What Does "OODA" Mean Anyway?

Observe. Orient. Decide. Act.

That’s what OODA stands for. It’s a term coined by Colonel John R. Boyd (January 23, 1927 — March 9, 1997; pictured right), a United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strate­gist, whose theories have influ­enced both military and business strategies.

He used the term “OODA Loop” to describe the process that individ­u­als and organi­za­tions use to react to events. The key to success is the creation of situa­tions where one can make appro­pri­ate decisions more rapidly than others.
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Preparedness Grants can Fund Maintenance and User Fees

Did You Know that FEMA Grant Funds Extend Beyond Equipment Purchases?

Last November, Timothy Manning, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of the National Preparedness Directorate (NPD) announced that prepared­ness grant funds can be used for fees associ­ated with equip­ment purchases.

An excerpt from the FEMA Grants Program Directorate’s bulletin released by his office:

“Effective [November 2o, 2009], the use of FEMA prepared­ness grant funds for mainte­nance contracts, warranties, repair or replace­ment costs, upgrades, and user fees are allow­able under all active and future grant awards, unless other­wise noted.”

How Does FEMA Define User Fees for Preparedness?

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Everybody Needs a Tap Code

This week, PBS aired a phenom­e­nal series on human emotion and social inter­ac­tion called “This Emotional Life.” I was partic­u­larly struck by a segment on human resilience in which a Vietnam veteran — Bob Shumaker, a POW for 8 years — shared his amazing story.

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Operable or Interoperable Communications? The Chicken or the Egg?

Operable or inter­op­er­a­ble — which came first? A few defin­i­tions to get you thinkin’:

• Communications = a process of trans­fer­ring infor­ma­tion from one entity to another
• Operable = able to operate/perform your duties
• Interoperable = able to exchange and use information
• Interoperability = ability to work with each other

With all the talk of commu­ni­ca­tions inter­op­er­abil­ity and all the money we’ve spent since 9/11, you’d think this problem has been solved. Perhaps it has in some specific cases, but for the major­ity of U.S. commu­ni­ties — despite the best of inten­tions — inter­op­er­abil­ity as well as basic commu­ni­ca­tions operabil­ity is still lacking as a funda­men­tal corner­stone of our local, regional, and national preparedness.

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Preparedness as a Gift

The holiday season, for many, is a time of gather­ing with family and friends. It’s a time when we share gifts, and as a prelude to the new year, it is also a time of reflec­tion. However, many through­out the world are not at peace, are not gather­ing with friends and family, are not sharing gifts. It is time we awaken to the fact that we are indeed in a new age — an age in which we need to stop think­ing just about ourselves and begin to care more about other people and indeed all living things.

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Resiliency=f(comms)

Organizational resiliency is a function of avail­able commu­ni­ca­tions which is a direct function of your prepared­ness posture. Without commu­ni­ca­tions you are up zee creek (if there’s any water left)! Ok if there’s no water left you are really up zee creek! Better call somebody…oh darn…the phones aren’t working and the power is out! … Geez my cell phone battery is dead…oh well the cell service is down too. — Now what! … Hope I can find my car keys.

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Are We Prepared? Why Bother?

Did  you ever think to ask your local first respon­ders (fire, police, emergency manage­ment)  how prepared we are for natural disasters?

Is your local commu­nity suffi­ciently prepared to meet the needs of you and your neigh­bors when a disas­ter strikes? Do you know who is respon­si­ble, what resources they can access, and how quickly they can respond?

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Never Forget Disaster while Enjoying Peace

Complacency turns mere emergen­cies into disas­ters. Much like taking the bless­ings of nature for granted has yielded a fragile environ­ment intol­er­ant of more abuse,  postponing disas­ter prepared­ness because it’s been awhile is like piling combustible materi­als in the direct path of a raging forest fire. It will burn out of control.

Do you ever wonder why most experts suggest stock­pil­ing 2 weeks of criti­cal supplies when, until recently, the recom­men­da­tion has been 3 days?

Timely Connections for Uncertain Times

OODAkits provide global Internet access and phone service — with power — to a small team.