The four steps in the loop are: Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. While originally developed for use in combat, it is just as applicable for self-defense. Whoever makes it through this loop the fastest tends to be the winner.
At the moment, all we’re interested in is the first two steps. Most people think of situational awareness as being only observation. But the OODA Loop shows us that there’s actually more to it than that. We need to add the second step, Orient, for that observation to make us any sense.
So, what’s Orient about? It’s about knowing what it is that you need to be looking for. That provides our observations with some context. Looking, just to be looking, can overwhelm our senses. But when we are looking for specific things, we can filter out what doesn’t matter and focus on what does. So, situational awareness is actually a combination of Observation and Orientation.
Now that you’re sitting so that you’re facing the door, take a minute to look around. This first look is to get a general “feel” for the place. You have to know what normal is before you can detect something that’s abnormal. A lot of things can go into that baseline, but a few of the most important are:
You notice that not all of those items are visual. It’s important to use all of your senses to feed information to your situational awareness. If a fire starts, your first warning may very well be smell. If you’re not paying attention to your sense of smell, you may miss the opportunity to get out of the building before the fire spreads too far.
Once you have a baseline, you are then able to catch those things which don’t match it. Those things are anomalies and they will all exist for some reason. While most will be non-threatening, each will have to be looked at and evaluated to see if there is a potential threat.
Take a casual eating place in the summertime, for example. People aren’t going to be dressed up, wearing suits or overcoats there. So, if someone walks in, wearing a suit or overcoat, it is an anomaly. That’s important because they could have a firearm hidden under their coat. This is why the FBI always wears suits; to hide their sidearms. Just because they have a gun under their coat doesn’t automatically make them a threat; but it does make them someone worthy of attention.
Okay, so now that you have yourself operating in condition yellow, you’ve put yourself in a position where you can observe well and you’ve developed a baseline, what is it you want to look for? What’s the orientation that you want?
I’ve already mentioned two important things: the smell of fire and people who are dressed too warmly or formally for the situation and climate. But there are a number of other anomalies that should trigger our attention, warranting a closer look:
The key thing that the police look for is people who are behaving as if they are uncomfortable. While there may be many reasons why someone is uncomfortable in a given situation; people involved in illegal activity almost always are. These people always warrant a closer look, just to make sure that they aren’t up to any nefarious activity.
You will have already figured out what normal actions are, as part or developing your baseline. So, when you see someone come in, who is acting differently than the norm for that place and time, it should attract your attention. Criminals will always try to make their actions fit what they think is appropriate for the environment, but the tactical considerations of what they are doing make that impossible.
At some point in time, every criminal is going to have to get their hands on a weapon. This either means that they are going to come in the door with their hands inside their clothing or are going to reach inside their clothing once they are in. Either way, anyone putting their hands inside their clothing, as if to reach for something, should act as a warning.
In a crowd where you might not be able to see the hands, the shoulders are the giveaway. Before taking any effective action, the person must draw their shoulders back. So if you see someone do that, expect some sort of violent action to follow.
