text: Appendix C
  and a fuller understanding of your own limitations. Like any plan, this plan will change once
  you hit the ground, and it may need to be scrapped if there is a major shift in the environment.
  But you still need a plan, and the process of planning will give you a simple, robust idea
  of what to achieve, even if the methods change. This is sometimes called “operational
  design.” One approach is to identify basic stages in your operation, for example “establish
  dominance, build local networks, marginalize the enemy.” Make sure you can easily
  transition between phases, forward and backward, in case of setbacks. Just as the insurgent
  can adapt his activity to yours, so you must have a simple enough plan to survive setbacks
  without collapsing. This plan is the solution that matches the shared diagnosis you developed
  earlier. It must be simple, and known to everyone
  GOLDEN HOUR
  C-7. You have deployed, completed reception and staging, and (if you are lucky) attended the
  in-country counterinsurgency school. Now it is time to enter your sector and start your tour. This is the
  golden hour. Mistakes made now will haunt you for the rest of your tour, while early successes will set the
  tone for victory. You will look back on your early actions and cringe at your clumsiness. So be it. But you
  must act.
  10. Be there. The most fundamental rule of counterinsurgency is to be there. You can almost
  never outrun the enemy. If you are not present when an incident happens, there is usually
  little you can do about it. So your first order of business is to establish presence. If you can’t
  do this throughout your sector, then do it wherever you can. This demands a residential
  approach: living in your sector, in close proximity to the population rather than raiding into
  the area from remote, secure bases. Movement on foot, sleeping in local villages, night
  patrolling—all these seem more dangerous than they are. They establish links with the locals,
  who see you as real people they can trust and do business with, not as aliens who descend
  from an armored box. Driving around in an armored convoy, day-tripping like a tourist
  in hell, degrades situational awareness, makes you a target, and is ultimately more dangerous.
  11. Avoid knee-jerk responses to first impressions. Don’t act rashly; get the facts first. The
  violence you see may be part of the insurgent strategy; it may be various interest groups
  fighting it out with each other or settling personal vendettas. Normality in Kandahar is not the
  same as in Seattle—you need time to learn what normality looks like. The insurgent
  commander wants to goad you into lashing out at the population or making a mistake. Unless
  you happen to be on the spot when an incident occurs, you will have only second-hand
  reports and may misunderstand the local context or interpretation. This fragmentation
  and “disaggregation” of the battlefield, particularly in urban areas, means that first
  impressions are often highly misleading. Of course, you can’t avoid making judgments. But
  if possible, check them with an older or a trusted local. If you can, keep one or two officers
  from your predecessor unit for the first part of the tour. Try to avoid a rush to judgment.
  12. Prepare for handover from day one. Believe it or not, you will not resolve the insurgency
  on your watch. Your tour will end, and your successors will need your corporate knowledge.
  Start handover folders, in every platoon and specialist squad, from day one. Ideally, you
  would have inherited these from your predecessors, but if not you must start them. The
  folders should include lessons learned, details about the population, village and patrol reports,
  updated maps, and photographs—anything that will help newcomers master the environment.
  Computerized databases are fine, but keep good back-ups and ensure you have hard copy
  of key artifacts and documents. This is and tedious, but essential. Over time, you will create a
  corporate memory that keeps your people alive.
  13. Build trusted networks. Once you have settled into your sector, your key task is to build
  trusted networks. This is the true meaning of the phrase hearts and minds, which comprises
  two separate components. Hearts means persuading people their best interests are served by
  your success; minds means convincing them that you can protect them, and that resisting you
  is pointless. Note that neither concept has anything to do with whether people like you.