Seek Truth - Do Not Succumb to Fog of War
Mirtha Villarreal-Younger
Advocate| Entrepreneur| Veteran| Doctoral Student in Organizational Change and Leadership, USC
The term Fog of War refers to uncertainty of a situational awareness in military operations. The term as outlined in military writings is used depict the “uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign.”
As a nation we have seen countless movies in which soldiers are caught up in a battle and are completely enveloped in “fog of war.” Anger, adrenaline, freight, action, loudness, pain, and confusion leaves them unable to distinguish where fire is coming from, worse who the enemy is.
During these times of conflict and uncertainty we must seek truth. We must be certain of the battlefield and the boundaries. We must have a full understanding of the weapons to be used and the be able to accept the damage they can impart. We cannot afford to confuse friend for foe, the consequences are to grave and damage irreparable. As leaders we have a responsibility to act with wisdom and integrity so that when that fog lifts we will have acted not just out of anger, pain and the desire to win, but out of love for our community and humanity. Let our actions not be a crime larger than that which we fought against.
With picking up arms, literally and figuratively comes a great responsibility.
Chief Operations Officer 63rd Readiness Division in Army Reserves/ IT Analyst at V.A Palo Alto/Adjunct Professor and Alumni Association Board Of Directors at Golden Gate University
4 年It also brings us closer together and teaches us to appreciate life!
Chief Operations Officer 63rd Readiness Division in Army Reserves/ IT Analyst at V.A Palo Alto/Adjunct Professor and Alumni Association Board Of Directors at Golden Gate University
4 年Mrs. Villarreal, I am not sure if you remember me from OCS? You were one of my TAC Officers. Now I am a LTC and I so glad that you were part of my molding process. Thank you so much for your leadership and guidance. I often have flashbacks about Iraq and so I know just what you mean when you referenced your Afghanistan flashback experience.