Definition

The gate at Layer 4 of [Operator Decision Tree]. The trigger is a threshold event, not a clock event: enough aggregated sight to push off soundly toward the MDV. A two-question gate run in order: does this expand the integrity of the MDV, and is this a force multiplier for the MDV.

Explanation

The name comes from the old commitment device — burn the ships behind you so retreat isn’t an option — but the mechanism here is not about eliminating the exit. It’s about timing the commitment correctly. The gate does not open on a calendar date. It opens when the sight gathered is sufficient, and closes the decision loop by testing it against the MDV twice before the operator commits.

Both gate questions point the same direction: not “is this a good idea” in the abstract, but does it strengthen what makes the operation meaningfully different, and does it multiply that strength across more than one place in the operation. An idea that passes neither question doesn’t earn the commitment, no matter how much sight has accumulated.

Sitting at Layer 4 means three layers of sight-gathering happen before this gate is even reached. [Burn The Boats] is not where the looking happens — it’s where the looking stops and the moving starts, and it only fires once the threshold, not the clock, says it’s time.