# The OODA Loop (Observe - Orient - Decide - Act)



## Ooh-Rah (Mar 29, 2016)

Was having a really good discussion with a shooting buddy last night about the "what if's" of a home invasion scenario.  Unfortunately the meth-heads are migrating closer to my little suburb and there  have been some issues the past few months.

Anyway, he started talking about the OODA Loop and sent me the attached article.  It gets pretty detailed, and I am going to have to read thru it a few times, but certainly give you something to think about.  

Thought I would share this , would be interested in opinions of those who take the time to read it.

OODA Loop: A Comprehensive Guide to the OODA Loop | The Art of Manliness


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## racing_kitty (Mar 29, 2016)

I'll finish reading it after I wake up later, but it looks quite interesting from what I've read so far. Thanks for sharing it.


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## DA SWO (Mar 29, 2016)

Boyd's (Air Force BTW) OODA loop is pretty interesting.
Essentially requires you to act faster than the other guy can process data, understand it, act on it.
I believe Boyd also created "pivot points" i.e. identify the critical components of the other guys operation and destroy those first (C & C nodes for example).  1st Gulf War Air War was essentially a validation of Boyd's principles.
The AF crapped all over him while he was in, and now that he is gone they taught him as a genius.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 29, 2016)

Col Boyd (USAF ret) is a genius, and the USAF really screwed themselves sidelining him.


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## Grunt (Mar 29, 2016)

Diamondback 2/2 said:


> Col Boyd (USAF ret) is a genius, and the USAF really screwed themselves sidelining him.



Sadly, it often happens that true "genius" isn't realized until further down the road. He was way ahead of his time.


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## AWP (Mar 29, 2016)

I remember right after 9/11 the OODA loop had mythic proportions. We would leverage this brilliant piece of Western thinking to defeat a technologically inferior foe. Iraq? Same thing? OODA loops for everyone!!!!

It along with COIN have become "failed" concepts in that we've implemented them in a half-assed manner and discredited them as a result. I'm wary when someone talks about them for just those reasons. Do they really understand what they're talking about or are they leveraging a buzzword to sound intelligent? I believe in them, but we have yet to truly implement them on a large scale.

Also, a rectally-inserted pizza cutter for those who rejected his thinking and then turned around and rode his jock to success. There's a high degree of irony at play when anyone in the gov't talks about innovation...


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## Ooh-Rah (Mar 29, 2016)

Well look at what I stumbled into.  Going to have to do some reading...


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## AWP (Mar 29, 2016)

Ironically, fark.com had this as a link today:

Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences- Request for White Papers:  Qualities of Productive Discourse - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities

Request for White Papers: Qualities of Productive Discourse

The Army wants to pay someone to show the Army how to talk its way through a problem.


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## DocIllinois (Mar 29, 2016)

We Os were recently presented with a newer (?) process to manage interaction between _a priori_ distinct loop processes, which close the overall loop by feeding the initial context but always recognizing the possible interaction of those distinct _a priori_ loops in the chain of actions.

And that snippet wasn't the most confusing part.  I didn't even know where to start taking notes.  


As a result of having lived and worked in Chicago, should someone attempt to enter my home unauthorized and I'm on location, they're pretty much dead in the doorway no questions asked.

Should we not be home, they're also not going to like other defensive techniques in place.


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## DA SWO (Mar 29, 2016)

Freefalling said:


> I remember right after 9/11 the OODA loop had mythic proportions. We would leverage this brilliant piece of Western thinking to defeat a technologically inferior foe. Iraq? Same thing? OODA loops for everyone!!!!
> 
> It along with COIN have become "failed" concepts in that we've implemented them in a half-assed manner and discredited them as a result. I'm wary when someone talks about them for just those reasons. Do they really understand what they're talking about or are they leveraging a buzzword to sound intelligent? I believe in them, but we have yet to truly implement them on a large scale.
> 
> Also, a rectally-inserted pizza cutter for those who rejected his thinking and then turned around and rode his jock to success. There's a high degree of irony at play when anyone in the gov't talks about innovation...


I believe the OODA loop was actually for a technology driven or centrally managed foe.
We slowed the pace in Ass-crackistan giving the other side time to complete their process while we are still analysing data.
Look at the first 6 months of the war to see how it worked against a centrally controlled government.
War would have been over had we had competent JAGs.


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## Brill (Mar 29, 2016)

How is this different than a flow chart?


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## DA SWO (Mar 29, 2016)

lindy said:


> How is this different than a flow chart?


This is a flow chart explaining OODA.


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Mar 29, 2016)

If I'm not mistaken, and its been about ten years since I read his book, but the OODA loop was developed to assist fighter pilots in air to air dog fight's coupled with the use use of advanced avionics. I want to say Col Byod was an F16 pilot by trade, but I could be wrong.

Where I first learned of OODA loop was during a LowLight CQB instructor school. Combining the uses of flash lights, lasers and night vision optics, in CQB. I think the use of OODA loop as an explanation of how we should process information in such an environment under such conditions, was fitting. Especially when moving into force on force scenarios and using simuntions, and adding good and bad actors, where you actually have to take snap shots and quickly process information under high levels of stress.

If you can imagine clearing a room with shoot and no shoot's, under NOD or with use of white light, as you enter and move to your point of dominance, you are observing your area of responsibility, orientating towards possible threats, deciding if they are or are not threats and than acting in accordance with that decision. Granted its happening in a spit second, but you are using that process. The issue comes when people do not use the process and simply react, especially with hostages, etc. You run through few simunition drills in low light, with threats and hostages, and watch how many hostages get tagged. Stop regroup and discuss OODA loop and going through the mental check list (can I see there hands, do they have a weapon, IED, are they responding to commands, cowering or aggressive, etc). And run similar drill's and you will be surprised how quickly people stop being reactionary and how fast people can think through those situations.

$.02


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## Muppet (Mar 29, 2016)

As a paramedic instructor, I would speak on the OODA loop with an example:

Airway issues: observe a difficult airway. Orient in how you will fix this issue, decide and do it... Cric if needed and fucking do it, don't hesitate. Then, start over, during the entire call....


Mc


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## Marauder06 (Mar 29, 2016)

The concept of the OODA loop figures (figured?) heavily in SOF operational planning.  It was one of the foundational underpinnings of what became F3EAD and the "faster than they can sustain" strategy of the Joint Task Force.


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## Loki (Mar 29, 2016)

I was introduced to "Boyds cycle" in 1993-4 training with "Combative Concepts" -Dave Maynard and Ken Good-  When they first started up, later it became "Surefire Institute" Barry Duke was fresh out of the Marines and one of their apprentice instructors years later.  This was a cornerstone of their CQB instruction, it was a revelation for all of us. They ran an amazing program , way beyond their time. Now it's all the standard stuff and accepted as routine.  Col. Boyd's writings are extremely interesting and complex. An amazing man and warrior with a sharp intellect it seems. His writings are different to say the least, here's one of his many articles.

http://www.goalsys.com/books/documents/DESTRUCTION_AND_CREATION.pdf


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## Loki (Mar 29, 2016)

DA SWO said:


> Boyd's (Air Force BTW) OODA loop is pretty interesting.
> Essentially requires you to act faster than the other guy can process data, understand it, act on it.
> I believe Boyd also created "pivot points" i.e. identify the critical components of the other guys operation and destroy those first (C & C nodes for example).  1st Gulf War Air War was essentially a validation of Boyd's principles.
> The AF crapped all over him while he was in, and now that he is gone they taught him as a genius.



Great stuff!


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## Devildoc (Mar 30, 2016)

Diamondback 2/2 said:


> If I'm not mistaken, and its been about ten years since I read his book, but the OODA loop was developed to assist fighter pilots in air to air dog fight's coupled with the use use of advanced avionics.* I want to say Col Byod was an F16 pilot by trade, but I could be wrong.*
> 
> Where I first learned of OODA loop was during a LowLight CQB instructor school. Combining the uses of flash lights, lasers and night vision optics, in CQB. I think the use of OODA loop as an explanation of how we should process information in such an environment under such conditions, was fitting. Especially when moving into force on force scenarios and using simuntions, and adding good and bad actors, where you actually have to take snap shots and quickly process information under high levels of stress.
> 
> ...



Col. Boyd was a wee bit before F16s.  He flew F86s in Korea, retired from the AF in 1975.  According to people who knew him he was a "love him or hate him" kinda guy.

The Marines revamped maneuver warfare based on Boyd's theories.


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