take point

take point (third-person singular simple present takes point, present participle taking point, simple past took point, past participle taken point)

1. (military) To assume the first and most exposed position in a formation in combat; to serve as the lead soldier or unit advancing through hostile or unsecured territory.

   Synonym: run point

2. (by extension) To assume a key role in an operation.

   Synonym: run point

   • 2012 September 15, “The war in Syria: Death from the skies”, in The Economist:

     But unlike the intervention in Libya, where France and Britain took point and America “led from behind”, an intervention in Syria would have to be a mostly American affair, and as such it would be done with massive force from the outset.

• take point on Wikipedia.Wikipedia