What the Military Taught Me About Organizational Awareness

Eighteen months into my first enlistment, I received orders for Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. I had never been out of the country before, there furthest I’d been from Michigan prior to my assignment in California was basic training in San Antonio, Texas. It was all foreign to me, literally and figuratively.

What I didn’t know at the time was that I’d be arriving just months before the start of Operation Desert Storm.

During the first week of the war, I was assigned, along with another young airman, to provide security for the housing units of the senior officers overseeing operations. We were posted on the midnight shift in January. It was bitterly cold, and we were doing our best to stay alert in a loud, diesel Dodge truck when we faintly heard something strange over the base loudspeakers.

I killed the engine.

“ALARM RED, MOPP LEVEL 4.”

That’s not something you want to hear faintly. That’s a command to immediately put on full chemical gear and take cover, because an attack is either imminent or already in progress.

My partner hadn’t been issued his chemical suit yet. He only had his mask. I told him to put on the opened training suit, hoping it would give him some degree of protection. At that point, we had no idea what we were facing.

We later found out that Iraqi forces had launched multiple Scud missiles toward the base.

What struck me in that moment was something even more urgent than the warning: if we barely heard it, how could the officers inside, sound asleep, have heard anything at all?

They didn’t know.

We were two junior airmen. On paper, our job was to take cover and protect ourselves. But I knew those officers had critical roles to play. If they didn’t hear the alarm, if they weren’t warned, if they didn’t make it to their posts, it could impact the entire mission.

So we made a decision.

My partner went to one building, and I went to the other. We banged on doors, shook people awake, gave the alarm directly.

They got up. They got moving. They reported to their posts.

None of the missiles hit the base, thanks to the U.S. Army’s missile defense system. But I often wonder what would’ve happened if we had done what we were told and only what we were told.

We were later awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for our actions. But the real lesson wasn’t about recognition. It was about awareness. It was about leadership.


🔎 Leadership Isn’t Always at the Top

Here’s the truth:

In many organizations, senior leaders have no idea how close they are to danger.

They’re inside.
They’re asleep at the wheel.
They’re trusting systems to do what they’ve always done, without realizing the world outside is changing fast.

And the junior people they overlook, the ones they assume are just there to follow orders, are often the ones closest to the ground. They’re hearing the faint alarms. They’re feeling the cracks before they show up in boardrooms or after-action reports.

And sometimes, they’re the ones who end up saving the mission. 


🔦 Leadership Lessons from the Field

Based on that experience and what I’ve learned since, here are the lessons I’d offer to leaders in any organization:

1. Never Underestimate the Awareness of Junior Personnel
Just because someone isn’t in the corner office doesn’t mean they’re not the first to see a threat coming.

2. Train for Initiative, Not Just Compliance
Yes, we need structure and chain of command. But we also need people who can think, assess, and act when the playbook doesn’t apply.

3. Create a Culture Where Action Is Respected at All Levels
Don’t just recognize performance; recognize awareness, courage, and the decision to protect the mission, even if it wasn’t part of the job description.

4. Keep Lines of Communication Open…Especially From the Bottom Up
If the people closest to the real action can’t be heard, your entire organization is vulnerable.


🎯 Final Thought

You don’t need a title to be a leader.
You don’t need permission to do what’s right.
And sometimes the most critical decisions are made by people no one’s watching.

So if you’re leading a team, especially a large one, ask yourself:

Do you only trust the people at the top of your org chart? Or are you investing in the potential at the ground level too?

Because leadership isn’t about waiting for someone else to act.
It’s about hearing the alarm when no one else does, and having the courage to wake them up.

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