The OODA Loop and the DOCA Loop

The OODA Loop

The most fundamental description of military action (as well as all action in general) is that it operates according to the OODA loop:

• Observe
• Orient
• Decide
• Act

Each step feeds forward to the next step, but the Decide stage can feed back to the Observe stage if no action is taken. Once the Act stage is entered, the feedback is to the Observe stage - that's why its called a loop. It isn't necessary that the Action is complete before returning to the Observe stage, such as when the action is not going as expected. The Observe stage is where intelligence gathering happens and the Orient stage is one of intelligence analysis. The Decide and Act stages are operational.

John Boyd's OODA Loop. Illustration by Patrick Edwin Moran from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3904554

The OODA loop was developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd as a model for combat operations, but is applicable to any situation where one's actions are based upon evidence. It is universal, and in the context of combat operations both opponents will be executing their own OODA loops.

Thought of in this way, there are two methods to disrupt an enemy's actions:

• Block one or more steps of the enemy's OODA loop
• Execute your OODA loop at a faster rate

For example, using a smoke grenade to conceal your movements prevents the enemy from observing your actions, thus blocking his OODA loop. Or, suppose you observe the enemy moving towards a hill, probably to capture it. You realize that the hill has some value (orient), decide that you can defend that hill, and move your forces to protect it (act), arriving first. That is an example of executing your OODA loop faster than the enemy did his.

The above examples are small in scale. Here's an example on a far larger scale: you observe non-government organizations helping illegal immigrants cross your southern border. This is unacceptable because it allows violent criminals to enter into your country, it harms programs meant for citizens, it is distructive to our infrastructure, it lowers chances for employment, it alters the political landscape, and it dilutes our culture. You decide that the flow of illegal immigrants can be lessened by countering the NGOs, and take legal action against them. Regardless of the success of the court proceedings (even if proceedings aren't complete), you return to the Observe stage and the loop continues.

The DOCA Loop

The most fundamental description of actions in irregular warfare is that it operates according to the DOCA loop:

• Disperse
• Orient
• Concentrate
• Act

The DOCA loop was named by William S. Lind in his writings on light infantry and 4^th generation warfare, but it is an extremely old concept. For example, in pre-colonial America, the Indians were repeatedly winning battles against the Colonial Militias – the Indians were using irregular warfare (surprise attacks followed by dispersion) while the militias were practicing European-style battle tactics (close order formations, loading muskets using 56 steps, firing in mass unaimed volleys, etc.). Colonel Benjamin Church saw this and began incorporating Indians into his ranks. Soon, it was the militias that were avoiding tight formations, using cover and concealment, attacking at weak spots, targeting and firing at individual enemies, and conducting hit-and-run raids.

The single steps of the DOCA loop are more involved than those of the OODA loop. For example, the "Orient" phase includes actions that set-up the enemy for the "Act" phase, and the "Act" phase targets a single enemy weakness, and is attempted ony after reconnaissance shows that success is highly probable. Another aspect of the DOCA loop is that it is to be executed rapidly and aggressively. In terms of light infantry, Lind and Thiele (2015) state:

Light infantry tactics are offensive in character, even during defensive operations. Light infantrymen do not hold a line. Light infantry tactics follow the principles of maneuver warfare, attacking by infiltration and defending by ambush. It uses ambushes on the offensive as well, by ambushing withdrawing or reinforcing enemy units, sometimes deep in the enemy’s rear. Light infantry applies an ambush mentality to both planning and execution...

...light infantry can exploit its small arms skills while denying the enemy effective employment of his superior firepower. Light infantry hugs the enemy and forces him to fight at short ranges on its terms.

The DOCA loop is applicable not only to sabotage and assassination missions, but also to how freedom fighters would, for example, retrieve supply drops or free prisoners.

As in the OODA loop, a counter-insurgency operation at the tactical level has two options:

• Block one or more steps of the insurgency's DOCA loop
• Adapt the style of irregular warfare and execute your DOCA loop at a faster rate.

Here's a historical example of the first option: in late July through early August 1944, the Maquis (rural resistance fighters) converged at the Vercors Massif in southeast France (Lieb & Dennis, 2012) in preparation for the Invasion of Provence (Operation Dragoon) which was originally scheduled to occur simultaneously with the Invasion of Normandy. The invasion was delayed and the order to disperse was never received. The 157^th Reserve Division of the Wehrmacht observed evidence of significant Maquis activity in and around the Vercors Massif in south-east France. Besides sabotaging rail traffic and assisinating Germans and collaborators, the Germans realized that they could hinder German retreat. Using a large force that consists of ground, airborne, and mountaineering components, they decide to act on the Maquis, and send in forces to kill or capture (then kill) as many Maquis as possible. The Maquis converged for an extended period without performing a relevant action, and the Germans prevented them from dispersing. In essence, the Germans prevented the Maquis from closing their DOCA loop.

From this one example, it may appear that freedom fighters executing a DOCA loop will always lose to traditional military forces. This is not always the case! The Maquis successfully executed a vast number of sabotage operations both in Occupied and Vichy France and were able to severely degrade German logistics prior to the Invaison of Normandy.

References

Boyd, J. (1995). The Essence of Winning and Losing. Retrieved 26 February 2024 from https://web.archive.org/web/20110324054054/http://www.danford.net/boyd/essence.htm

Lieb, P. & Dennis, P. (2012). Vercors 1944: Resistance in the French Alps. Osprey Publishing.

Lind, W. S. & Thiele, G. A. (2015). 4^th Generation Warfare Handbook. Castalia House. Retrieved 26 February 2024 from https://ia802901.us.archive.org/27/items/4thGenerationWarfareHandbookWilliamS.Lind28129/4th_Generation_Warfare_Handbook_-_William_S._Lind%25281%2529.pdf