THE OODA LOOP Spiritual Warrior Application

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The OODA Loop was developed as a user guide for decisive action by Air Force Colonel John Boyd. Colonel Boyd was motivated, during the Korean War, by the need to simplify the rapid-fire-life-and-death decisions necessary to prevail in aerial combat. The emerging jet age and improved armament had created a faster-paced, more complex environment in which the fighter pilot was required to maneuver and fight in.

Boyd’s simple but very powerful conclusion (hypothesis) was that any conflict was a time-based problem. Thus, the side that moves thru the OODA Loop most rapidly has the upper hand. This is actually true in many environments such as business or other enterprises where you can be “shot down” from simply moving thru the OODA Loop too slowly.

The OODA Loop:

Observe: Accurately assess your position as well as the opposition’s position (could be business/athletic competitor/criminal suspect) and note their relationship to each other. Carefully observe the behavior/tendencies of the opposition.

Orient: This is the most important step. Ensure your own biases and tendencies do not drive poor analysis. Verify your environment and your position with respect to the opposition. Note and evaluate the most viable option(s).

Decide: Decision time comes be it simple or complex. It can now be made with confidence because you have passed thru step one and two.

Act: Nothing happens until now…your action severs the OODA Loop of the opposition resulting in victory for you or your team. Your next move is to “Observe”….then move thru the Loop.

Our decisions, by and large, govern our actions and the timeliness of our actions are major determiners of outcomes. The OODA Loop answers the question; how can we best shape our decisions especially under the tense even adverse conditions that we all encounter? Such conditions, though far removed from aerial combat, often present us with the need to make decisions very rapidly in our professional and personal lives.

Since introducing the OODA Loop to aerial combat, various warrior culture communities, including special warfare, have adapted the OODA Loop into their tactical doctrine. The OODA Loop is also taught in business schools, law schools, etc. and is in wide usage in corporate warfare and court litigation practices.

Be on your guard; Stand firm in the faith; Be men of courage; Be strong. Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13p

My main motivation here is to introduce the idea of the “POODA”, the “OPODA”, or my favorite the “OOPDA” Loop for the Christian and the spiritual warrior. The “P” is of course for prayer and will greatly increase the well-established effectiveness of the OODA Loop for temporal or spiritual warriors. I have used it in both realms of warfare. I mean, after all, God is a warrior (Ex 15:3) so why cut Him out of the action? Use your spiritual gifts more effectively…more deliberately…whether you’re in a gunfight or a spiritual battle.

I encourage you to review the OODA Loop online to gain a full appreciation of its depth and application. Numerous full color graphs, arrows, lines, and circles depict applications for various disciplines. Over the years I have found it extremely useful in a variety of applications, especially in concert with the Situational Analysis (SA) continuum.

Note: (1) It is recommended that you also become familiar with Cooper’s Alert Codes which together with the OODA Loop give the natural or spiritual warrior a great advantage in natural or spiritual warfare.

(2) Although similar, this is not to be confused with Dr. Deming’ s Circle, sometimes referred to as the Shewhart cycle stated as; Plan…Do…Study...Act

Developed by: Barney Barnes, Warrior Spirit Ministries, August 15, 2013