On Episode Lucky Number 13 is Lieutenant General (Ret) Kenneth Tovo, a Green Beret who most recently served as Commanding General of the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) before retirement in 2018 after 35 years of military service. General Tovo joins Jason and Rich to dive deep on his hard-won lessons of leadership, particularly through a gripping oral history of a quintessential Green Beret mission: Operation Viking Hammer at the outset of the Iraq war in 2003. In his detailed account, learn why it is also called Operation “Ugly Baby,” how the links only tell a tiny slice of the story, and how the General really came to understand that plans are meaningless but planning is priceless.

General Tovo’s operational assignments include the First Gulf War, Refugee relief in Northern Iraq, Noncombatant evacuation in Sierra Leone, Peacekeeping in Bosnia (twice), 5 tours in Iraq, and 1 tour in Afghanistan. He was Jason’s Group Commander at 10th Special Forces Group in 2007 and they are both now on the board of the Green Beret Foundation.

General Tovo has cultivated a deep self awareness which he uses to carefully choose his team, effectively lead, and at least try to pass his lessons borne of experience to others. This episode is rife with his leadership lessons, especially through transitions and unexpected environments, which are as applicable in business as they are on the battlefield.

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013 - Lieutenant General (Ret) Ken Tovo, Former Commanding General USASOC