Sheepdog Tip of the Day, Before Combat tip 170
If we do not have an honest hotwash (= debriefing), we risk losing the chance to learn the lessons. In his book Inside Delta Force, Eric Haney talks about learning how to conduct room-clearing exercises. Four men enter the room and have to engage an unknown number of hostile targets with cutouts of hostages mixed in. If a member of the team accidently shot a hostage, it, "meant an immediate 'Chinese Self-Criticism Drill.' Everything stopped, and you had to explain to the instructor and your teammates why you shot a good guy." We have to own our mistakes if we are going to improve. No one shows up to work thinking, "Boy, what can I screw up today?"
Christopher Brennan, The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness
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