“Grit to Glory” by Green Beret Veteran Darrell Utt recounts his journey from the woods of West Virginia to his role as team Sergeant for ODA 043 in the streets of Baghdad during some of the most vicious fighting.
Darell grew up “dirt poor” and he says a trip to Burger King was “fine dining” for his family. He spent a great deal of time in the woods hunting, fishing and trapping with his father, which he says would later serve him well as a Green Beret.
ODA 043 was based at Camp Apache, just outside of Baghdad. One of Darrell’s early leadership challenges was shortly after their arrival when word spread that his team were just “party boys”. He immediately removed the soldier responsible for the reputation; Darrell didn’t want his team “benched” because of unfounded rumors.
Darrell walks us through the Sunni/Shia dynamic. His team was thrown into the middle of a sectarian civil war which created significant challenges as they pursued their mission. In one case his team had to “raid” a local morgue in order to recover a Shia ally’s remains from the Sunni management.
We discussed some of his more “interesting” missions like their very creative way of luring a high priority terrorist target out of his safe zone. They arranged for an allied woman with a very sexy voice to “mistakenly” strike up a series of conversations with the terrorist. Eventually, the target agreed to meet the woman at a location the Green Beret’s could control and he was captured.
I really enjoyed Grit to Glory because it is, in effect, TWO books. We wrap up with discussing Darrel’s “Grit Code.” This is comprised of eight elements that apply well both to leading in combat and the civilian world.
TAKEAWAY: “Excellence is a decision, not a job description.”