When the Tempest Gathers Quotes

“In the right circumstances and for the right reasons a leader has to be prepared to put on an act: to disguise fear, to mask grief or to overcome reticence. I sometimes find that aspect of leadership exhausting.”
― Andrew Milburn, When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War

“A good plan executed now,’ our instructors at Basic School would remind us ‘is better than a perfect plan executed later.”
― Andrew Milburn, When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War

“Second,’ Nick continued, ‘as long as you understand the commander’s intent, and make decisions according to that, I will back you 100 per cent.”
― Andrew Milburn, When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War

“None of us knows how long this war will last, so make sure that you pace yourselves. Lives really will depend on the decisions that you make, and you won’t realize how much tiredness has affected your judgment until it’s too late. This isn’t a training exercise and you can’t just power through without sleep.’ On the eve of battle, the first thing that Nick had to tell us was to get some rest. At the time, it wasn’t the advice that I expected to hear, but in the years since have been reminded often of its wisdom. The kind of bone-deep tiredness wrought by prolonged stress and lack of sleep doesn’t simply sap your ability to make sound decisions, it alters the filter through which you see the world. I have seen exhausted commanders, myself included, driven by a sense of responsibility, and perhaps the Marine tendency towards masochism, do things that they would never contemplate when rested. This same ethos infuses the staff and subordinate”
― Andrew Milburn, When the Tempest Gathers: From Mogadishu to the Fight Against ISIS, a Marine Special Operations Commander at War