OODA Loops

Instapundit today carries a piece from Shooting Illustrated, which describes a five-step attack cycle. As the title of this post is meant to suggest, that's too many steps. John Boyd's OODA loop only needs four: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. The SI piece collapses "orient" into "observe," and then adds two more steps: stalk and close.

The SI piece isn't terrible, but bear in mind that it's about a subset of criminal violence. You don't have to stalk a victim, or take care in choosing a victim, if you are merely interested in chaotic violence. If you want to get inside an attacker's OODA loop, you have to get inside the first three steps. Once they've made their decision, action follows.

It's important to remember, in these moments of heightened emotion, that mass shootings are a tiny fraction of gun homicides; and that most of America is perfectly safe, with a county-level homicide rate that is most likely (54%) exactly zero. Not 'near zero,' not 'zero percent rounded down,' but zero: no murders whatsoever.

Make decisions about how to respond to threats advisedly, and rationally: 'stop feeling, start thinking.' If you decide to carry a weapon and be prepared to respond to threats, do that rationally too.

9 comments:

Ymar Sakar said...

If i need protection, i can call on my host of heaven.

Amis like guns but supernatural weapons are still great. Cover doesnt work. Armor does not work. Distance is no factor.

Ymar Sakar said...

The fear based deep state illuminati forces generate x with fear tactics.

Grim said...

I have to tell you that literally every person I've ever met who invoked Ephesians 6:11 ("Put on the whole Armor of God") in regard to their personal struggles has turned out to be a scumbag who deserved their problems. Maybe divine weapons are great if you really deserve them; but my sense is that the Lord helps those who help themselves.

Anonymous said...

Where I live, there are a few murders per year. I can tell you exactly where to avoid to keep from getting in the way of the shooter/stabber and shootee/stabee. They are generally either 1. domestic, 2. alcohol related (the famous "just two beers"), or 3. related to other criminal activity.

I notice no one is talking about Chicago, Baltimore, and other places where 5+ killings and 20+ injuries per weekend are "normal" in summer.

LittleRed1

raven said...

Predators are used to prey acting in a certain way. It breaks up the rhythm of the attack when the reaction is unexpected. most attacks are preceded by an "interview". Breaking the loop can be as simple as immediately running away, without any conversation at all. Or immediately resorting to overwhelming force. Or immediately checking your six and positioning yourself in flanking position.
Most people do not want to offend. They Know something is odd, they have the "feeling", but they just are too nice to offend. Like seeing a group of youths walking down the sidewalk toward them and not wanting to cross the street to get out of the way. Might offend them, you see? Cross the street- if they cross to match, now you have some info.

Here is a little story about a 10 year old kid at summer camp. He had won an award for archery. On the way back to the cabin, on a deserted path though the woods, two other boys came up to him and made a big show of offering congratulations, and one stuck out his hand to shake, while the other went round his back.
The boy said, "I don't shake hands with assholes." And stepped off to the side. It was the "feeling".
The point being, I don't think it is something you learn. You can learn how to use it, and how to react, and the physical warning signs, but the "oddness" is a gift.

Anonymous said...

Raven, have you ever read Caleb's essay about "Never bring a gun to a coffee fight"? He makes that point exactly - the predator was expecting a lot of things, but getting hit with coffee was NOT on the list. He froze, and Caleb had time to get out of the situation.

LittleRed1

Christopher B said...

Red and raven .. similar to my thoughts. A store is full of things that can be thrown and stuff that can make loud noises, like pushing over displays. Disrupt the Decision making process.

ymarsakar said...

Maybe divine weapons are great if you really deserve them; but my sense is that the Lord helps those who help themselves.

You got the armor and the host thing mixed up.

That's not Ephesian reference if any.

bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Host-Of-Heaven

That doesn't describe how it is used, but usually what ancients saw it as.

Generally speaking, wiping out Syrian armies or invoking literal, not metaphysical or esoteric protection, is the usage. As Yeshua told Peter that he did not need his disciples to fight for him. He had entire legions of angels to do that instead if needed.

I have to tell you that literally every person I've ever met who invoked Ephesians 6:11 ("Put on the whole Armor of God") in regard to their personal struggles has turned out to be a scumbag who deserved their problems.

That has more to do with the Southern religious control problems inherent in your regional traditions than anything else. The christian apostasy that began soon after the death of the prophets and apostles after 1st century AD.

The Roman Catholic "Last Crusade" has a different shade of the same issue and theme.

It breaks up the rhythm of the attack when the reaction is unexpected. most attacks are preceded by an "interview"

I do believe I recall telling people about that here a few years ago.

ymarsakar said...

While most people, especially religious, organized human religion, and leadership cadre talk about metaphysical "god stuff" in the metaphorical or esoteric or spiritual sense, I speak of things in a very pragmatic literal sense.

It is not about whether humans are born dirty and "deserve" something above them. It is a matter of a Son of God remembering their inheritance and utilizing it. Even if you inherited thousands or millions in a trust fund or personal clan bank via whole life insurance, it means nothing if you do not remember to use it or are incapable of using it because you are illiterate.

Yeshua is an example people bring up a lot but they do not mimick his behavior, usually due to artificially dividing him from the rest of humanity. His human incarnation was just as normal as anyone else here. He was not capable of more than what other humans could be capable of, if they followed his higher consciousness teachings. But people don't follow his teachings, they just follow the cult worship built around him by organizations, similar to what happened to Mohammed.

The ability to call upon the ancestral and holy elohim of the host of the heaven is the same as a person calling upon his arms and legs to do work. It is no different. The results are more magnificent and deadly, yes, but it is not that different from a body telling its cells what to do. This is not an easy concept to grasp for those that were taught under the misaligned or corrupted versions of the Gospel. For the most part, attempting to suborn human free will and dignity underneath this "king of kings, god of gods, theme" is mostly about empowering the organization that sits as adjudicator and plenipotentiary of this god of gods. The "Vicar of Christ" is one such title. He stands between you and the Messiah, and the Messiah is the one that "saves" you, although from what exactly, it is unstated. From the Inquisition, perhaps. In Protestant school of thought, it is the Pastor and the Bible that stands between you and your salvation.

All of these human systems subordinate the human free will and divine dignity to some kind of authority. But so long as that authority is human in nature, it is meaningless. Humans subordinating themselves to a human hierarchy is not a spiritual existence or hierarchy or dimension. It's just a normal human corporation or nation or state or group. It's no different from any other group in existence, other than their special privileges and traditional themes. It is designed, essentially, to make it easier to subordinate humans to the human hierarchy, by telling them that God wishes them to Obey Authority. It's actually the other way around. The Divine Elohim need human governors, warriors, delegates, and spiritual workers. They need humans to tell them what to do, because that's part of the System that was created.