Colors and Loops

Nah, this isn’t art class, it’s situational awareness and how we can be safer by being more aware of our surroundings and how to deal with a potential threat. Law enforcement officers and SWAT team members in particular have a saying: “Your body can’t go where your mind hasn’t been.” What does that mean? It’s quite simple really; if you haven't thought out a problem in your mind, did some visualization on how you would handle the problem and worked out a plan, chances are you will be what we call a deer in the headlights, frozen in place when the unexpected occurs. Have you ever thought, “What would I do” if you were pumping gas and an armed criminal came up to you and demanded your keys and car? Here's my plan: first, I always take my keys with me when I stop to pump gas, and I often lock my car at the pump. If someone comes up to me and demands my car, I'll throw the keys on the ground and quickly walk away. Now, the carjacker has to make a choice: grab the keys and take your car, which is what he wanted, or follow you across the parking lot. Now, take a minute to visualize yourself being approached. Take the keys out of your pocket or purse, throw them on the ground in front of the carjacker, turn, and quickly walk away towards the front door of the gas station. Then, go inside. 

Okay, what's the deal with colors and loops? Loops first, or more specifically, the OODA loop. The OODA loop is Observe, Orientate, Decide, and Act. Look at the above scenario: The carjacker observed you, started to orient himself towards you, decided whether to steal your car and perhaps force you into the car and then acted. By throwing the keys on the ground, you disrupted the robber’s OODA loop and gave yourself an opportunity to escape - you sent him back to decide. Law enforcement officers training at the range are taught when faced with a threat to draw their weapons and step to the left or right. Why? Stepping to the right or left disrupts the shooter's OODA loop, forcing them to reorient, decide, and act all over again. Working through scenarios and visualizing problems gives you a plan and gets you moving. A good friend of mine, Sgt Mark Huffer, with the Marco Island police department, has a story he loves to tell. Several years ago, his brother was in California and was accosted by some possible muggers threatening him. Mark’s brother started to do sign language with his hands, really just making motions with his hands and not speaking. That screwed up the muggers' OODA loop so badly they just quit and walked away. 

So, what's up with colors? It’s the “color” of your condition. You typically have four colors of condition: white, yellow, orange, and red. 

White = relaxed and unaware, Yellow = relaxed and aware, Orange = aware of potential threat and Red = confirmed threat and ready to act. 

White is what you should be at home relaxing or, even better, asleep, never out in public. But we have all seen the videos of people texting and walking into telephone poles, texting while driving, and wearing earphones while driving or riding a bike. Yellow is your safe color, allowing you to be relaxed and enjoy your day while still being aware of your surroundings. Orange is when you feel a threat is occurring, and red is when you confirm a threat and decide to act. You use these colors every day and don’t even realize it. Want an example? Here’s one - driving. You’re driving on 951, hopefully in condition yellow, not white; you’re relaxed but aware of the traffic around you. Suddenly, a car coming from an intersection on your right runs a red light and turns into your lane, making you aware of a potential threat and changing to orange. If the driver accelerates and speeds away, you return to yellow. If the driver swerves close to you, you switch to red, braking or changing lanes, then drop back down to yellow. The situational awareness part of this is to develop the habit of assessing your current state of alertness. 

We are fortunate to reside in a county and community that, compared to many areas of our state and country, is exceptionally secure, with highly skilled and professional law enforcement agencies protecting us. But when you leave your neighborhoods, in many cases gated communities, and head out into the world, the environment changes. If you tend to be that head-in-the-clouds person in a condition white state of awareness, you are just setting yourself up for potential problems. 

We need to be aware of our surroundings and what is happening around us. I am not talking about being paranoid, just being aware. I have observed and apprehended criminals my whole adult life. Criminals are predators, just like coyotes. Coyotes watch a herd of deer, looking for the weakest deer. Criminals watch for people who are distracted and unaware of their surroundings. How do you carry yourself? Do you walk with confidence, upright and looking at your surroundings? Or do you keep in a shell, shoulders hunched, looking at the ground or even worse lost in your phone screen? Project self-assurance and practice active awareness until it becomes second nature, and before long, you will be in a nice, bright condition yellow.