What Combat Finance Taught Me About Business Risk Management Lessons from $33B in high-stakes operations

Published: February 10, 2026 | By Gabriel Denny

Most CFOs talk about "risk management" from behind a desk. I learned it while managing over $33 billion in financial operations across the Middle East during active combat operations. The difference isn't just academic—it's the difference between theoretical risk and actual consequences.

Here's what combat finance teaches you that no MBA program can replicate.

1. Risk Isn't a Spreadsheet Exercise

In 2014, I served as the CFO for all special operations aircraft in the Middle East (excluding Afghanistan) during ISIL operations. We weren't just managing budgets—we were enabling combat operations where lives depended on financial decisions being made quickly and correctly.

When a mission needs funding approval and aircraft need to launch within hours, you can't send it to a committee. You assess, decide, and own the outcome.

The business lesson: Most companies over-analyze and under-decide. They confuse caution with wisdom and delay with diligence. Real risk management is about making informed decisions quickly—not avoiding decisions altogether.

2. Perfect Information Is a Luxury You Don't Have

In combat finance, you rarely have complete information. Intelligence changes, situations evolve, and you make calls with 70% of the data you'd like to have.

At Malmstrom AFB, I led a Zero Base Review of a $720M budget. We didn't have perfect visibility into every program, every contract, or every obligation. But we had deadlines, mission requirements, and a mandate to optimize. We identified $2.4M in savings and defended an $80M budget that ended up growing by $12M.

The business lesson: Waiting for perfect data is a decision to let others act first. Your competitors aren't waiting. Your market isn't waiting. Learn to make high-quality decisions with incomplete information—that's what separates leaders from analysts.

3. Accountability Is Non-Negotiable

In the military, when you're responsible for billions in funds and combat operations depend on your decisions, there's no hiding behind "the team" or "process." If something goes wrong, it's your name on the report.

That level of accountability sharpens decision-making. You don't take shortcuts. You don't assume someone else will catch mistakes. You own it—completely.

The business lesson: Most organizations have diffuse accountability. Everyone's "responsible," so no one's accountable. Clear ownership accelerates execution and improves outcomes. When I work with clients, I don't do "advisory"—I own outcomes.

4. Systems Must Work Under Pressure

During my deployment, I helped perform the first combat zone audit in five years. We found $2M in excess funds that could be reallocated. But more importantly, we identified broken processes that would have failed under sustained pressure.

The systems that work in peacetime aren't necessarily the ones that work under stress. You need processes that are resilient, not just efficient.

The business lesson: Most companies optimize for efficiency in "normal" conditions. Then a crisis hits—market shift, supply chain disruption, cash crunch—and everything breaks. Build systems that work when things go wrong, not just when they go right.

5. Communication Clarity Saves Lives (and Businesses)

In combat operations, unclear communication kills. There's no room for corporate jargon, vague language, or "we'll circle back on that."

When I brief senior leaders on financial decisions, it's clear, concise, and action-oriented: Here's the situation. Here are the options. Here's my recommendation. Here's why.

The business lesson: Most financial presentations are garbage. Pages of charts, hedged language, no clear recommendation. If you can't explain your financial position in 2 minutes to someone who doesn't live in spreadsheets, you don't actually understand it.

The Bottom Line

Combat finance isn't just a cool story for your "About" page. It's a completely different way of thinking about risk, accountability, and decision-making.

When your quarterly numbers look scary, remember: I've made financial decisions while people were in actual danger. Your business challenges are real—but they're solvable with the right mindset and the right systems.

That's what I bring to the table. Not theory. Not best practices from some consulting playbook. Real experience making high-stakes financial decisions when it actually matters.

Ready to bring combat-tested financial leadership to your business?

Contact me for a free consultation or call (616) 881-6777.

About the Author

Gabriel Denny is a retired Air Force Major with 20 years of experience managing billions in high-stakes financial operations. He served as CFO for America's largest nuclear missile wing and managed combat finance operations in the Middle East.

Now he brings that same discipline to growing businesses as a fractional CFO.

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