OODA is for fighter pilots
Except at the most tactical, trivial level, the OODA loop is not a useful tool in wars such as we are fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq. Things move at such a glacial pace, for one thing. For another, the successful practitioner needs to learn to ignore much of the white noise generated by an insurgency. Trying to orient or reorient every time you receive a stimulus may seem wise, but it actually only leads to friction, exhaustion, inconsistency, and failure.
A very wise commander once told us planners our jobs was to reduce the number of decisions he had to make during an operation.
Hmmmm..... Interesting thought and interesting quote
Just a couple of days ago, I was sitting with a State Department (S/CRS) Planner discussing some new approaches they are considering/trying to find money to field. These included modular planning teams, HN Gov/t embeds, and PRT like organizations for the "long haul". All interesting but not relevant, what was relevant was an approach to the planning process that they intend to employ...
one in which no one (but the plan) is in charge and that it will be a self-adjusting mechanism amongst a team of peers (I think I got that mostly right). Well you can imagine my head spinning (think Linda Blair), as I struggled to keep a straight face and open mind. Well can't say that at that moment either I or my uniformed partners were able to wrap our minds around that little State Department "pearl".
But as I considered it further.... So long as the plan wasn't botched from the beginning (not perfect just good), then this might actually be a stroke of brilliance. The State Department contribution is by nature long-term (10-40 years). Their plan more than any other could use a little built-in bureaucratic non-sense to keep them from chasing their tail with every change in the wind direction. Having an engineered impediment to deviations is not only OK, but desired.
Now I'd sure like to see one of those good enough, self-syncronizing plans! Never quite crossed that threshold except in a game of monopoly.
Live well and row...
OODA in battlefield prep?
Ken White is correct, not everyone can be John Boyd. Maybe OODA is more useful in allowing a staff to assist in battlefield prep vs a squad leader or PL in contact.
A few brief comments on OODA
Hi Wilf,
You wrote:
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As a war gamer myself, I just see OODA as a description of one possible process.
The OODA Loop is a model of cognitive processing, there are indeed many other models. Boyd's OODA fits well with assumptions of (the entirely unrelated) Dual Processing theory in cognitive psychology. It also fits with some models relating to long term memory function.
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Wrong observation and all falls down.
I think Boyd would have agreed. Poor perceptions equate to faulty assumptions which could then lead to poor decisions.
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As it does with one wrong action and the process does not give you any indicators as to how to judge your "orientation" or understanding.
Disagree here. Wrong actions are learning experiences, though in war sometimes these experiences are not survivable ones. When your actions do not lead to the results that your assumptions led you to expect, it's time to re-check your premises and your observations.
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It only seems to explain why smart people do good things. It does not help train soldiers or officers that I can see.
It can also explain why inobservant, highly ideological or just plain dumb people do foolish things.
As for training, OODA is useful as a teaching tool to get people to start to pay attention to their own thinking (metacognition) and the thinking of others. Why do we have the preconceived notions that we do ? Why are we ignoring inconvenient facts staring us in the face?
Can you go through OODA as a conscious, step by step process ? Sure, if you have the luxury of time for calm reflection but your brain most likely does the OODA steps with a high degree of fast-processing automaticity.
The OODA Loop is a map, not the territory.