The Wisdom of the Bullfrog summary

In 1942, David Stirling, a British officer, conducted daring raids on German Panzer forces in North Africa with a small group of commandos. To conceal their true mission, the unit was known as the SAS – the Special Air Service. After several unsuccessful ground and parachute raids, Stirling devised a new strategy. He led 18 Jeeps mounted with machine guns in attacks on German airfields and fuel depots. The results were devastating. Throughout that year, Stirling and his commandos often struck behind enemy lines without detection. This earned Stirling a nickname, the Phantom Major, bestowed on him by Erwin Rommel.

Despite being captured, escaping, and being captured again, Stirling’s exploits continued. When tasked with creating a motto for the SAS, he chose Qui audet adipiscitur – Who Dares Wins.

It’s June 1974, and Admiral McRaven, then a midshipman third class, has been deployed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii aboard the USS Ouellet for the next seven weeks. Having just arrived at midnight, he quietly slips off his shoes and starts to climb to his bunk – it’s the top one of three. In the darkness, he loses his footing and unintentionally steps on the person beneath. There’s a roar and a towering Samoan giant emerges. He’s clearly unamused. In the dim lighting, his eyes glimmer red.

The Samoan grabs McRaven’s shirt, pulls him in close, and demands to know who he is. McRaven introduces himself and apologizes profusely. “I’ve only got one face,” the Samoan responds, “and it’s pretty. The ladies like it this way.” He lets go of McRaven’s shirt and helps him stow it away for the night. He gives McRaven his name, Ricky, and tells him to get some sleep.

A rugged island in the Pacific Ocean 80 miles west of San Diego is where the Third Phase of Navy SEAL training takes place. It’s on San Clemente that after six months of training, the remaining few trainees hope to complete the last three weeks. They’re dropped three miles off the coast and told to swim to shore. That’s followed by a 16-mile run and a five-mile swim, demolition and weapons work, physical training, and constant harassment to try to break your spirit. Grueling, indeed.

It’s also where officers are tested – especially their leadership skills. One of the trials of the officers’ command and control skills is the Ambush Drill. During the drill, an ambush is simulated by the instructors, using blank ammunition and grenades. The platoon leader must get the platoon out of the kill zone quickly.

In October 1925, General Billy Mitchell was court-martialed. He believed that war was coming and that the air force should be unified. It would be a force that would rival both the Army and Navy.

Mitchell had posited that a battleship could be destroyed by a bomber. The Navy, on the other hand, had rigged demonstrations of the survivability of battleships. Mitchell then went on to expose that deception. After a valid test, it was beyond doubt that Mitchell was correct. Yet still, the Army and Navy opposed the idea of a unified air force. Mitchell was court-martialed when he accused the leadership of “almost treasonable administration of the national defense.”