Deployment in Afghanistan
A situation where critical and creative thought could have been used would be during a deployment in Afghanistan. After two days on a mission trying to locate certain individuals, our squad stumbled upon an ambush that was hitting our group from three directions. We were outnumbered and really did not have a plan. A section sergeant and I stepped back and started thinking about different scenarios and outcomes on different strategies to help with either moving forward with the mission or retreating from the ambush and regrouping. After critically thinking, we decided to move forward with our mission and push through the ambush. In order to do so, we had to think creatively to come up with a plan that would not only get us through the ambush but also ensure the safety of all the soldiers we were leading. We creatively decided to perform a flanking movement in order to gain the upper hand. We split our section into two squads and laid down cover fire as a diversion in order to begin flanking the threat. After thinking up and putting the plan into action, the plan was a success and we were able to neutralize the threat and complete our mission.
The importance of thinking critically and creatively is important in all situations. In my situation from above, if we would not have stepped back and thought about what we were going to do and come up with solutions, the outcome could have been much worse. The same in business, if a company is not producing or selling as they should, creative and critical thinking must be used to help determine the problem and the necessary steps needed to resolve the problem. (Ruggiero, 2004)