How to speak to your troops on the eve of battle | General Jan Swillens | TEDxKMA 

Jan Swillens was Battlegroup Commander of Task Force Uruzgan. In 2008, two days after he lost one of his men to a Taliban attack, he was about to start the biggest Dutch operation in Afghanistan yet: clearing the Baluchi Valley. He knew there was a huge risk of more casualties. In such a situation, what do you tell your men at the start of the operation?
General Swillens is Commander of the 43rd Mechanised Brigade. Before this he was commander of the Royal Dutch Commandos and Battle Group Commander in Afghanistan.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx