong, adapt when it does, and never leave anyone behind.

Q: Why did they rehearse so much?

A: Because, as John writes, warriors like these know things can and likely will go wrong.

Q: When was it originally written?

A: John wrote it in 2011 and reposted it on LinkedIn on May 2, 2019, the raid's anniversary.

Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/men-took-down-bin-laden-john-fenzel

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation