OODA Loop and Maneuver Warfare LCDR Steve Gozzo SEA NAV

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OODA Loop and Maneuver WarfareLCDR Steve
GozzoSEA NAV
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Who was Boyd ?

• USAF Colonel

or

• Fighter Pilot

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Colonel John Boyd

• Rebel enlisted/fighter pilot/man of character,
  recognized as smart and competent by marines
• Hallmark - interested in understanding the truth
  about conflict, wherever it led him.
• Developed competitive decision making on the
  battlefield.
• 40 second Boyd
• Boyd cycle (aka OODA loop)
• Attacking enemies thought process and shattering
  his morale/decision making process
• Priorities (in order)
• People, Ideas, Hardware

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Colonel John BoydDied 9 Mar 97
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Colonel John Boyd
11 March 1997  To the Editor  I was deeply
saddened to learn of the passing of Colonel John
Boyd, USAF (Ret). How does one begin to pay
homage to a warrior like John Boyd? He was a
towering intellect who made unsurpassed
contributions to the American art of war. Indeed,
he was one of the central architects in the
reform of military thought which swept the
services, and in particular the Marine Corps, in
the 1980s. From John Boyd we learned about
competitive decision making on the
battlefieldcompressing time, using time as an
ally. Thousands of officers in all our services
knew John Boyd by his work on what was to be
known as the Boyd Cycle or OODA Loop. His
writings and his lectures had a fundamental
impact on the curriculum of virtually every
professional military education program in the
United Statesand on many abroad. In this way, he
touched so many lives, many of them destined to
ascend to the highest levels of military and
civilian leadership.  Those of us who knew John
Boyd the man knew him as a man of character and
integrity. His life and values were shaped by a
selfless dedication to Country and Service, by
the crucible of war, and by an unrelenting love
of study. He was the quintessential
soldier-scholara man whose jovial, outgoing
exterior belied the vastness of his knowledge and
the power of his intellect. I was in awe of him,
not just for the potential of his future
contributions but for what he stood for as an
officer, a citizen, and as a man.  As I write
this, my mind wanders back to that morning in
February, 1991, when the military might of the
United States sliced violently into the Iraqi
positions in Kuwait. Bludgeoned from the air
nearly round the clock for six weeks, paralyzed
by the speed and ferocity of the attack. The
Iraqi army collapsed morally and intellectually
under the onslaught of American and Coalition
forces. John Boyd was an architect of that
victory as surely as if hed commanded a fighter
wing or a maneuver division in the desert. His
thinking, his theories, his larger than life
influence, were there with us in Desert Storm. He
must have been proud of what his efforts
wrought.  So, how does one pay homage to a man
like John Boyd? Perhaps best by remembering that
Colonel Boyd never sought the acclaim won him by
his thinking. He only wanted to make a difference
in the next war and he did. That ancient book
of wisdomProverbssums up Johns contribution to
his nation " A wise man is strong, and a man of
knowledge adds to his strength for by wise
guidance you will wage your war, and there is
victory in a multitude of counselors." I, and
his Corps of Marines, will miss our counselor
terribly.  Sincerely,    C.C. Krulak General, U.
S. Marine Corps Commandant of the Marine Corps
Eulogized by the CMC
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F-86 vs MiG-15
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ACM
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Initial Comparison
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Energy Management Comparison
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Boyds Ideas

• Consistent with Sun Tzu's writings, - Sun Tzu
  Updated for 21st Century. Source 15.
• Non-linear warfare
• Focuses on moral-mental-physical portions of
  enemy as single entity
• Work to defeat enemy plan, rather than his
  forces (consistent w/ Sun Tzu)
• Moral values is central. Weak valuesweak foe
• Focus on the enemy and environment
• Knowledge of strategic environment
• Interact w/ environment appropriately
• Combo of rapidity, initiative, harmony variety
• Time is also a very important aspect.
• Constant situational awareness (aka. SA)
  remembering the real target is your enemys
  perception.
• You want an organization(s) and organisms that
  are able to adapt in a rapidly changing
  environment.

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Boyd on Clausewitz

• No historical strategist has influenced current
  US Department of Defense thinking more than the
  Prussian Carl von Clausewitz. 
• Although giving Clausewitz his due, Boyd
  concludes that his focus on defeating the enemy
  in a decisive battle will ultimately lead to
  bloodbaths and an emphasis on attrition. 
• By contrast, Boyd's own strategy follows the line
  of Sun Tzu, whose guiding principle was
  magnifying friction in the opposition (in
  contrast to Clausewitz's obsession with
  minimizing his own) and thus reducing the need
  for bloody "decisive" battles in the first
  place. 

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The OODA LoopDetailed variant.
Competitive advantage comes from quickness over
the entire loop, not just or even primarily
from the O-to-O-to-D-to-A sequence.
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The OODA LoopSimplified
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Why

• Increase Situational Awareness
• Results in better informed decisions and/or
  faster decisions
• Speed of Command so you can turn inside the
  enemys decision cycle.

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Operating Inside Their OODA Loop
Its like theyre moving in slow motion. Boyd
describing operating inside opponents OODA
loops.
Its like youre commanding both sides.
typical impression of a successful cheng / chi
operation. cheng - orthodox, expected, while
chi - unorthodox, shocking, irregular. By
operating inside an opponents OODA loop, you
will find it much easier to set up and exploit
cheng / chi situations.
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Aids To Executing The Boyd CycleIn A Rapidly
Changing Environment

• Keep things simple and flexible
• Well rehearsed SOPs/templates
• Decision making games
• Think out of the box (be unorthodox in your
  thinking)
• People not afraid to be themselves make
  mistakes (boldness/initiative/judgment)
• Strong character
• Leadership traits principles
• Faith/religious beliefs
• Develop good instincts
• Develop an internal flow state based on constant
  rehearsal and strong character

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Aids To Executing The Boyd Cycle In A Rapidly
Changing Environment

• Training like you are going to fight
• Individual training
• Initiative driven, done on own time if needed.
• Training rehearsals should become part of your
  instincts.
• React drills
• Unit training
• Same as above
• Assigning people w/ certain abilities to the
  right jobs, cross train later in order to create
  depth w/in your section.
• Professional military education
• Builds your awareness to support your orientation
  and observation phases of the Boyd cycle. The
  more ideas the better as long as you can think,
  adapt, and manipulate data for your needs.

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Aids To Executing The Boyd Cycle In A Rapidly
Changing Environment

• Liberal education
• Aids the individual decision making process as
  noted above.
• Education must be a daily activity the mind must
  not be still.
• Nature/history walks/exercises/rehearsals
• Mental scenarios
• Provides full perspective of man and activity
  interacting in a natural environment
• I.e., weather impacts on operations and equipment
• Assess the performance levels of your personnel
  in a dynamic environment

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Bottom Line

• You must have a quicker OODA loop than your enemy
  in order to be successful.
• The sooner you can act, the less time he has to
  prepare defenses, or attack.