"Hurry up” are perhaps the two least useful words on the modern battlefield—often accompanied by expletives and adjectives, usually to emphasize the degree to which “hurrying up” needs to be accomplished. This “hurry up” culture permeates every level of leadership from senior to junior officers, through the staff noncommissioned officer and noncommissioned officer ranks. Interrupting the action with an arbitrary command to hurry up, however, does little to expedite most tasks, emphasizes urgency over relying on sound training, and can undermine the trust and confidence of junior Marines.
Marine Corps leaders must accept that hurry up perpetuates a culture of selfishness in the ranks. It sometimes is fueled by a liberty-based mindset, in which too many leaders have a sense of self-importance that conveys their time is worth more than their subordinates’ time. Through this lens, leaders can quickly devolve into “hurry up and do the work required to get us out of here for the day.” Quality, trust, and teamwork start to erode as Marines become more individualistic.
If a Marine is falling behind on a PT run, for example, hearing a young leader yelling “hurry up” or something similar from the rear of the formation in inevitable. Words of encouragement may help the flagging Marine, but it was that leader’s job to prepare his or her subordinate for the run. If a Marine is assigned to rake the supply lot but does not finish in time for formation, a young leader may bellow at the Marine to “hurry up.” But did the leader assign the right personnel, provide the time, and ensure the Marine had the right tools and correct supervisory checks to ensure the plan was on time and to adjust the plan if required?
It took me a long time to learn and accept that the only way to speed things up was to improve the training on the front end. Rushing seems always to have come from a lack of preparation on my part as a leader. I did not prepare my Marines, I did not inform my Marines, I did not develop my Marines, I did not set my Marines up to succeed, and now I need them to “hurry up” to make up for my failures.
Prepare, Train, and Trust
This is not to say there is no need for urgency on the battlefield. However, leaders must understand and trust the individual or group will accomplish
the task to the best of their ability—
as efficiently and effectively as possible—and that Marines already understand the urgency. Many leaders, nevertheless, find themselves thinking or saying “hurry up” when dealing with subordinates from time to time. Pressing a unit to go faster, however, can lead to deadly mistakes.
Hurry up can be contagious and affect combat operations. It reminds me of when I was working at the Advanced Infantry Training Battalion. Executing the rocket battle drill (RBD) was most often the cause of a leader yelling “hurry up” while conducting a live-fire attack. The RBD is the process of eliminating a threat, such as a bunker or lightly armored vehicle, using a rocket, recoilless rifle, or other propelled weapon. This process consists of a few steps:
1. Identify the target.
2. Assign the target to a Marine with appropriate weaponry to eliminate the target.
3. Provide covering fire to allow the Marine to prepare, move into position, and eliminate the target.
4. Exploit the effects of the drill.
The drill is practiced as a rapid reaction to unexpected threats and a viable solution to defeating hardened targets while conducting an assault. A rifle squad, for example, conducts a movement to contact—when it is known that the enemy is to the front but the exact location and makeup of the enemy is vague. The squad deploys into a skirmisher—or line formation—and begins cautiously moving forward.
As the squad crests over some cover, the enemy position comes into view. There is a technical vehicle covering the enemy position that needs to be neutralized or destroyed to allow the squad to clear the enemy out of its position. The squad leader passes instructions and begins the attack. Moments later, the technical vehicle orients its machine gun on the squad and pins them in place with heavy fire. The squad leader, in frustration, yells to the Marine he assigned to fire a rocket at the vehicle to “hurry up.” Every few seconds another Marine from the squad is hit by incoming fire, taking more guns out of the fight. The squad leader yells again, as he fires his last magazine in an attempt to provide covering fire. As he runs out of ammunition, he looks over to the see his Marine still struggling to get the rocket off his back.
The uselessness of the words “hurry up” in this scenario is obvious and underpins the need to emphasize preparation, training, and trust. Had this squad leader practiced this drill effectively with his squad, key debrief points would have been identified and refined, which may have prevented this failure. During the RBD, a typical fail point comes not from the Marine with the rocket lacking intimate familiarity with his weapon, and how to operate it—but from him being rushed and, in the moment the equipment gets caught up on his gear, delaying the shot. A leader must train his or her Marines and trust subordinates to do everything in their power to accomplish the task amid the action.
Using a different style of leadership can be even more effective. Consider a scenario in which the same squad crests over the same terrain and spots the same enemy position. The squad leader rapidly passes coordinating instructions while moving to position himself beside the Marine with the rocket. He pulls the safety transport pin from the rocket while it is still strapped to his Marine’s back. The sling of the weapon falls free as the squad leader passes final commands to the squad. The squad open fires on the enemy as directed, while the squad leader opens the launcher and sets the range to the target.
As the enemy begins to engage the squad, the young leader presses the prepared launcher into his Marine’s hands, points at the target, and delivers the firing command while face-to-face with his Marine. The squad leader then engages his own weapon while commanding his squad to increase rate of fire. He drives the pace of weapons fire with his own weapon. The young Marine holding the prepared weapon knows what to do and sees the task needs to be done quickly and effectively. He sees that his squad leader has put him in the best possible position to accomplish this task, trained him, and is now supporting his efforts. As the rocket is fired, the squad leader is in an excellent position to see its effects and presses the attack forward to exploit the hit.
Trust, training, and sound leadership can make all the difference in combat. That does not mean the squad leader needs to go directly to the Marine for this example to work. He also could train each of his Marines to do the exact same thing, bolstering the efforts of the team and creating microsolutions to problems inside his squad. In this case, a highly proficient and highly trained squad can be even more effective.
As the target comes into view, the squad leader calls out the commands to his squad. “Squad, Enemy 12 o’clock, 150 meters, sustained rate, fire!” Followed immediately by the orders: “Team 1, RBD, Technical 11 o’clock, 150 meters, when ready!” The squad engages the enemy, the squad leader adjusts his fire teams and refines his fire to cover the entire enemy position. Meanwhile, two Marines from Team 1 have been entrusted with a special assignment. Marine 1 fires his weapon while telling his buddy to assist him. Marine 2 performs the same well-rehearsed RBD as earlier, removing the rocket from Marine 1’s back and preparing the weapon for use, all while being covered by Marine 1 and the rest of the squad. When ready, Marine 2 announces “rocket ready” to the squad and prepares to expose for the shot. The squad increases the rate of fire allowing Marine 2 to engage the threat.
All three examples show the importance of preparation and training. In the latter two examples, the squad leader’s preparation and leadership are based on mutual understanding and trust. The squad leader trusts each Marine in the squad to assist with the accomplishment of that assigned mission, get the mission done properly, or die trying.
Because the squad leader has prepared his Marines and built this confidence and trust, the words “hurry up” never even entered his mind—even if the shot took longer than expected or the Marines failed to accomplish it. He knows his Marines will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
For the Marines’ part, they understand they are a part of the team and the role they play. These Marines care about the team and its success. They understand the problem and know they are the solution. These Marines trust that their squad leader has prepared them and put them in the best possible position to accomplish the task. They understand the importance of the task and what success looks like. They know what to do, how to do it, and why to do it. They know that everyone is supporting them. They know that everyone is depending on them.
Shed the “Hurry Up” Mindset
The point is not to eradicate the phrase “hurry up” or describe a better way to conduct a rocket battle drill. Every leader—myself included—who feels compelled to hurry up their Marines to execute must swallow a hard pill. Leaders need to train Marines better instead. Each of us must hesitate to shout, “hurry up,” and delve deeper to eradicate what drives our behavior. We must commit to developing a new, more effective culture in which leaders challenge their own leadership style, find the gaps, and shore them up.
Shedding the “hurry up” culture will allow leaders to train better and spend more time leading effectively at the point of the attack. This is only possible if we trust that our Marines already know that they need to “hurry up.”
