Book Review: Joker One

Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood

by Donovan Campbell 
Narrated by: David Drummond
Publisher: Tantor Media
Date Published: Apr 9, 2009
Total Length: 11 Hours, 41 Minutes

Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1400067731
Date Published: March 10, 2009
Number of Pages: 336


I first heard about Joker One on NPR during an episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross interviewing Donovan Campbell.  I was struck by the depth of character and conviction to responsibility that I heard in this interview.  Several weeks later, I remembered listening to the interview and decided to download the audio book.  Wow.  I was not disappointed.  Impressed by not only the quality of the story itself but also the quality of the story telling.  First Lt. Donovan Campbell of 1st Platoon, Company G ('Golf'), 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, led a group of 40 marines in 2004 during the beginning and the height of the insurgency.  They were stationed in Ramadi and had to deal with much of the fallout from the first and second battles of Fallujah.  Ramadi soon came to be labelled the most dangerous place in Iraq.

The book tells of Campbell's officer training at Quantico, his first days on the job as Lieutenant of his infantry platoon (call sign 'Joker One'), building relationships and respect with his men, patrolling the streets in Ramadi during some of the most intense resistance of the Iraq war, and returning to 'normal' life back home after serving in combat. 'Golf' Company suffered a 50% casualty rate, which exceeded that of any other Marine or Army combat unit since Vietnam.  

Throughout this book it is clear that Campbell truly embraces the meaning of "servant leader".  This excerpt taken from page 5 has truly profound insight: 

"If you are a Marine lieutenant in a firefight, a situation that's probably as good a proxy as any for hell, then it's your job to figure out at least 50 to 70 percent of what is going on around you so that you can make intelligent decisions, which translate into good orders, which lead to focused, effective and decisive action.  This whole process needs to be rapid to be relevant, but if you're too hasty, then you can lead your men to their deaths, all the while believing you are leading them to safety.  It's not an easy tension to manage on an ongoing basis.

"However, it can be done, and to do it well you must have absolutely no concern for your own safety.  You can't think of home, you can't miss you wife, and you can't wonder how it would feel to take a round through the neck.  You can only pretend that you're already dead and thus free yourself up to focus on three things: 1) finding and killing the enemy, 2) communicating the situation and resulting actions to adjacent units and higher headquarters, and 3) triaging and treating your wounded.  If you love your men, you naturally think about number three first, but if you do you're wrong.  The grim logic of combat dictates that numbers one and two take precedence."

Reflections

The stories told in Joker One are so vivid that I can recall many of the details even though it has been a while since I first listened to this book (I also bought a hard copy soon afterward to refer back to).  A few of the things that really stand out to me include: 

Split Second Decisions - As seen in the excerpt above, being willing to make the tough calls in the midst of chaos and without having all of the facts laid out in from of you is an amazing skill.  It is difficult to say whether decisions made in such circumstances are the "right" decisions.  But the lesson I get from this is that being able to act now and continually adapt is often more critical than the time lost through hesitating over the "right" decision.

Mastery of Details - When Joker One arrived in Kuwait and were preparing to launch into Iraq, they spent time going over and over things that most people probably wouldn't think as being all that important.  For example practicing dismounting from vehicles, as described on page 71: 

"In our world, basic tasks have to be repeatedly rehearsed in conditions mimicking predicted combat scenarios as faithfully as possible.  For example, you can never be sure which small detail might mean the difference between exiting a vehicle caught in an enemy ambush kill zone in two seconds or in ten.  That kind of time differential can be fatal.  Where is the door handle on the seven-ton truck?  Do you have to pull it up or down to get out?  How far is the drop out of the truck bed, and where exactly do you need to put your feet before you hurl yourself out the door?  Once all the little questions have been answered, those answers must be practiced again and again until they become muscle memory.  The Marines didn't like the mind-numbingly repetitive nature of such drills, and they didn't exactly love the squad leaders and me for putting them through the endless rehearsals, but every time we did something tedious and painful, we tried to lay out the reason behind the drills to everyone.  I became amazed at how much my men would tolerate if someone just took the time to explain the why of it all to them"

Trusting Your Team - One of the situations Joker One ran into while patrolling was when a group of kids started throwing rocks at his men.  The men radioed up to Campbell at the front of the patrol that the rocks were really starting to hurt.  While he was thinking about how to handle the situation, one of his men radioed back and said the situation was under control.  The men had gained the aid of an old Iraqi man who scolded the children and they ran away.  As a leader, you won't have the answer to every dilemma that pops up.  So it is important to train your team on the principals you want them to follow and allow them to think for themselves.

Succession Planning - Keeping an eye open for future leaders and take time to build on their talent.  There's a great example on page 22 talks about Campbell's first encounter with with Lance Corporal Carson on a training hike, carrying two packs and pushing another Marine up hill and shouting at him not to fall out.  Carson was later promoted to a team lead.

Dedication to the Mission - Campbell gave a recent interview with Steve Paulson, 10 Years in Iraq, where he recalls one of the events described in the book when the insurgents attacked his platoon.  The rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) that was fired at his men miss them, but instead detonated in a group of school children.  Campbell had the option of getting his men out of the situation, which meant abandoning the injured children or digging in, setting up a perimeter and helping the kids, which most likely meant facing another attack.  I'll let you listen to the interview (or read the book) to hear what happened.


Not only was I impressed by the stories told by Joker One, but what really stands out to me is the contrast I see to my own life.  In 2004, I had been out of college for a little while and making decent money for the first time in my life, and really just living the life of a slacker.  Reading this book gave me a lot more respect for the challenges that young soldiers in the armed forces have to go through and the character it can build.  I like to think of myself as someone who is up for a challenge, strong, courageous; but this book puts me to shame.  I don't think I could have made it Iraq.  However, I truly value the lessons shared within the pages of Joker One.

This book should be required reading for anyone leading a team to understand the amount of care that must be invested in your team.
 
The Leader's Code

I am anxiously waiting for Donovan's newest book, The Leader's Code: Mission, Character, Service, and Getting the Job Done to arrive.  I pre-ordered it last week and I'm looking forward to digging through it for more valuable leadership lessons.  Stay tuned for another book review!