The team eventually coined the phrase, “Murphy’s Law,” as a lighthearted acknowledgment of Murphy’s frustrations and the obvious humor they drew from them. The phrase entered the public lexicon during a press conference, during which a journalist inquired about the project’s perfect safety record – no one had been seriously injured during the rocket sled tests. Captain John Stapp, the project lead, remarked that it was because they always took Murphy’s Law – “If it can happen, it will happen” – into account. The common form we know today as Murphy’s Law – “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong” – was in common use by the time Arthur Bloch published his 1977 book, Murphy’s Law, and Other Reasons Why Things Go Wrong. MURPHY’s Laws of Combat The spirit of Murphy’s Law is ubiquitous in military operations. Simplicity’s existence as a principle of war suggests that Murphy was always a recognized and unavoidable consequence of combat. Even a casual reading of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War reveals that Murphy was a consideration for the Chinese theorist. It is an acknowledgement that no matter how brilliant your plan, it will be executed by someone who, well… isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. As a military planner, I learned this lesson early and often. The person who disappears during the detailed phase of planning will inevitably be the individual charged with executing the details of the plan. The commander who struggles with decision-making will be the one asked to make a key decision in the heat of battle. Looking back, most of my war stories aren’t grand and glorious tales of battle, they’re the painful lessons drawn from Murphy’s Laws of Combat.
They capture the dark humor common to the profession of arms. They convey the cynicism of the rank and file, the sardonic wit of those who have seen Murphy’s Law under fire. They reflect the stark realities of war, those WTF? Moments you just shake your head at in the moment. The list is long, but there are a few that stand out. ▸ The easy way is always mined. ▸ The enemy diversion you’re ig- noring is the main attack. ▸ If your attack is going really well, it’s an ambush. ▸ If the enemy is within range, so are you. ▸ Tracers work both ways. ▸ The enemy invariable attacks on two occasions: (1) when they’re ready, (2) when you’re not. ▸ Anything you do ca n get you killed, including doing nothing. ▸ Never share a foxhole with any- one braver than yourself. ▸ Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder. ▸ When you have secured an area, don’t forget to tell the enemy. As my career trajectory took me out of uniform and into the classroom, I never stopped preaching the gospel of Murphy’s Law. Simplicity is an abso- lute necessity. Because, as another of those laws states, “The perfect per- son for a job always reports in after the billet has been filled by someone else.” And, for me, flexibility is non-ne- gotiable. Why? Because “The more stupid a leader is, the more import- ant missions they will be ordered to carry out.” And it’s a safe bet Murphy will be by their side the whole time.
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